Gone are the days when a high IQ would place an employee at the pinnacle of achievement. Today, the pre-eminence of IQ as a key to success is debatable as being smart encompasses more than the genetic ingredient.
A new way of talking about being smart has emerged – emotional intelligence (EI) takes over, and its biggest impact is in the world of business.
Studies show 67% of the essential skills needed for an optimal performance at work are related to emotional intelligence. Also, emotionally intelligent individuals are more productive, better at solving problems and more likely to succeed in their job roles.
Daniel Coleman, in his ground-breaking book on emotional intelligence, said it determines our success in relationships, work and even our physical well-being. Emotional literacy, unlike IQ, is not fixed early in life. It signals a new vision of human possibilities.
“Perhaps the biggest surprise for me has been the impact of EI in the world of business, particularly in the areas of leadership and employee development (a form of adult education),” Coleman wrote.
The Harvard Business Review has hailed emotional intelligence as “a ground-breaking, paradigm-shattering idea,” one of the most influential business ideas of the decade.
Companies worldwide routinely look through the lens of emotional intelligence in hiring, promoting, and developing their employees. Johnson and Johnson found that in divisions around the world, those identified at mid-career as having high leadership potential were far stronger in emotional intelligence competencies than were their less-promising peers.
Now employers can evaluate an individual’s social intelligence via the latest assessment ‘EMOTION’, which measures candidates’ and employees’ ability to understand their own emotions and establish harmonious working relationships with others. Developed by Central Test, this tool allows employers to scientifically assess an individual’s emotional and interpersonal capabilities using 15 factors of emotional intelligence, such as self-awareness, self-assertion, empathy, adaptability, and tactfulness.
