It has often been observed that individuals with an average IQ often outperform those with a higher IQ. Years of research has stated the fact that IQ is not the sole source of success and that it takes something more, which sets aside the star performers as compared to the rest of the others.

It takes someone with a greater emotional quotient to explore social complexities, manage and regulate personal behaviour and make personal decisions to achieve professional success. Emotional Intelligence is the ability to be aware of, regulate and control and express one’s emotions and to handle personal and social relationships with equal capability, especially when one is under pressure. Your IQ might be able to get you through a certain course or a job, but it is your EQ which will assist you in managing the emotions and stress you go through while you are at it.

How is Emotional Intelligence related to professional success?

Emotional Intelligence is the basis for what you say and do everyday. Research stated that 90% of the top performers at work were found to possess sound emotional intelligence and made more money (an average of $29000 per year more) than people with low emotional intelligent quotient.

What is striking is that this is applicable for people across the world, across all industries, markets and levels. There is no job which does not tie performance and pay to emotional intelligence. And unlike IQ, emotional intelligent quotient (EQ) can be worked upon and increased with time. As you make attempts to train your brain by practicing emotional intelligent behaviour, your brain builds the pathways to adapt to it until it starts reflexively responding to the surroundings with a sound emotional intelligence.

Your Emotional Intelligence decides your career path

If you have a sound EQ, you can excel in your career, motivate and lead others, be a team player and manage performance. This is the reason numerous enterprises consider EQ as important as technical skills and require the hiring candidates to possess sound EQ before getting them on board. During difficult times, you are able to stay proactive instead of reactive.

EQ is related to your physical health

Unless you are able to manage your stress levels, it can cause much damage to your physical health. Excessive stress suppresses the immune system, increases blood pressure and the risk of heart attacks, makes the immune system weak and brings about premature aging. Relieving stress becomes easy if one is able to manage his or her emotional quotient (EQ) in an appropriate manner.

Emotional Intelligence secures relationships

You can express yourself appropriately and harbour meaningful relationships if you can understand your relationships and how to control them. You can communicate clearly, influence and inspire others. A sound EQ will make you feel comfortable socially and be respectful towards others’ feelings and concerns. You will gain respect and trust from family members and colleagues alike.

It helps you to stay focussed during difficult times

A sound Emotional Quotient (EQ) assists you in recognizing your emotions and prevents them from overwhelming you. It makes you stay grounded and focussed. Attention brings about accuracy at work and consequently, performance improves. EQ will release you from harbouring unnecessary stress and anxiety and will render attentiveness.

Your Emotional Intelligence helps in conflict management

Emotional Intelligence ensures you handle conflicts in a sound manner, both at home and work. Handling conflicts effectively makes you a strong team player and a unbiased, focussed leader. Resolving conflicting in a constructive manner will promote the feeling of compassion and trust between people. You will be able to promote harmony at work and encourage performance. Your gentle humour will smooth indifferences.

You will not repeat mistakes

Exhibiting a sound emotional intelligence will ensure that you are able to handle success and failure with equal vigour and take them to your stride and neither of them makes you emotionally charged to catch and defuse situations. You will perceive mistakes only as a stepping stone to success.

You will become a better decision maker

Emotional intelligence keeps your emotions away from sound decision making. People look up to their leaders on how to handle circumstances and if the leader is a good decision maker, even in the face of adverse situations, his team automatically inculcate a feeling of trust. Sound decision makers have the confidence to make an informed decision and not second guess them.

You will be genuinely happy at the end of the day

Happiness is a warm feeling which is originated inside your heart and radiates through your face and body language. Happy people are more accomplished than people who are sad and depressed and practicing a sound emotional intelligence will assist you in finding your key to happiness even in everyday life and make you an optimist.

How to improve Emotional Intelligence?

Emotional Intelligence can be improved upon at any given point of time in life. In order to change the way we feel about a particular situation, first, we must change the way we perceive it and feel about it. When we abstain ourselves from personalizing others’ feelings, their expressions can be perceived more objectively. It should be kept in mind that people do what they do not because of us, but because of them. The possibility of misunderstanding can be decreased by widening our perspectives.

My Inspiration

I was introduced with the concept of emotional intelligence during my first job where my reporting manager explained the essence of exhibiting strong emotional intelligence if one wanted to quickly ascend the ladder of professional success. Upon reading through various manuals and articles, I gathered that Emotional Intelligence was the crux of how we are perceived by our managers, peers and other employees.

The way we talk, listen, take decisions and find solutions at work reflect the decree of our emotional intelligence quotient. Also, if we notice carefully we will observe that almost everyone in the top management team of any successful enterprise exhibit a high EQ. Thus, the direct equation of EQ with professional success established.

All of us have to deal with some kind of stress or other. How we handle stressful situations can make a huge difference. Life is not always easy. How we choose to think, feel and act can make a considerable difference between despair and hope, defeat and victory and frustration and optimism.

Knowing how to express your emotions can assist you in managing them to your benefit. Reconnect with yourself and witness your perspective and emotions transform for the better. You will no longer remain a slave to circumstances but manage and profess intimate and meaningful relationships in your personal and professional life.