Emotional Intelligence

Photo Credit: lifehack.org

We believe that for most people, emotional intelligence (EQ) is more important than someone's intelligence (IQ) in attaining success in their lives and careers. “Your EQ is the level of your ability to understand other people, what motivates them and how to work cooperatively with them,” says Harvard theorist, Howard Gardner. To understand emotional intelligence, psychologists look at five categories: social skills, empathy, motivation, self awareness and self regulation.

We believe that the success of any relationship rises and falls on communication. That is why working on social skills, also known as 'people skills,' require daily and intentional focus. This is why reading self development books, listening to self improvement audios, having a healthy, positive self talk and associating in environments that stretch your comfort zone all lay the foundation for strong people skill development.

Understanding a person's point of view and perspective is foundational to having a high EQ. One of the constructs that I bring into any coaching environment is to seek first to understand than to be understood. We teach that you can understand the world from a much greater resolution if you focus on perceiving it, not only from your own perspective, but the perspectives of those around you.

Motivation is linked to one's enthusiasm, initiative and persistency. Studies now reveal that people who are better at networking, being positive and keeping motivated have a greater chance of success than just high intellect alone. We have found that people that can intrinsically motivate themselves rather than relying on others to constantly motivate them, have a higher emotional quotient.

Self awareness is the pathway to happiness. Self awareness allows a person to understand other people, how they perceive you, your attitude and your responses to them in the moment. Developing self awareness and emotional maturity are critical to increasing emotional intellect.

Research consistently shows that self regulation is necessary in developing a reliable, emotional-well being. Self regulation is one's ability to respond in an emotionally appropriate and consistent manner. We find that success and emotional intelligence is largely influenced by our ability to respond maturely to different situations that occur in life.

The EQ guru, Daniel Goleman stated, "My hope was that organizations would start including this range of skills in their training programs - in other words, offer an adult education in social and emotional intelligence." Our goal is to encourage individuals that we work with to strengthen the key factors of emotional intelligence on a regular, consistent basis. We understand that the only way you can truly connect with people is first connect with their heart and then with their mind.

Make everyday an enriching day,
Brandon & Amanda