Why is emotional intelligence at work so important?
Technological changes and developments have brought significant changes in the working environment, especially in those skills that are required by someone who seeks or have a job. The same applies to aspiring or already entrepreneurs. Knowledge and technical skills are very important for someone in order to work professionally but are they enough to gain a place in the job market?
These questions, which are being raised more and more frequently due to changes in working models, have attracted interest in the past 20 years, a new concept. This concept is related to the ability of a person to behave and act in the right way, taking into account his abilities and the potential of his / her environment.
In recent years, there has been talk of Emotional Intelligence or EQ (Emotional Quotient).
The term first appeared in 1964 in a document by Michael Whitewood, but he gained greater recognition in 1995. The term became widely known by the publication of Daniel Goleman’s book: Emotional Intelligence – Why it can be more important than IQ.
But what do we mean by the term Emotional Intelligence?
Emotional intelligence is defined as he capability of individuals to recognize their own and other people’s emotions, discern between different feelings and label them appropriately, use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior, and manage and/or adjust emotions to adapt to environments or achieve one’s goal(s).
From this definition, it is easy to understand that the above description tends to outline the profile of the precious worker and the ideal entrepreneur. Of course, this is not possible. And this, because it is difficult to accurately describe the characteristics that lead to success.
Based on the above considerations, many questions have been asked and one of them is:
Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is ultimately more important than Technical Intelligence (IQ) for our professional recognition?
The truth is that basic features of emotional intelligence, such as self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills, structure the characteristics of the successful professional worker. And this explains why people with a moderate IQ are very successful.
One point that causes concern is that each person is different and has unique characteristics that can not be compared to anyone else. And so the theory of the supremacy of emotional intelligence has many critics.
A point where EQ certainly excels in technical intelligence is its ability to cultivate, as opposed to the IQ that you have it or not. That is, the individual can cultivate their ability to understand the feelings and motives of others, to understand the needs and demands of their clients, to work under pressure, and to work with others to achieve a goal.
Emotional Intelligence also gives the individual the ability to motivate himself, take initiatives, control his feelings, inspire and lead, and become aware of the risk, but not afraid to risk. Elements of particular importance.
For a distinguished professional performance, man skills are reyquired, as well as a combination of emotional and technical intelligence. The positive thing is that while some features are not easy to train, there are others we can.
P.G.A. & E.L.
