Over the past few years, emotional intelligence (“EI”) has become one of the most popular leadership theories in business. It looks at how well you manage your own emotions as well as those of others to achieve success.

Some believe that it is an equally important quality for leaders to have as IQ or “intelligence.” After all, being able to motivate people and influence them depends not only on yourself, but also on understanding what motivates other individuals.

But is EQ more important than IQ? Or are they equal in significance? This article will talk about the differences between these two types of intelligences and determine if one is better than the other.

Disclaimer: The information in this article should be considered from a general perspective and cannot be used to diagnose or treat any health conditions. There are no guarantees related to using this information.

Emotional quotient or EI comes directly after the social-intellectual quotient or ‘iq’. Just like with IQ, there are several different tests to assess someone’s EI. Some of the ones that have been developed include:

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1. Ability to identify and describe one’s own emotion

2. Use of emotion regulation strategies

3. Understanding why other people may feel certain ways

4. Helping others develop their emotional literacy

5. Acting with empathy

6. Promoting altruism

7.

Differences between emotional intelligence and Iq

While both EQ and Iq are considered important qualities in humans, they look at the same things from different angles. Emotional quotient (EQ) focuses more on other people’s perception of you versus your own internal state.

Iq looks into why you feel what you do internally, but it doesn’t consider how others perceive you.

With EQ, the average person is just as capable of having high levels as someone with low EQ. This is because there isn’t necessarily one “normal” level of EQ, so people who have very high or very low EQ aren’t that much higher or lower than those with middle-of-the-road EQ.

On the other hand, individuals with low Iq often think their internal feelings don’t matter because they believe everyone else has the same feelings they do. They may even try to suppress these emotions due to this assumption.

Skills of emotional intelligence

Another term for EQ is “emotional literacy” or “self-awareness,” which means you are aware of your own emotions. You know what effects your feelings have on other people and things in life.

This can be tricky at times because we all have different levels of awareness when it comes to our emotions.

Some people seem to feel and process emotion very quickly while others take longer. Some people may even try to avoid feeling certain emotions because they fear how their actions will affect them.

It is important to recognize that there is no right way to feel emotionally. It is okay to feel angry, sad, stressed, happy and so on.

Many experts believe that practicing self-awareness helps develop empathy, one of the five components of emotional intelligence.

By understanding your own emotions, you understand someone else’s emotions more clearly. This makes it easier to relate to other people and put yourself in their position.

You also realize that not everyone processes emotions the same way. This adds an element of diversity to the world as well as to relationships.

Ways to improve emotional intelligence

One of the biggest things that can boost your emotional intelligence is learning how to recognize, understand and manage your emotions.

Many experts believe that developing your self-awareness is one of the most important traits you can have as an individual. You’d like think it would be easy to identify what makes you feel happy or sad, but actually doing so takes practice.

That's because our brains are wired to avoid anything that feels uncomfortable. So, in order to learn how to control your own feelings, you need to be aware of yourself — what makes you emotionally charged and also what doesn't.

You also need to know when those triggers are so you can try to prevent them from bringing about more negative emotions.

Emotional intelligence and job performance

Over the past few decades, emotional quotient (EQ) or “emotional literacy” has become increasingly important in our society. While IQ is still heavily regarded as essential for success, many experts believe that EQ is just as significant if not more so.

IQ tests measure your ability to apply knowledge to solve problems, but they do not assess whether you have control over your own emotions. Many professionals now consider having strong levels of EQ an integral part of their jobs.

In fact, some employers even require it. The importance of emotional skills has grown so rapidly that there are now certification programs for them!

But what does this mean for you? If you feel like your level of EQ is already maxed out, how can you improve it?

Here we will discuss the link between emotional intelligence and career success, and some easy ways to boost yours. We will also look at some surprising things researchers found when studying this connection.

Disclaimer: This article shall not be taken as medical advice nor shall it diagnose any condition. It shall simply offer information gathered from studies conducted thus far. As with all forms of health and wellness, individual results may vary.

Contents:

Understand yourself and others better using the two main components of EQ

There are two major components of emotional intelligence: understanding yourself and other people.

Ways to improve Iq

One of the most important things that can be done to increase your intelligence is learning, which we discussed earlier. But there’s another factor in this equation — something called emotional intelligence.

Emotional intelligence (or EI for short) refers to how well you are able to identify and understand emotions in yourself and others, and use those insights to achieve goals.

Take breaks

Overworking is a common culprit in burn-out for professionals. When you are invested in your career, it can feel impossible to take time off.

But research shows that employees with higher emotional intelligence (EI) enjoy what they do more than those who don’t.

In fact, one study found that every 10 points on a scale of empathy correlated with an 8% drop in stress levels and feeling overwhelmed. 1point=1–2% decrease in stress. 2points = 6 – 7 % decrease in stress. The average person scores around 20 points on this test. This means that people with high EI were able to relate better to others and themselves which reduced tension and stress.

By taking breaks, you give yourself a chance to regroup and reevaluate how you approach your work. You also allow yourself time to think about things outside of work. This helps you focus back on important areas of your life.

Have patience

A lot of people confuse emotional intelligence with what is referred to as ‘emotional literacy’ or being able to identify your emotions. While these are both important, they are not the same.

Emotional intelligence refers to understanding your own feelings and those of others along with the ability to control your own emotions. It also includes how you manage relationships and situations that may be influenced by your emotions.

It is considered a more general skill than emotional literacy, which is specific to certain emotions (for example, identifying sadness).

With that said, having high emotional literacy will help you develop your EQ! Both concepts emphasize the importance of learning about yourself and other people, but only emotionally intelligent individuals can apply this knowledge in everyday life.

Be realistic

Many people confuse emotional intelligence with what is known as “emotional literacy” or “self-awareness,” which are also important components of EI. Emotional literacy refers to being able to recognize your emotions and how they affect others, while self-awareness means knowing yourself well enough to be aware of your strengths and weaknesses.

However, some experts suggest that these two concepts should not be mixed together because they assume that having more emotional knowledge makes you feel less emotion, and feeling less emotion makes you seem like you have greater self-awareness.

Instead, they say that individuals who think they understand emotions actually suppress them and tamp down their feelings in order to appear more in control. This then deprives them of information about how they react to certain situations and people, and thus limits their understanding of themselves and other people.