EQ vs IQ - that old chestnut…
I recently read an interesting article in Inc. by Jessica Stillman talking about why EQ (Emotional Quotient) is far more important than IQ for entrepreneurial success. Jessica goes on to talk about a university study delivering clear cut results to back this point up. There is a link to the full article at the bottom of the blog, it has some other useful links in there too.
In the areas I work I find IQ (or cognitive intelligence) very important, EQ alone is not enough. When working with technical subjects (data, analytics, finance, tech development) we need technical people with high cognitive ability. We need those people in our businesses so we do not compromise quality of design and delivery. We need intelligent people in our technical specialist areas and we need technical leaders who understand the work and can support other technical people who speak the same language. Once we have these people we have completed half the job. To optimise their capability we need to ensure people are well equipped to navigate our organisations successfully to make the best of the cognitive intelligence they have. It’s great to have a really good set of tools but sometimes we need help to make the best of them. This is where EQ comes in. Whilst cognitive intelligence is relatively fixed by the time we are adults (as is personality) our EQ can be improved with the right focus and support. All we have to do is recognise it and then choose to do something about it, helping our technical leaders develop some of those all important skills that correlate with success in business across many studies.
This presents an opportunity to move away from the debate of EQ vs IQ, it’s not a choice we should be making. We can help our technical specialists be much more impactful in their work by helping them develop their EQ. This will deliver better results for them, their teams and their organisation. Whilst it may be interesting to look at EQ vs IQ for entrepreneurs we should not have to choose one over the other in this particular space, we can simply have our cake and eat it.
Should you wish to discuss any of the points in this article or start developing EQ further with your technical specialists please feel free to get in touch.
Ade is an experienced business leader and a registered coach with the European Coaching and Mentoring Council (EMCC). He is also a certified assessor of Emotional Intelligence (EI/EQ) using EQ-i 2.0 from Multi-Health Systems. Ade helps leaders & top talent develop through coaching based programmes and has a particular focus on technical leaders. He has a background in data/analytics/finance and leading large teams of technical specialists prior to specialising in this work though North Peak.
Link to article in Inc.
https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/emotional-intelligence-iq-entrepreneurial-success-google.html
