Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
What is emotional intelligence (EQ)?
- According to the Oxford dictionary emotional intelligence is defined as:the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one's emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically."emotional intelligence is the key to both personal and professional success"
How is this different than intelligence quotient (IQ)? 💡🤔
An intelligence quotient (IQ) is a total score derived from a set of standardized tests or subtests designed to assess human intelligence
Most experts are now stating that EQ is actually MORE important than IQ in terms of becoming successful. EQ is just more challenging to quantify than IQ since IQ can be determined from a series of standardized tests and EQ is more intangible. In fact, it is suggested that 90% of top performers in most careers actually have high EQs with less emphasis on IQ (Bradbury, 2015).
Behaviors of Emotionally Competent Individuals
After reviewing the article by Travis Bradbury (2015) about "The 18 Behaviors of Emotionally Competent Individuals," it was very enlightening to become aware of my own characteristic traits and how I interact with others. While I thought I was someone with a fairly high EQ, I discovered several areas of improvement that I could focus on to further enhance my EQ while I continue on my path to becoming a leader.
+ My Positive EQ attributes +
+ Curiosity about people: I'm always curious about everyone around me! I find myself always wanting to know what their story is and what they have been through. You can learn a lot through other's life experiences. I also listen and absorb what is happening around me to learn about people's preferences, moods, and history, without even engaging in a conversation. Environmental and social awareness to your surroundings are extremely important and a bunch of information can be gained only by attentiveness.
+Embrace change: With the multitude of changes that are rapidly taking place in the healthcare field and the evolution of the leadership role this is a very important trait to possess. I am often one of the first in my unit to trial a new process and enjoy trying out new ideas, especially when they help with the efficiency of the unit.We are shifting into the digital age because of rapid advances in technology and in order to effectively be a quantum leader one must learn to manage the complexity and exponential changes occurring in the medical field (Albert et al., 2022).
+Awareness of strength and weaknesses: In the past 5 years, my self-awareness of my positive and negative attributes has grown immensely. Being aware of what your strengths are assist in your ability to bring them to the forefront and provide maximal contribution to an organization or team. It is equally important to know what your weaknesses are so you can work on ways to turn them into your strengths eventually. Knowing your weaknesses also allows you to be cognoscente of the areas you also might need to have more reliance on your team members to augment these specific areas.
+Give and expect nothing in return: The best gifts that you give to people are those that you give when there is nobody around to acknowledge that you have done it. This is a true act in which you want to do something for somebody else and you only do it for them without any preconceived expectations. You don't 'keep score' and your intentions are genuine and from the heart. In fact, the act of doing something for others releases the hormone oxytocin and this hormone actually helps with stress and anxiety reduction (MarieTV, 2017).
It was also emphasized that doing something for another individual that includes an act of effort and/or time rather than a monetary or tangible gesture were the types of acts that were ultimately found to be most meaningful and cause the greatest impact on self and increased oxytocin release in studies (MarieTV, 2017). Conversely, cortisol is released when you are angry or upset and increases the stress response. This diminishes the release of oxytocin and leads to even more feelings of anxiety. Therefore, it can be concluded that the more acts of giving within a team can help with stress reduction which helps with the overall health of the team (MarieTV, 2017)!
- My Negative EQ attributes -
- Being easily offended: I often take things to heart even when the intention of the message was not one of a hurtful nature. Although I say that I like to receive constructive criticism to improve myself overall, the feedback can make me feel inadequate and make it difficult for me to not be hurt by the information. As discussed in previous webcasts from last week about focusing on the negatives, there may be multiple positive attributes about ourselves, but our brain tends to focus on the negative attribute that was pointed out, even if it was only one. I tend to take the defensive rather than keeping an open mind and am aware of this flaw. Now that I have become more aware, I am making an active effort to change my way of thinking to understand the reasoning behind comments that I find offensive, and how these might actually be indicators of ways that I can make improvements in myself as a leader.
-Not knowing how to say no: Saying no to others has been a constant struggle for me throughout my lifetime. I thrive off of seeing others happy and if I am asked to be of assistance, despite what repercussions it might have for myself, I will often put their needs before my own. However, as we are reminded on every safety check on an airplane before takeoff, 'you must put on YOUR oxygen mask before assisting others.' Without taking care of ourselves, it will make it more difficult to help others, and sometimes, not saying no will just enable others to take advantage of your willingness if they are certain the answer will always be yes. However, when reviewing an article regarding the hiring process at google corporation, being a "yes man" was actually not deemed as a positive quality within the corporation during the hiring process as this is just conforming to what others want you to do rather than being your own person and expanding your own ideas and creativity. During the hiring process there, it was actually discussed that the most successful people have their own ideas, take a stance, and will argue their side of a situation. (Thygesen, 2014).
A little side thought that came to mind was a scene in the movie Bruce Almighty [Film] where Jim Carey (who is playing the role of God) attempts to make everyone happy by saying yes to everyone's prayers. In the end, just saying yes was not what was ultimately best for society and ended up causing mass chaos!
- Excess caffeine intake and inadequate sleep: I actually laughed out loud when I read limit your caffeine intake because anybody that knows me knows that I'm a highly caffeinated individual.
My life slogan would be that I run off of sunshine and caffeine. 😄 Inadequate sleep and caffeine consumption are two areas of my life that I have known are the major contributing factors to having suboptimal health in comparison with what my maximum health potential is. While I am overall healthy and have healthy habits, these are two that I have known need improvement. They can both have an effect on the way that you interact with others.-Seeking perfection: As our text pointed out, perfection is an impossibility, but for some reason I continue to believe that I can strive to achieve this. I often read and re-read the same thing I have written multiple times in an over-analytical tone. I scrutinize many aspects of my day to day life at an attempt to keep everyone happy and processes running smoothly without realizing that perfection is not a necessity to be successful. In fact, I discovered that some errors that happen in fact help growth potential and are not always a negative factor.
I resonated deeply with the preconceived notions in the blog post by Brene Brown about shame and vulnerability. Brown highlighted that it is often perceived that women feel as though they are expected to do it all, and to do it all with grace. Men on the other hand are expected to not show weakness. As time goes on and we continue to evolve, I hope that recognizing that these are NOT realities and should be portrayed as traits of strength and courage to admit that you DO need help and you might have some vulnerabilities that are not actually weaknesses. (TEDx, 2011).
My Overall Conclusion....
The best mix of traits is a combination of high IQ and high EQ. However, in terms of the importance of career success, high EQ will generally win in a head-to-head comparison with IQ (BigThink, 2013).
Daniel Coleman (2013) provides great information about several factors to consider regarding emotional intelligence. Coleman reports how IQ is increasing worldwide but not necessarily EQ. He also emphasizes the need for social emotional learning programs to start being introduced into more school curricula as it would have a huge impact to the development of a person's EQ while the standard curriculum would solely develop their IQ. In addition, there are differences in EQ across varying cultures and between genders.
Leaders with High EQ
There are some leaders that come into your life that make a difference that sticks with you throughout your career. The current role that I am in is the longest period of time that I have stayed in one position as I was previously shifting roles trying to find my calling. The primary reason for this recent consistency within my current position can be directly correlated to the leadership and teamwork within my area. Strong leaders help to create strong cohesive teams. Several characteristics that I have learned from this leader, I strive to achieve for myself as I evolve into a leadership role in the future. She was actually a graduate of the current nursing program that I am enrolled in and inspired me to want to further my leadership skills within the institution. The concepts that I am learning in my current educational path I'm finding to already be extremely helpful in my current role and personal life, in addition to obtaining skills for future advancement to a leadership oriented role.
Shame and Vulnerability
I could not wrap up this blog without discussing this topic because I feel it's incredibly important for everyone's lives. Brene Brown's TEDTalk about shame and vulnerability is one that I could watch on repeat. Vulnerability is a scary term for most people because it can be viewed as weakness and make them feel as if they are not viewed as strong and will then be taken advantage of. However, as discussed by Brown (2011), it is actually a sign of strength through courage. To increase emotional competence and to become a better leader, a certain degree of vulnerability has to be displayed. Brown also points out that vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity, and change. We have learned throughout our text, that without these three things you can't progress and your change trajectory for improvement will fall short. The healthcare field is one of complexity and increasing amounts of change and there is not a maximal growth potential as a leader without expressing vulnerability. The negative connotation to this word needs to be removed in our culture due to the multiple positive benefits of the experience of vulnerability.
👏👏As the weeks are progressing, I have certainly become more self-aware of my personality, tendencies, and areas for improvement. This marks the halfway point of my blog and I'm thrilled to see how much further I go!
References:
Albert, N. M., Pappas, S.H., Porter-O’Grady. T., Malloch, K. (2022). Quantum leadership: Creating sustainable value in health care. (6th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
BigThink (2012, April 23). Daniel Goleman Introduces Emotional Intelligence | Big Think. [Video] YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7m9eNoB3NU
Bradberry, T. (2015). 18 behaviors of emotionally intelligent people. TIME.
TEDxTalks. (2011, January 3). The power of vulnerability | Brené Brown. [Video] YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCvmsMzlF7o&t=2s
Thygesen, K. (2014). Why emotional intelligence is more important to hiring than you think. Fast Company. https://www.fastcompany.com/3029306/why-you-should-make-emotional-intelligence-the-cornerstone-of-your-hiring-strategy
MarieTV. (2017) Simon Sinek on how to be a great leader and inspire others around you. | Simon Sinek. [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/NzBqJNh8z2U
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