What is emotional intelligence? Psychologist Adrianna Loveday shares her perspective on how EQ impacts business – discover why it shapes tomorrow’s leaders. Emotional intelligence has become a vital force in navigating today’s complex business landscape. Research suggests that individuals with higher levels of Emotional Intelligence (EQ) become more effective leaders and create better outcomes for their teams and organizations. This behaviour is strongly observed by workplace psychologist and founder of Kairos Consulting, Adrianna Loveday, who is helping executives develop their EQ capacity. “It was once widely accepted that a person’s IQ was the best predictor of success in the workplace, in leadership and in life – but that is actually not the case,” says Ms Loveday.
“LEADERS ARE REQUIRING A NEW SUIT OF ARMOUR TO BE SUCCESSFUL. AND THAT SUIT OF ARMOUR IS EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE.”
What is Emotional Intelligence, and have you Got It?
Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand, use and manage your feelings in a positive way. This can include communicating effectively, relieving stress, and empathizing with others. We all have a certain level of EQ, but even if we do not, there is ample room to develop it, says Loveday. “EQ skills are very different from IQ and tend to be things like empathy, confidence and optimism,” she says. “We are kind of stuck with the IQ we have at 21, while our emotional intelligence grows as we age, so there is plenty of room for improvement.”
Empathy is an EQ skill that is especially relevant in a modern workplace, but Loveday suggests it is not as common as we think. “We help leaders understand why empathy is a hard-edge skill in this day and age and then coach them to identify and develop those abilities that pertain to strong empathy,” she says. Many leaders still lack the concept of empathy. They do not always understand the power and the commercial impact that can have.”
How is Emotional Intelligence Measured?
There are a variety of tools and assessments available to help leaders evaluate their EQ, but serious development requires more than a simple online questionnaire. Loveday prefers EQ evaluations like the Emotional Capital Report (ECR) from Dr. Martyn Newman and Judy Purse. ‘The ten (10) skills measured by the ECR are considered to be the strongest predictors of leadership effectiveness. Evaluation is also correlated with the best worldwide emotional intelligence and research tools. So that is why I like it,” Ms Loveday says. Most of the assessments are investigating four different levels of emotional intelligence including emotional perception, the ability to reason using emotions, the ability to understand emotions, and the ability to manage emotions.
EQ’s Commercial Impact.
There are many forces at work in today’s workplaces that benefit leaders with high EQ. These include the need to create psychologically safe environments, the trend toward non-hierarchical (or flat) organizational structures, and the relationship between organizational purpose and employee fulfillment. “The best leaders prioritize psychological safety and can move from really didactic leadership to very enabling leadership,” says Loveday. “To meet the challenges and opportunities of today, leaders need to understand not just their own emotions, but those of their employees.”
Loveday has seen emotionally smart leaders create more optimistic workplaces, gain more confidence and get better engagement results from their teams. Additionally, business cultures tend to be less toxic, with higher levels of civility and respect.
According to Deloitte, targeted companies have a 40% higher retention rate than other organisations. The four domains of emotional intelligence — self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management — are also highly compatible with purpose-driven leadership, which is proving to have significant benefits within a business.
BREAKOUT: 4 Levels of Emotional Intelligence
1. Perceiving Emotions: Can you understand nonverbal signals like body language and facial
expressions?
2. Reasoning with Emotions: Are you using emotions to help prioritise what you pay attention and
react to?
3. Understanding Emotions: Are you able to interpret the cause of others’ emotions and what it
could mean?
4. Managing Emotions: Are you regulating your emotions and responding appropriately as well as
responding to the emotions of others?