Hello friends, hope all is good with you. This blog ponders over whether one's EQ (Emotional Quotient i.e. Behavioral Aptitude) or IQ (Intelligence Quotient) or both, play a key role at work.
Both are obviously, important. However, to some extent, EQ is more key than IQ at work. This is given that while IQ is considered minimum expectation in terms of skills etc., EQ is key to making things happen while working with other people cordially. This realization should be driving one's actions at work. However, a lot of times one's emotions like anger, ego etc. clouds this reasoning, and makes one act exactly contrary to this. And then one is left facing the professional consequences and trying to recover from the same.
I wish that in addition to academic skills, equal importance is given to teaching students at school and in college (and that communities and families do so as well), how to hone their inter personal and presentation skills. It will stand them in good stead in their professional lives (and will have a positive rub off on their personal adult lives as well).
A few points/observations from my end below on why EQ is key at work:-
(1) To get work done:- Especially a few years into your career, most of the projects you do involves other people doing the actual bulk of the work, and you needing the help and approvals of others. This could involve peers, leaders, team members, and colleagues in support functions, internally. And also business/vendor partners or clients, externally. So, if you do not work well with people, all work is kaput. Period! Man or Woman is most definitely not an island at work!
(2) It is key for your people / your teams:- As a leader, you are only as good as the team you have. So treasure your team, and do what you can to help in their professional growth to retain them. This is one more reason you should watch your own behavior at work. So that, folks would like to work for you. Also, if you yourself do not do well professionally to be around, or build the right connects with leadership, how will you manage to get career growth for your teams?! Also, if you make enemies at work and you are safe (due to your position, etc.), guess who your enemies at work will go after to cause you indirect hurt? Your team members! They could scuttle your team members' salary hikes, promotions etc., in internal appraisal moderations, internal job interviews etc.
(3) Within Org/internal dealings, are as important, as with external players e.g. Clients:- Many a professional is at their best behavior with clients but are nasty or indifferent to folks within their own Org. e.g. We have many a Sales person at their best behavior with clients, but not so when it comes to them dealing with internal folks like the Pre-Sales or Business Development folks. Pretty counter-intuitive I would say, given that in most Orgs, Sales folks are dependent almost always on e.g. these Pre-Sales folks for delivering anything to their clients in the deal or sales process! Sales folks who appreciate efforts of Sales support folks and e.g. get that extra 1-2 days from the client for a RFP response submission, will notice the enthusiastic sales support they get :-).
(4) Grapevine is also key :- Many who are involved with client work and sales, focus on inter-personal and inter-departmental dynamics within a client's Org to manage e.g. a sales deal. However, how come the same is ignored conveniently within one's own firm? If you do not understand intra-company dynamics among people and teams, you could stir up hornet's nest(s), and leading to unsavory situations for yourselves, your teams, and eventually for those you serve i.e. clients)! To be clear, you don't need to indulge in work place politics yourselves. However, you do need to be aware of it and ensure your actions are managed as per the realities of office politics which exists in every every office (and will exist till end of humanity). A relative who used to run a pharmacy with 2 staff members, told me that even in such a small establishment there is some form of professional rivalry between those 2 folks :-).
(5) EQ is important in/at every type of Org, role, and level of seniority :- Even CEOs have to manage the Board, investors and analysts, other than keeping their Org motivated. Even college freshers in their first jobs, need to get reviews done etc. cordially, even when not leading teams or managing clients independently. Last but not the least, there is a misconceived notion that certain types of careers e.g. in Academia or in Public Sector do not need EQ to be a focus aspect. e.g. a research grant request for you and your team might get rejected by the concerned University body, given your lousy image due to poor EQ. Even in "Individual Contributor" roles, EQ matters. If you are a brilliant but boorish inventor, e.g. you will be subject to niggling approval headaches etc. And the staunchest of introverts does feel the pinch of all this, while facing adverse professional fallouts.
(6) Team, peers, and seniors - All are key :- Needless to say, don't burn bridges with your senior leadership. They do hold the key to most aspects of evaluation at work. So e.g. don't get into an intellectual argument with a boss in a public setting, as even if you gain a seeming victory, you have lost (mostly) at work. Simple rules of human psyche! Just not worth it! Some folks, get this, but don't cover themselves in glory in their dealings with their peers or teams. Since, "If I have taken care of the bosses, how do others matter?!" Not true! You need your teams to help you at work, and peers do come handy e.g. with their experience in a sticky situation. Also if you aim to get in to the leadership team of your firm, a key aspect of the evaluation is how your teams and peers perceive you. e.g. your leadership would go with views of your team member who has been with the firm longer, on if you meet the firm's standards on performance and conduct. So to be on the safe side, be good with all!
(7) Your personal image at work, does matter :- It most definitely does not pay at work to be a brilliant but uncouth lout, as opposed to being a widely liked professional. Rest assured to hear this perpetual whine from the brilliant louts about the widely liked but 'less bright' guy/gal' getting all the success. Note that, at no point am I saying that only a friendly disposition with no real skills will help you become successful. However, as you get senior, someone with a better EQ might do much better than you even if he/she as per you is lower on the IQ scale (unless train smashingly bad on the IQ front). Someone with a bad, loutish image at work, is avoided to be on teams working on career enhancing deals and projects. Don't have any doubts that, EQ is a very big part of the consideration on whether you get that coveted leadership position. By the same token, folks should not leave a company on bad terms, as a lousy impression left could harm your prospects of being rehired if you fall on bad times.
(8) Only technical and subject skills alone, cannot get things done for you :- Please understand that, you most probably will never be the only skilled person around at work. So, your good EQ and behavior could become a differentiator, and anyways cannot harm you. As a leader, since hands on work is more done by the teams and you lead them and manage client expectations, your EQ becomes very key as a measure of your competence. Also, doing good quality work sitting in your corner quietly, and it getting noticed on its own, does not happen usually in the real professional world. In addition to your quality of work speaking for itself through e.g. client accolades, route it subtly to leadership via your immediate manager while giving due credit to your team members who helped you in the process.
(9) There are no secrets in the professional world :- Good EQ would also include to be silent when need be, and be discrete about what we tell anyone else at work. Please be sure that folks at work do talk to each other, and there are no secrets at work. So, e.g. don't crib about things at work to colleagues, though the way human mind works you would find it attractive to "confide" to someone at work. :-). If the wrong kind of utterances from you reach the unintended recipient and especially through a person with malicious intents not known to you, the consequences for you might not be pleasant (sometimes unknown to you).
(10) Do not confuse good EQ at work with flattery etc.:- While it is true that there are folks who resort to flattery rather than display genuinely good EQ, do ensure that we don't misconstrue good EQ as flattery and hence not make the right efforts to improve our own EQ at work. In fact I would go as far as to say that, better to be a person with equal skill who does flattery, rather than be someone with poor EQ. One would otherwise professionally lose out to the flatterer unnecessarily.
My sincere apologies if you find any or all of the above points incorrect [Or even unsavory :-) ]. Do feel free to send in your comments.
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