Yes, despite what people may think, you actually can get ahead in the workplace using your emotional intelligence skill set. Some people call it EQ and others refer to it as one of the abilities within soft skills. This sounds like it goes against a lot of conventional thinking that your raw intelligence or IQ, problem solving, and school degrees will get you where you want to go.
Think of it this way – if you were to hire one of two people with exactly the same qualifications but one stood out with better emotional intelligence – chances are, you’d go with the higher EQ candidate. In a competitive field where lots of people are considered “smart” from a traditional standpoint, EQ can definitely help you stand out from the crowd.
And you wouldn’t be alone in thinking this way. Studies show that a single EQ point brings up to an additional $1,300 in your income. Also, emotionally intelligent leadership is seven times more likely to have high performance outcomes. Emotional intelligence is linked to up to 60% of the performance metrics for supervisors and executive leadership.
Learn more about how to improve your emotional intelligence in the workplace with the following visual deep dive below:
