INSIGHTS
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE BY DANIEL BOBINSKI
T
he research is clear. The main difference that separates top performers from average performers is emotional intelligence (EQ). In technical and middle management positions, two-thirds of top performers were found to have strong EQ and one-third didn’t. It’s even more important in positions of senior management and leadership, where four-fifths of top performers in these roles had strong EQ, whereas only one-fifth didn’t. This metric alone tells us that EQ is a valuable skill, and what’s great is it’s learnable. THE DEFINITION Emotional intelligence can best be described as the ability to perceive and assess one’s own and other people’s emotions, desires, and tendencies, and then make the best decision – in the moment – to bring about the best win-win for everyone concerned. To break that down, two skills are required up front; being able to perceive and assess. Perceiving is the ability to notice. It is what we see and sense. We need to be able to see and sense what’s going on inside of us as well as see and sense what’s going on in others. The second skill is being able to assess. Synonyms could be process, or to make sense of, or to understand. In other words, once we’ve noticed something,
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ICEMAGAZINE | JULY 2022
EQ IS LEARNABLE – HERE’S THE FRAMEWORK we need to be able to make sense of it. The second part of the EQ definition identifies what we are to perceive and assess, and that is emotions, desires, and tendencies. Let’s break those down, but let’s do it in reverse order. Our individual tendencies are what we “tend” to do. When speaking of tendencies, it means one’s preferred cognitive approaches, preferred behavioral approaches, and preferred “drivers,” or motivators. We shouldn’t put people in a box, because people adapt situation by situation depending on what they perceive will be the best thing to do in a given situation. However, people do have preferred tendencies in each of these areas, and this is what we should perceive and assess in our interactions with others. TENDENCIES TO CONSIDER Let’s do a flyover of the three areas of tendencies that deserve the attention of good EQ practitioners. Keep in mind that each area described is a “spectrum,” meaning it’s not either/or. The descriptors are provided simply to help you understand how the tendencies can play out. Cognitive Approaches: • Energy/Interactions – a tendency to prefer being alone or with other people • Information Input – a tendency to notice mainly the here and now versus noticing the future implications of what’s going on now
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Processing – a tendency to process information rather stoically and objectively or to process it in a way that emotions are visible • Decision-Making – a tendency to make decisions right away or a to put off decisions until more data is collected Behavioral Approaches.: • Problems – a tendency to solve problems right way or to let them solve themselves • People – a tendency to verbally influence others to a particular point of view or a tendency to keep quiet and let people arrive to conclusions on their own • Pace – a tendency to juggle multiple projects and appear somewhat hectic or a tendency to be steady and methodical and appear focused • Procedures – a tendency to know and follow the rules or a tendency to shrug off or blatantly ignore rules if they don’t seem to make sense Preferred Drivers/Motivators.: • Knowledge – a tendency to either acquire as much truth and information as possible or a tendency to rely on past experiences and learn new things only when necessary • Utility – a tendency to maximize the return on investment or a tendency to perform work with little expectation of personal return
ADVANCING THE IMAGING PROFESSIONAL
