What you don’t know about your emotions could hurt you at work.
That’s the gist of a growing body of business research on “emotional intelligence,” or the capacity to be aware of, control and express your emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically. It is often why some workers and companies succeed while others don’t.
“People with high emotional intelligence make $29,000 more, on average, than their counterparts,” said certified behavior analyst Kerry Goyette, author of the new book “The Non-Obvious Guide to Emotional Intelligence,” out this month from IdeaPress.
“Research has shown that most of the decisions we make are in the emotional centers of our brain,” Goyette said. Making good decisions multiplies one’s skills, she added.
Goyette, also a consultant, said “90 percent of top performers have a higher level of emotional intelligence.”
The Carnegie Institute, in recent research, demonstrated that “85 percent of your financial success” is because of skills in “human engineering.” Those who don’t develop emotional intelligence are running risks, research suggests.
The Center for Creative Leadership found that the primary cause of executives who don’t move up was a deficiency in emotional competence.
Take two people, Goyette added, who are about the same in IQ and technical skills. Which one is promoted? Most of the time it is the one with superior emotional intelligence, she said.
“So,” she asked, “what am I saying? That a high [emotional intelligence] will make you perform better, earn you more money and help your business grow? Yes.”
She added, “Emotional intelligence isn’t just about recognizing and exercising your own emotional life and strengths. It’s also about perceiving and connecting with your environment and the emotional lives of those around you.”
How does one achieve it?
“Get honest feedback from people around you, even if it can sometimes be uncomfortable.”