Emotional Intelligence: What is it?

This post is the first in a series from REDEMPTION/revolution, written by Matt Furr, a gifted leader who’s blog is definitely worth checking out. I could not agree more with him on how critical it is for leaders to understand the importance of “emotional intelligence.”  Matt writes…

I had a great breakfast with a couple of guys who are a bit further down the leadership road than I am. An important part of our conversation was about “emotional intelligence.” It’s an intriguing notion that I’d like to explore for a few days.

Thanks to Facebook, we’ve got a number of IQ tests available to us. For the most part, we’re trying to measure how smart we are. Emotional intelligence is measuring something different. It would seem that there are 2 pieces to EI:

1. how well we know our own selves
2. how well we read and understand the emotional selves of the people around us

Why does EI matter? Let me toss out a couple key reasons:

1. for most leaders, EI will become their ceiling – their effectiveness at leading others will hinge less on the leadership skills they develop over time and more on their ability to “know thyself” and others.

2. our personal emotion (and I’d even say spiritual) health rides on our capacity to know ourselves – our faith journey cannot be distinguished from our journey toward emotional adulthood. It will impact our perspective on God and His role in our lives.

Do a quick little test for yourself…ready?

On a scale of 1-5, rate yourself in these ways:
1=never
2=rarely
3=sometimes
4=mostly
5=always

1. I take time to reflect on how I respond to others or present ideas during a meeting.
2. I eagerly invite others to give me their impressions of my motives and growth points based on our interactions.
3. I know when I’m reacting in fear or pride during a conversation.
4. I consistently take the emotional temperature in a room and tailor my response accordingly.
5. It matters to me how my interactions impact others during a meeting or conversation.

Add your score and see where you fall…

5-7 Have you ever read Dilbert? You know the manager? Yeah…
7-14 There are probably some great growth steps for you to take in the area of EI.
15-22 You’re growing in this area and are probably eager to grow some more.
23-25 Yeah, right…have you ever read Dilbert? You know the manager?

The great thing about emotional intelligence, is that we can all take some steps of growth, if we determine to. So where are you? And do you want to grow your EI IQ?

Check out the rest of the series:

Emotional Intelligence: Self-awareness

Emotional Intelligence: Awareness of Others pt 1

Emotional Intelligence: Awareness of Others pt 2

Emotional Intelligence: Being A Thermostat

Emotional Intelligence: What’s The Big Deal?