Leveraging EQ and IQ is the Key to Smart Performance

An emotional quotient (EQ) is one's capability to understand and manage their emotions and those of others. On the other hand, an intelligence quotient (IQ) is one's capacity to solve problems, think critically and reason logically.

For example, your friend can walk into your office and ask for five minutes to chat over an issue like they could be grieving after losing a loved one. This challenge has affected their work in office because they can hardly stay motivated and focused.

You can offer a listening ear, lend your support, assure them they’ll get through, or provide your professional opinion on overcoming grief.

Your first response showcases your EQ), while the second response uses your IQ.

Although a certain reaction and a set of skills may naturally arise in an individual, both EQ and IQ are equally needed for personal and professional life and development.

The ability to develop an all-rounded skill set and knowing when to switch between the two quotients can greatly improve an individual's communication skills and help develop resilience to numerous challenges in life.

Emotional intelligence skills include self-awareness, self-motivation, empathy, etc.

These skills help one name one's feelings and consequent behaviour; therefore, recognizing these behaviours in others becomes easy once you have mastered them.

For instance, if you are a businessperson working with a problematic customer, your emotional intelligence is supposed to give you the tools to approach the situation calmly and professionally.

A person with mature emotional intelligence skills is self-aware and a supportive communicator.

On the other hand, the intelligence quotient measures one's capacity to learn, comprehend, and apply knowledge to everyday activities.

This includes skills like reasoning and communication. A person with a mature IQ knows how to filter out irrelevant information, retain important details, and solve complex issues.

Developing and growing your IQ provides the necessary resources to create an effective communication strategy.

It helps one organize one's thoughts and communicate clearly with persuasive details to reassure the other person about problems.

However, this growth does not happen by accident. One has to be coached to build habits, confidence, and clarity so that they can become the best versions of themselves.

The following are some of the differences between EQ and IQ:

Type of Ability: One's EQ refers to one's emotional abilities and social skills, such as emotional regulation, cognitive empathy, and motivation. On the other hand, IQ is measured by mental and intellectual skills, such as thinking critically and analytically, working memory, and retaining knowledge.

Information Processing: An individual's EQ gives them the ability to perceive and understand their and others' emotions based on information like verbal and nonverbal cues. Consequently, one's IQ ensures their efficiency in learning, interpreting, and processing information to develop hard and soft skills.

Interpersonal skills versus job performance: A person with pleasing EQ easily empathizes with others and controls their reactions, significantly influencing their ability to create rewarding relationships. A good IQ makes one competent and efficient with a robust skill set.

Internal versus external knowledge: Increased EQ results in immense self-awareness in identifying one's emotions and subsequent behaviours.

Increased IQ means acquiring tangible knowledge and practising concrete skills like solving logic puzzles and good performance on verbal exams.

Problem-solving skills: A person's EQ and IQ work in harmony to resolve conflicts. EQ helps one understand other people's perspectives and control emotional responses, and IQ determines how one can solve an issue logically and efficiently.

Growth: People improve their emotional competency through reflection and experience. To some extent, this is true for the growth of one's IQ; human intelligence is heavily associated with a complex mixture of genetics and childhood development.

Which one is more important?

Both EQ and IQ are important. An emotionally intelligent person will easily navigate social and emotional situations.

At the same time, someone with good intellectual intelligence will have good cognitive tools that will enable them to understand and overcome daily routine problems.

Although IQ measurement procedures like standardized tests were associated with work performance in the past, recent studies have suggested otherwise on the relationship between IQ and EQ.

Skills like self-confidence, stress management, and motivation are non-cognitive abilities that can significantly impact an individual's ability to perform their job.

Learning to balance both EQ and IQ is integral to living a successful and fulfilling life within and without the office.

Although EQ and IQ are important, people with strong emotional intelligence tend to live more successful lives.

Such individuals nurture healthier workplace environments with higher productivity, employee retention, and profitability.

EQ and IQ Tests for measuring abilities

Individual tests for EQ and IQ are a good way of assessing where you stand to enable you to develop a plan for improving your emotional and cognitive skills.

There are a few tests available that an individual can use to test their EQ and IQ. They include:

-The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale

-The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale

-The Woodcock-Johnson Test for Cognitive Abilities

-Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test

-Situational Tests for Emotional Management (STEMs)

5 ways to improve your EQ and IQ

Continuous learning: Continuously learning new information propels your brain to create new neural connections due to the human brain's neuroplasticity, which makes it malleable.

Therefore, the more an individual studies, the stronger the connections become. This helps one retain the information studied and create a new skill set.

Making good sleep a priority: An individual with a regular, healthy sleep schedule has an improved brain ability to process information.

Quality REM (Regular Eye Movement) sleep improves creative problem-solving skills by solidifying associations between unrelated ideas.

This happens during a person's sleep cycle when their brain is most active. Sometimes, shutting eyes might be the answer for someone struggling to solve significant problems.

Listening to music and exercising: Exercising and listening to music are two proven ways to improve cognitive abilities. Combining the two will make you enjoy and improve your EQ and IQ.

Writing down your ideas: jotting down your ideas will help you process your thoughts and effectively work through challenges.

To improve your EQ, write down your emotions throughout the day while joining with behaviours you think they cause.

Continuously review the entries to get a clear understanding of the way you tick. To improve your IQ, use your journaling practice to solve complex problems by either creating a pros and cons list or solving mathematical problems.

Seek professional help: Consult mental health professionals and life coaches to help you build effective and thoughtful action plans and offer novel strategies to try.

These professionals can hold you accountable so that you feel motivated and reach your self-improvement goals.

Always aim to work smarter, not harder. Regarding EQ vs. IQ, both are important. An individual's ability to improve and leverage both skills will determine their performance in every area of life.

Deliberate on taking EQ and IQ tests to determine your baseline. Next, set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound) improvement goals.

Ensuring a little self-reflection and a bit of strategic goal setting, you will have started your journey of developing high emotional and intellectual proficiencies.