I have always thought that an individual need to have a high emotional quotient(EQ) to excel at work. In the article, “The Downsides of Being Very Emotionally Intelligent”, Thomas and Adam (2017) mentions that having a high emotional intelligence(EI) is a preferable trait and is beneficial for a managing role but not for a visionary leader. According to Thomas and Adam (2017), “They will be great followers”, “but don’t expect them to be visionary leaders”. An individual with high EI is not a suitable candidate for senior leadership roles.
I think that having the ability to adjust my level of EI for various situations will be the most beneficial for me to adapt at work. Switching to low EI when there is a need to make decision or receiving and giving feedback. Changing my EI to high when I am at a social event or team dinners.
I will target myself to get a low EI by having a mindset of getting work done . I need to be objective and decisive without too much personal emotions in it. I aim to have a high EI by keeping my emotions aside and be an active listener. It is important because I need to effectively relate to others by putting myself in another person’s shoes, to understand the feelings that they are going through instead of mine.
Lastly, I should practice whenever I can. There are many upcoming projects in the next years and if I ever get the role to become the project leader, I seek to be firm with decision and come up with an optimal solution, at the same time listen to what my team members have to share about their problems and perspective.
Ovid once said “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.”. There are many times when people will think that the others are in a better situation than them. After reflecting, I think that at different level of EI is advantageous for the different roles and situations in the workforce. Therefore, I think that there is no definite answer to judge one based on EQ, whether an individual is better than the other.
References
Chamorro-Premuzic.T. and Yearsley.A. (2017). The downsides of being very emotionally intelligent. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved January 12, 2017 from https://hbr.org/2017/01/the-downsides-of-being-very-emotionally-intelligent
