Not so fast Brainiacs! Why IQ isn't as important as you think.

It is the general consensus of the public that those among us with genius level IQ's are the most successful people around. They get into the best colleges, have high paying job offers coming in every which way, and do the best at their work. I felt this way also until I came across a presentation by author and psychologist Daniel Goleman, who is a proponent against the importance played on a person's IQ. Rather than focus on someone's smarts, Goleman bases his view on a human's brain on how they handle themselves and their relationships, or their emotional intelligence. He stresses the importance of this because while one's IQ is only based on a person's smarts, emotional intelligence controls all the other abilities our brain is responsible for. This means that the geniuses with only a sky high IQ are considered more limited by Goleman in comparison to their coworkers with high amounts of emotional intelligence.

Goleman continues his approach on his belief when discussing what companies should look for in new employes. He says that they should look at the qualities that make their star workers so great in comparison to average workers and look for the same traits in possible employees. When doing this, Goleman says it will be clear that while a good IQ is necessary to be considered for an opening, a high emotional intelligence is going to fit in with the star worker mode. Goleman breaks down the top six qualities employers should look for when trying to hire stars in the making :

(1.) a singular drive to achieve

(2.) have an impact / influence

(3.) pattern recognition analysis

(4.) takes on challenges without being told

(5.) persistent in tackling problems

(6.) self confident

Every one of these star worker qualities properly describes a person with a great emotional intelligence. This information goes on to show that while it is nice to have a ton of smarts, workers need to be well rounded in today's world to get to the top.

To view Goleman's piece on this topic, click the link here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hoo_dIOP8k

Traditionally society has measured a person's potential for success by their intelligence as measurable by IQ. However recent insight into what makes a leader great may suggest that IQ is only a part of one's ability to be successful and potentially not even the most important part. This is a theory championed by a prominent writer and psychologist Daniel Goleman, who recently spoke to an audience of Google employees.
The basis of Dr. Goleman's belief is the existence of different types of intelligence, specifically intellectual and emotional. He says that although test and other academic means may be able to measure IQ they do not give an accurate reading of emotional intelligence and it is this latter trait that plays the largest role in determining the success of a leader. His beliefs also firmly rest on the relationship between IQ and emotional intelligence being random.
The essence of Dr. Goleman's belief is that at a certain level of leadership the entire population is at or beyond an above average IQ emotional intelligence will still have a random distribution and those who are most adept in this category will most likely succeed. These leaders will be able to use their left pre-frontal cortex to control the instinctual stress responses of the amygdala and allow the person to best focus on finding a solution. Goleman also argues that it is necessary to have emotional intelligence to make decisions because although it is largely IQ that reasons costs and benefits it is the emotions that can then compare those cost and benefits to prioritize the solutions. It is thus just as important that one spend time developing emotional intelligence as well as IQ.

IQ vs. EQ

Emotional intelligence describes the ability, capacity, skill or ability, to identify, assess, and manage the emotions of one's self, of others, and of groups. Daniel Goleman spends much of his time being an advocate for the importance of Emotional intelligence. He explains that emotional intelligence is very important in determining success. He goes on to explain that it can be even more important that an individual’s IQ when determining job success.


He then talks about how the brain evolved from the bottom up from evolution. He states that when it got to mammals they needed a brain that can register emotions. He then goes on to explain how a structure in the mid brain called the Amygdala. Most information goes to the sensory cortex, but a small part of it goes to the Amygdala that scans to see if it is a threat. He then explains that it is a hair trigger and has the ability to activate and axis that preoccupies our attention to what emotion overwhelms us.

There are four parts to emotional intelligence. The first is self awareness which is very important for decision making. The second is Self-management which has to do with self control. The third and fourth are social awareness and relationship management. According to Daniel Goleman, these four parts are what make up emotional intelligence.

To take an emotional intelligence test you can go here.....

http://psychology.about.com/library/quiz/bl_eq_quiz.htm

Emotional Intelligence

Success in the American society often refers to the financial aspect; the more money one makes, the bigger the house and the nicer the car, and thus success. Especially in America today, IQ, GPA, and SAT are common, everyday acronyms that, from an early age, define success. One who receives straight A's and graduates Summa Cum Laude is the one whom is admired by his or her fellow students. However, in my humble opinion, success is not defined by wealth, nor popularity, nor security. Success can only be defined by you.
Thus the world of Emotional Intelligence. This concept introduces the belief that success, rather than just money or natural intelligence, is defined by our Social intelligence. The individual who does not only have the natural intelligence but also the social intelligence is the most successful. This emotional intelligence focuses on 4 main aspects: Understanding, Managing, Perceiving, and Using your emotions. By accomplishing and mastering these concepts, one is able to be socially applicable and have high self-motivation along with high self-confidence.

The "all-around" person is one who is generally referred to as being intelligent, whether it be in school, society, or both. These people are more generally the first hired in the "real" world, as they show their employers both the mental and emotional intelligence needed to be "successful." For these employers, the leadership and social abilities are more important to their business than solely intellectual ability.

Daniel Goleman's video reintroduces an eye-opening idea that can benefit society. Emotional intelligence is arguably the most important aspect of having success, not just the intellectual aspect (see picture above). In most cases, Emotional Intelligence is more important than intellectual intelligence, and needs to be widely accepted as such.

Emotional Intelligence vs. IQ

It would be easy to assume that those who are most successful in life are those that have the highest IQ's, or the highest levels of intelligence. However, Daniel Goleman argues that IQ is only a part of what makes people succeed, but not necessarily the most important part. Factors of emotional intelligence that govern success (more-so than raw intellect does) include emotional mastery, motivation and empathy. IQ is a threshold ability which means that you must be smart enough to get into the game (i.e. college, grad school), but what allows you to become an emergent leader is your level of emotional intelligence. For example, self-mastery is a very important cause of success, and this is controlled in the basil ganglia, which observes every situation we do in life and decides what works and what does not. This tells us what is right or wrong as a gut feeling. Those who are successful have an active "social brain" which is wired to connect with the social brain of another personal and this reads everyone else's non-verbal cues. For all of these reasons, emotional intelligence plays a more significant role in determining one's success than raw intelligence, or IQ, alone. It is what causes one to stand out and emerge as a leader after entering the game.

Don't be afraid to show emotions, everybody my age does. It's the coolest.

The old saying, "You can't judge a book by its cover," means that when you have only seen the surface of something, you cannot know what is on the inside. Researcher Daniel Goleman is trying to open people’s minds to show how our emotions may be more important than our IQ. Our EQ, or our Emotional Intelligence, relates to how we handle other people and situations that arise. In handling these situations humans are actually controlling their emotions to keep determined and succeed. In other words we may now be able to attribute someone's success to their EQ and how they control their emotions. All emotions affect our lives either negatively or positively. So don't be afraid to show your emotions, even if you do get embarrassed, because it’s how you use you EQ in response to the situation that will lead you to success.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoD9LCGsjas

Emotional Intelligence vs. IQ, which is smarter?

A person's IQ has always been a used as a measure of a person potential to acheive success in the workplace. However Daniel Goleman argues that emotional intelligence is more important in becoming a leader and a success in the workplace. Emotional intelligence stresses factors like self-awareness, motivation, empathy, emotional mastery, and social effectiveness. If you are want to understand what Emotional Intelligence is a bit more try finding out your own EIQ here.

http://discoveryhealth.queendom.com/eiq_abridged_access.html

Dr. Goleman stressed six distinguishing abilities that are tell tale signs of an emotionally intelligent person in the workplace.

#1 - A Singular Drive to Acheive

• displaying high internal standard and sets challenging goals

#2 - Impact or Influence those around them

• hold their own in a debate, or influence and audience

#3 - Pattern Recognition

• Able to identify underlying problems

#4 - Analysis

• Can draw logical conclusions

#5 - Takes on Challenges
#6 - Self-Confidence

A person displaying these traits is an extremely emotionally intelligent person and according to Dr. Goleman will be a success as a leader in the workplace. In the battle of IQ vs. Emotional Intelligence Dr. Goleman shows that IQ is a qualifying basis that can get you into "the game." However without emotional intelligence you will not be able to go very far. A leader must posses the skills to understand his or her own emotions and the emotions of those around them.

A crucial part of managing your emotions is managing your "fight or flight" response. When confronted with a problem or stress at work your amygdala will activate and in some cases even "Hijack" your body. Chemicals readying your body to react against a physical stress will only increase your stress at work and can cause you to react inappropriately in the workplace.
Watch this video to further understand the amygdala hijack and its affect today

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShAeGDqT0xU