More about EQ

Daniel Goleman popularised the term Emotional Intelligence or EQ. He suggests that EQ is like IQ - except EQ is about how smart we are with human interactions and our own emotions. Goleman’s work builds on the work of Howard Gardner, who identified nine types of intelligences in his book, "Multiple Intelligences".

Goleman identified five components of emotional intelligence:

• Self-awareness
• Self-regulation
• Motivation
• Social skills
• Empathy.

However, some descriptors of what EQ looks like in practice can be deceiving.

For example:

• If you love meeting new people, ask lots of questions after you've been introduced to them, and actively listen to their replies, you might have a degree of empathy and good social skills.
• If you love meeting people, ask lots of questions about how much they earn, and then talk about how much more you earn, you might rate low on the EQ scale.

So EQ is not just about effectively interacting with people, it's also about the effect of those interactions with others. How do people feel after they've met you?

Intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligence

The “ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and action” (Salovey & Mayer, 1990).

Gardner suggests that people can have a range of talents or intelligences. 

Goleman focused on two: Intrapersonal and Interpersonal intelligence. Goleman developed this into his theory of emotional intelligence.