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Newsletter Article
Can Anyone Be Taught Emotional Intelligence?
By Alexandria Herrera, M.S.
Jack Welch’s exit from the helm of General Electric in 2001 didn’t reduce the company’s performance or the public’s curiosity about their internal practices. Most learning departments keep a watchful eye on GE’s leadership development programs, if only because GE has proved to be passionate about developing people and achieves long-term gains from a substantial investment in quality leadership development programs. Easy to copy—right? It can be.
The importance of leadership development is no longer a debatable topic. Any organization looking to compete in today’s fast-paced global economy has some sort of initiative in place to ensure that their budding talent has room to prosper. The tough part, however, is providing programs that matter to both your employees and your organization.
Regardless of industry or job level, individuals looking for professional development all want the same thing— skills that they can apply on the job immediately that will have an enduring impact on their job performance. When it comes to an immediate and unwavering impact on job performance, emotional intelligence (EQ) packs a powerful punch. Why? EQ skills are, quite simply, among the most important we possess. They are more important to job performance than IQ, experience, or technical ability. Studies across industry lines show that EQ predicts job performance 2 to 1 over any other skill.
The good news is that emotional intelligence can be developed. We are all capable of creating new neural pathways in our brains that allow us to behave in an emotionally intelligent manner. Do you know someone who has a co-worker that makes her blood boil every time she’s in the room with him? It doesn’t have to be this way. EQ skills empower people to deal with anyone, in any situation. When she’s able to recognize and fully understand the effect he’s having on her behavior, and use that awareness to manage how she reacts to him, she’ll do more than increase her performance—she’ll save herself the anxiety of facing him during the next team meeting.
