Connecting The Dots: When will EQ Be Used to Solve Societal Problems and Not Just Organizational Problems?

If you’re involved in pretty much any business in pretty much any way, you’ve probably heard a lot about EQ lately.

We’ve all been told that increasing our EQ or emotional intelligence is the key to increasing our success, building cohesive teams, and improving everything from productivity to profits. Every business influencer out there talks about EQ, and how much kindness matters in the modern workplace.

They’re not wrong.

But the truth is, EQ is not and should not be something you turn on or off at the office door, and if you’re not applying the same principles in every facet of your life, you’re missing the point.

So, what is EQ? Why does it matter? Why is it something that we should all be using to define and refine our responses to everything in life and society? Let’s take a look.

What Is EQ Anyway?

EQ, which is also known as emotional intelligence or emotional quotient is all about how we feel, interpret, and use our emotions to react to the world in a positive way. Usually, we talk about the four pillars of EQ, which are:

·?Self-control, or being able to control your own response to the things that happen to and around you

·??Self-awareness, which means you understand your strengths and weaknesses, and work with them rather than denying they exist

·? Social awareness, or being aware what’s happening around you and having empathy with others

·??Relationship management, which means you know how to create relationships, find common ground and work with people, even when they are different to you

It’s easy to see how this benefits us in the business world. All these things help to build teams, improve collaboration, create common goals, and maintain harmony.

People with high EQ usually make fantastic business leaders, because they know how to really connect with the people they interact with. They’re often seen as thought leaders, and their business ventures usually do well because of their attitude to the world.

What EQ Does in the Workplace

When you have a company that has a lot of people with high EQ, you will have an organization that works better, delivers better results for customers, has lower staff turnover and is a desirable place to?work, among many other benefits. But individuals who have a high EQ also have several other benefits, such as:

·??Even as employees, people with a high EQ perform better – they’re much nicer to work with, and they know how to collaborate with others

·??People who have a high EQ tend to be healthier overall, because they’re not constantly operating at a high level of stress

·??They tend to have better mental health too, because they know how to deal with problems and conflict in healthy ways

·??They have better relationships because people like to be around them

·??They have lives that are full of personal purpose

All round, EQ sounds great, right? It’s no wonder so many businesses now rank EQ as a very desirable trait in their employees.

So why are we leaving EQ at the door of those businesses, instead of applying it to society?

We All Know What the Problems Are

Maybe twenty or thirty years ago, you could argue that people weren’t actively advocating for societal change that we desperately need because they didn’t know the problems existed.

We don’t have that excuse anymore.

We know that women earn pennies on the dollar compared to men. We know that there is still racial bias that permeates every level of society. We know that education is (and should be) a fundamental human right, but it’s out of reach of many for financial reasons. We know that affordable childcare is one of the cornerstones of equality in any society.

The list goes on and on. We know what’s wrong with the world.

We choose not to work towards making the changes we so desperately need.

Instead of being advocates for change every day, we choose to ignore that the problems exist. We stay in our little bubbles of privilege and ignore the fact that there are people out there that are as deserving as we are, that just aren’t getting the same opportunities we are.

Or worse, we decide that they must have done something to be excluded from a society that is built on exclusion.

EQ Is Not a Soft Skill – It’s a Personality Trait

The problem many people seem to have been that they think of EQ as a soft skill, like being good at presenting in a meeting, or being a good motivator for your team. It looks great on your resume, doesn’t it?

It’s so much more than that though.?

Emotional intelligence is not something you can take off and put on like a suit and tie. It’s something that you carry with you all the time, and the good news is that the more you use it, the more skilled you become at using it.

So even if you genuinely don’t know what other people are experiencing as members of our society, making the effort to learn won’t reduce your EQ – it will increase it.

Being an active change maker outside of the office won’t reduce your stores of empathy or emotional intelligence. It will improve it and increase your capacity to work with more people from more diverse backgrounds.

EQ, like IQ, is very much like a muscle. The more you use it, the better it gets, and the more you have to use. So don’t ever be scared that you can care too much – that’s just not possible.

A Pivotal Time

The truth is that while we’re all distracted by conflicting messages, political antics, reality TV and rampant consumerism, we are living in one of the most pivotal times in modern history.

The information age has given us all the power to learn and understand so much more about each other if we just put in the effort.

Shackles that once kept people from certain population groups silent and trapped have been physically removed, and we’re finally starting to see those people break free mentally.

Times, as they say, are changing, whether you like it or not.

It’s very hard to say what the future might hold, but there’s no denying that we live in a time of great social upheaval, and that the floodgates have opened. At this point, there’s no way to slow the flow of change. There’s no way to go back into safe, false realities and pretend that everything was fine before.

There are some that will try, and that will find themselves on the wrong side of history.

But the good news is that change comes from people. Individuals who recognize the need for change, and who use their EQ to help make that change happens. Sure, we might feel like one person can’t change the world – but you can be sure you’re not alone.

There’s a growing army of people out there who are looking at the world with clear, empathetic eyes. Who do see what we really need to change to make the world a fair and equitable place for everyone?

So, if you’ve been working on your EQ at the office, make sure you don’t leave it at the door when you’re done for the day. Because the world needs emotionally intelligent people every second of every day, more than ever.?

Dr. Terry Jackson is C-Suite Advisor, Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coach, Global Leadership Development, Organizational Architect, Thinkers50. Dr. Jackson partners with Executives and Organizations to align Strategy, People and Processes to optimize and sustain Peak Business Performance.?