Emotional Intelligence: The Key to Being a Successful Beta

In this article, we will discuss the importance of emotional intelligence and how it can help you become a better beta. Emotional intelligence refers to how we handle ourselves, manage ourselves, lead ourselves, and how we handle our relationships.

Emotional Intelligence for Top Leadership

Recently, a CEO and his team from?a large bank?met with me to learn about emotional intelligence and leadership. They understand that by improving their emotional intelligence together, they can bring the whole organization along, grow their business and make it a strategic decision.

Two Types of Strategy

There are two types of strategies: exploitation and exploration. Exploitation is when a company tries to improve an existing product, while exploration is when a company looks for the next new thing, innovates, and tries to be there before their competitors. Steve Jobs was brilliant at exploration, and it is the reason why he was able to stay ahead of his competitors.

Emotional Intelligence for Betas

Emotional intelligence may seem counterintuitive, but it is what makes us better betas. IQ is important, but emotional intelligence is equally important, if not more. It is because, in real life, there is not just one right answer, and emotions play a huge role in how we handle situations.

Importance of Emotional Intelligence

Let's look at two examples. The first is about a brilliant student with a high IQ who could not get up in the morning on time, missed classes, and never finished his papers. He lacked emotional intelligence and did not know how to manage himself. The second example is about an average student who had fantastic emotional intelligence. He was a great listener, gracious, and fun to be with. He later became the senior vice president of a company and went on to start his own company, which he eventually sold.

The Bell Curve for Performance

The CEO of Blackrock, the world's largest investment company that manages trillions of dollars, once?wondered?why he hires the best and brightest from top schools and companies, but still has a bell curve for performance. The answer is simple. Emotional intelligence is the key. When hiring someone, it is not just about their IQ, personality test, or business expertise, but also their emotional intelligence.

In conclusion, emotional intelligence is the key to being a successful beta. It is essential to how we manage ourselves, lead ourselves, and how we handle our relationships. While IQ is important, emotional intelligence is equally important, if not more. Emotional intelligence enables us to handle situations, manage ourselves, and interact with others effectively, making us better betas in the long run.

Take it to the Next Level and Sign Up for One of Our Programs

My company Wisselbanck works together with the world’s largest banks, leading strategy consulting firms, top business schools and most influential industry though leaders to bring you a unique portfolio of executive programs. From?leadership?to?strategy, from?innovation?to?transformation, we help you and your organisation to flourish. Check out our open enrolment programs below, or contact us for a customised program for your organisation.

Morten Kriek is the founder of?Wisselbanck ?? , co-founder of?The Banking 50 , and holds a Masters Degree in Positive Leadership and Strategy from?IE Business School ?in Madrid. He also completed on-campus executive programs at some of the world's leading business schools including?Columbia Business School ,?Yale School of Management ,?The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth ?and?Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management . Morten is also a certified Positive Psychology Coach from the?Wholebeing Institute .