I'm So (not) Ready to Become CEO: On EQ in the Workplace

Emotional Intelligence, or EQ, has been a ‘hot topic’ in organizational development and corporate survival for more than 20 years, and the field only continues to grow and impact organizations around the globe today. The overall concept and supporting research initially thrilled me years ago, but it was only recently that ‘life happenings’ suggested that I look back into it. What I found completely changed my perspective on what I thought I was prepared to do ‘yesterday’: Become CEO.

So, I did what all aspiring CEOs do – I bought some books and read them. OK – there’s more that goes into a CEO role, or so I’ve read.

A bad joke aside, one of the most surprising findings on EQ in the workplace is how it varies significantly between titles. According to authors of Emotional Intelligence Appraisal, Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves, there is a sharp decline in EQ with every title after “manager.” On average, senior executives and CEOs have EQ scores 5 – 8 points lower than individual contributors, supervisors and managers.

This fun fact only becomes scarier when the same authors cite research showing EQ has more influence on job performance and professional success than any other skill.

OK – so back to me. Before I dug up this and other fun facts on EQ, personal and social competence and success in the workplace, I thought,

"I’d make a great CEO. I’m a big picture thinker who has an eagle eye for operational gaps and opportunities others don’t see. I’m the first one to jump and fill those gaps or concept solutions. I’ve been told I’m pretty intelligent. I live and die by concepts like “KAIZEN” and driving operational excellence is almost as important to me as breathing. What else could possibly matter when trying to grow revenue, optimize operations, solve business problems and strategically implement strategic things?!"

Oh yeah, that one problem I didn’t think about solving for – people. People are problems. People are also solutions. People and their problems and their solutions are important, too. *ah hah!* Surely a good EQ should help me with that.

That means that to be CEO (or any kind of successful leader), one must know how to manage emotions (and the people that have them). Moreover, that care of emotion defines the relationship(s) you’ll have; so, it’ll be important to manage those, too. And one mustn’t forget to look in the mirror and repeat, “I’m a people, too!” (unless you’re not, which throws a wrench in this whole blog post). Identifying and talking about your own emotions and having awareness of self is just as critical to the success of YOU at work; not to mention having a high level of EQ as a leader enables you to drive strong leadership, effective teamwork and sales-boosting customer service. 

The best news: EQ is one of the most flexible skills we have. Unlike IQ and personality, which rarely change over time, EQ is a skill we can hone. It's kind of like riding a bike, but the bike underneath you constantly changes size, speed and form and you have to adjust your pedaling to ensure you don't fall off. Easy peasy... 

Within a few days of research, reading and introspection, I’ve been reminded about the importance of EQ at work and in everyday life. It doesn’t matter if you want to be a CEO (something, as it turns out, I am not ready for yet...) or not; what matters are the relationships you have and how you manage those relationships, especially the one you have with yourself. And as we all navigate the seas of corporations, start up businesses, working from home or shooting off into space in rocket ships, we need to remember to lean into the discomfort of truly knowing ourselves and understanding others – i.e., build that EQ – to succeed in this “knowledge worker age”.

What do you know about your Emotional Intelligence?  How have you seen it fluctuate over your career or lifetime?