Tech Alert: The EQ Gap

Leaders in technology, telecom and IT are among the least emotionally intelligent globally.

Given the word technology typically provokes a reaction the world over – ranging from excitement to angst - about its impact on our future, this news may peak your interest.

Here’s research from Six Seconds on the level of EQ among different industry sectors from its State of the Heart report, based on research into EQ globally from 2018 to 2022.

What insights can you glean from this? Perhaps that many of the industries scoring higher in EQ are characterized by high levels of interpersonal connection. It’s hard to succeed in hospitality if you fail to combine people and task skills.

Given that EQ is the ability to blend thinking and feeling skills to make smarter decisions – and that research consistently indicates that EQ skills differentiate star performers at senior leadership levels – failing to recognize emotional data and think through it severely hampers your ability to lead successfully. And lead successfully means both lead yourself, and others.

Stress and Burnout

It’s hard to be emotionally intelligent when you’re stressed. And it seems professionals in the IT, Telecom, and to a slightly lesser extent, Technology, sectors are feeling stressed and burnt out.

Below are scores for changes in burnout levels by sector. People working in most industries categorized in Six Seconds’ research experienced increased levels of burnout during the pandemic years. However, burnout scores in IT and Telecom were already significantly higher than other sectors, and grew worse during the pandemic years.

Post the pandemic, scores for burnout in the IT and Telecom sectors have improved, though they remain the highest among all sectors.

Given the reliance on teleworking, perhaps these sectors were most under pressure to keep the lights on and ensure communications’ technology could support demand for connection and remote working. Perhaps this impacted the levels of stress and burnout experienced in these sectors. Or possibly other factors need to be considered?

Emotional Intelligence is a skill that, if practiced, improves. Unlike IQ, it is not largely fixed once you reach adulthood. It changes with effort and based on circumstances.

Post the pandemic, during the recovery period, people in different industries have experienced different levels of burnout. Some, such as Advertising, Agriculture and Hospitality have experienced less burnout, whereas workers in Transport, Pharmaceuticals and Transport/Trade, have experienced more.

Though workers in IT and Telecom are experiencing reduces levels of burnout compared to the pandemic years, they still, top the burnout charts.

What are the reasons for the low EQ scores and high scores for burnout in the IT and Telecom industries globally?

Is the demand for their skillset and the need to keep communication networks open a fundamental factor in the energy-drain? In previous State of the Heart reports from Six Seconds, the industry data was not shared, so it is not possible to gauge whether this is an ongoing state of EQ health in the IT and telecom sectors.

Though workers in the Technology sector appear not to have been impacted by burnout to the same degree as people employed in the IT and Telecom sectors, their level of burnout continues to increase post pandemic.

EQ, Technology and India

Given that India is a major source of Technology, and IT and Telecom value creation, I undertook research into EQ in India in 2023.

Based on the research conducted among Indian professionals, there is a reversal of the global data. Technology workers score third lowest for EQ among all sectors, with IT and Telecom professionals scoring????? slightly higher. Overall, workers in the IT and Telecom, and Technology sectors lag many other industries in terms of their EQ .

India’s Dominant Brain Style

To support people understand how they use their brains and their individual brain talents, Six Seconds defined eight brain styles, based on preferences for ways of focusing on data, making decisions and driving motivation.

In India, there is a dominant brain style – The Strategist - with 35% of the professionals surveyed having this style. It is characterized by a preference for:

• Focusing on rational data, the facts and figures, rather than emotional data which is a preference for identifying feelings and creating connections with people.
• Making decisions by weighing up the pros and cons of a course of action and seeking to minimize risk, rather than seeking out opportunity and embracing risk.
• Being motivated to act by a longer-term vision, rather than being driven by action in the here and now.

Overall in India, the preference for rational data over emotional data is 68% to 32%.

Rational Data Reigns Supreme

Among IT and Telecom professionals, their brain’s preference for rational data is high - 71%, higher than for professionals in all other sectors. The desire for facts and figures is clear.

This preference for rational data seems to dominate – with the danger that the 29% of IT and Telecom professionals whose brains prefer emotional data, are overshadowed.

The upshot? A lot of data falls by the wayside.

There is data in feelings, as well as in facts and figures. And given that our brains are hard wired to feel before they think, we risk leaving a wealth of valuable data unconsidered if we focus overwhelmingly on the bits and bytes.

But it seems many tech leaders aren’t ready to consider emotional data. Rather, the proverbial tech head prefers to immerse itself in the rational data pool.

As the report into India’s EQ Paradox suggests, the paradox for the Indian Technology, IT and Telecom leader is that the ability to analyze rational data could be used equally effectively in the analysis of emotional data.

But this ability to think through the meaning of data doesn’t appear to be being applied to emotional data.

The consequence of this appears to be a lack of ability to deal effectively with emotions. Rather than harness emotional energy, Indian professionals appear to avoid using insights into their emotions to work their way effectively through their emotions. Perhaps they also lack skill in transforming emotional energy into more helpful forms of emotional energy in critical moments.

What does that mean?

An example of a wasted emotional data opportunity would be a person feeling a data point being used to ?justify a decision in a meeting is incorrect, but says nothing. The meeting is full of that person’s peers and seniors. Though they have expertise in this area, they assume others possess the same knowledge and experience. They believe they would need exact data points to counter the suggestion.

They don’t want to appear rude, or raise something that had been previously discussed, in case they feel humiliated. So they say nothing.

Ten few minutes later, a counterpart raises the exact reservations about the data point.

The matter is then discussed and the decision delayed until more complete data is shared.

The Paradox of India’s Analytical Thinking

From the research into Indian professionals, the ability to think logically was the highest globally, with a score of 104.

This score is in stark contrast to the ability to deal effectively with emotions and navigate them successfully, which is the lowest score globally at 90.

This 14-point gulf is an emotional intelligence paradox. Why not harness that thinking ability to think through the emotional data and blend it with rational data in the service of more effective decision making.

Bridging this 14-point chasm would make superior use of the strong analytical ability – as well as elevate India’s EQ scores.

Request to Get Curious About Emotions

It’s coming up to the time of year to make resolutions.

Here’s a request for Indian IT, Telecom and Tech leaders:

Start tuning into and harnessing your emotional data – and apply the considerable analytical and thinking energy to create a decision making tour de force.

Here is a possible three step process to act on that request:

1. What are you feeling?
2. How is that emotion trying to help you?
3. How do you want to use that emotional energy to really support yourself in being successful?

Simple to understand? I hope yes.

Simple to do? Probably not always.

Before anything. Stop – and close your mouth. That way, you eliminate the danger of causing immediate unthinking damage.

The Bigger Tech Picture

2023 was the year when AI took centre stage and people began discussing the impact of AI on our lives. At times, this provoked intense emotional reactions.

Given the feelings that AI has engendered among people the world over in the past year, would it be helpful to consider emotional and rational data when discussing AI and its applications?

We typically say technology exists to serve humanity. I wonder whether blended thinking and feeling skills are being deployed in the drive to lead the AI race.

We already know that most change initiatives fail. Would you say they fail because the facts and figures weren’t properly analyzed, or because people’s emotions and emotional needs weren’t properly analyzed and addressed?

If you want to access both the reports in their entirety, follow the links below:

Global State of the Heart Report from Six Seconds

India’s EQ Paradox Report in collaboration with Six Seconds

Six Seconds is the global leader in research and assessments in emotional intelligence. Six Seconds has conducted over 500,000 EQ assessments in over 140 countries globally and has been working in the area of EQ for over 25 years.

Andrea Stone is an Executive Coach and a Preferred Partner for Six Seconds in India. She works with tech leaders to improve their performance and success.

? Andrea Stone, Stone Leadership