Can You Really Improve Your EI

With the number of posts I've been doing on Emotional Intelligence, I'm presuming I can now shift into the shorter version of EI or EQ :)

This was another interesting article in a Harvard Business Review magazine publication, by Tomas Chamorro Premuzic, a professor of business psychology at University College London.

Here's excerpts:

'Who wouldn't want a higher level of emotional intelligence? Studies have shown that a high emotional quotient boosts career success, entrepreneurial potential, leadership talent, health, relationship satisfaction, humor and happiness. Plus it's more rewarding to deal with people with a higher EQ.

Most coaching interventions try to enhance some aspect of EQ, and the underlying reasoning is that, whereas IQ is very hard to change, EQ can increase with deliberate practice and training.

Nearly 3000 scientific articles have been published on EQ since the concept was first introduced in 1990, and there are five key points to consider.

1. Your level of EQ is firm, but not rigid: Our ability to identify and manage our own and others' emotions is fairly stable over time, influenced by our early childhood experiences and even genetics. That doesn't mean we can't change it, but realistically long term improvements will require a great deal of dedication and guidance.

2. Good Coaching Programs do Work: Good news for all you coaches and your clients; bad news for the skeptics. And there's a bonus: Research also shows that the benefits of EQ coaching are not just confined to the workplace...they produce higher levels of happiness, mental and physical health, and improved social and marital relationships, and they decrease the levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

3. You can improve only if you get accurate feedback: While many ingredients are required for a good EQ coaching program, the most important aspect is giving people accurate feedback. It is remarkable how many smart, highly motivated and apparently responsible people rarely pause to contemplate their own behaviors. It is a well documented (but rarely discussed) fact that, in any domain of competence, most people think they are better than they actually are. In other words we may not have a very accurate notion of how smart we are, but our notion of how nice we are is even less accurate. 

4. Some techniques (and coaches) are more competent than others: While there is little research on the personal characteristics of effective coaches, there is some research on the methods which work best. The most effective coaching techniques are under the umbrella of cognitive behavior therapy. But coaching is not pure science, it is also an art. As such, it's success depends on the talent of the coach.

5. Some people are more coachable than others: Even the best coach and coaching methods will fail with certain clients. Although there is not much research on coachability, a recent study showed that evaluating clients' coachabilty levels before the sessions begin can increase the effectiveness of coaching. A key determinant of being more coachable is the willingness of the adult to experiment with new behavior that are out of his or her comfort zone.'

I've personally used coaching, and while it was in the framework of corporate, I can vouch for the fact that it not only enables new perspectives and at times pivotal changes at work, but can also significantly alter how you live life.