Have you ever asked yourself why your boss can’t lead his or her team? Or perhaps, why a family member is always so quick to criticize? Maybe you’re concerned about why that certain co-worker is constantly blaming others? It’s all about Emotional Intelligence.
Often, it’s hard to see what motivates people. Sometimes, however, these behaviors are not caused by any identifiable motivation at all.
Emotional intelligence—or lack thereof—is often at the root of bad behavior. They don’t think before they speak, they do not accept feedback, they have a hard time with criticism, and they never seem to think that they are at fault for their own shortcomings.
In fact, when a person lacks emotional intelligence, it makes it very difficult for others to recognize any good that they might be accomplishing.
What is emotional intelligence?
Emotional Intelligence is linked to performance. It is demonstrated in social aptitude, accountability, flexibility, decision making, and an ability to multi-task. Assertiveness, trust, and time management are also linked to emotional intelligence, and as such, most top-performers rank very high on the emotional intelligence scale.
In a search for your next new hire, emotional intelligence should be a component. Though you probably already have an intrinsic ability to identify emotional intelligence, it always helps to have a good understanding of what it is so that you can improve the quality of your hires across the board.
Emotional intelligence: what to look for
Outward behavior is a key indicator of emotional intelligence. Your candidate’s skills, qualifications, education, and IQ really have little to do with it.
How they respond and how well they come across says a great deal, not only about who they are but about their emotional IQ. A candidate with a high degree of emotional intelligence will be easy to communicate and to build a rapport with.
In order to complement and enhance your existing company culture, it is just as important to match the right personality type to the rest of your organization as it is to gain a candidate with the right skills for the job.
Focusing on these core behaviors will help you to more easily assess this critical trait:
- Adaptability
- Ability to negotiate
- Strong, clear, articulate communication
- Problem-solving skills
- Self-motivated
- Listening skills
How to test for emotional intelligence
Trust your gut on this one. Gauging a person’s body language and how they express themselves is often one of the most accurate indicators you will have. Are they saying all the right things, but somehow it just doesn’t ring true? If you are uncertain, take an extra reference to find out more about their past performance on the job.
Psychometric testing is another way to measure emotional intelligence. They have proven in many cases to be quite accurate in predicting candidate suitability and performance.
The good news is that even though some people don’t come by their emotional intelligence easily or naturally, it can be improved.
If you would like to learn more about emotional intelligence, how to recognize and quantify it in the workplace, reach out today.