Emotional Intelligence VS Intellectual Intelligence

Which One Is More Important ?

Understanding if Emotional Intelligence or Intellectual Intelligence is more important and which one you have more of, will determine where you end up in life. Before getting into which one is more important we need to define both terms, so you can get a better feel on which one you may have more of.

Emotional Intelligence(EQ)– is the ability to understand and manage your emotions. Also the ability to understand emotions of other people and the ability to regulate your emotions. When you have a lot of EQ you know what you’re feeling and what the feelings mean.

-EQ is responsible for self awareness, social awareness, communication, empathy, emotional control, decision making, optimism, commitment, self esteem, and interpersonal awareness.

Intellectual Intelligence(IQ)- is the understanding of facts, concepts, and also the mental ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think unbiased, comprehend ideas, and learn from experience quickly.

-IQ is responsible for processing things, reasoning, understanding knowledge, and your working memory.

As you can tell, according to definition, both are very important but which one is more important for succeeding in life? We’re going to answer this question with a question. What’s more important to have for succeeding in life, book smarts or street smarts?

Emotional Intelligence is street smarts.

Intellectual Intelligence is book smarts.

I have seen a lot of book smart people with the most unbalanced life with no success. So many years ago and still today many people think and say that IQ was the most important factor for success and developing a healthy life style. According to history, people with a higher IQ went further in life. Things are different today, IQ is still a factor for succeeding but EQ plays a bigger role for succeeding in life. Since mostly everything is communication and psychology, EQ is more important. Someone who wants to succeed in life would benefit far greater if they went to school for psychology instead of business school. Understanding people and how they think and feel is the greatest key for success.

Intelligence In The Business World

Good leaders and managers in the business world tend to have a high emotional intelligence than a high intellectual intelligence. You really don’t need much intellectual intelligence to be a good leader. A person with high intellectual intelligence but low emotional intelligence is a manager. A person with a high emotional Intelligence but a low intellectual Intelligence is a leader.

Having a higher emotional Intelligence than intellectual intelligence is more important when it comes to leading and managing a company. To explain, what if your boss or CEO had to talk at a high pressure meeting and the employees started to challenge him and eventually insult the CEO. Then the CEO got angry, and said some hurtful things to the employees and then stormed out and went to his office to cry. What would you think of this boss? Would you think his a good one or a bad one? Despite being a very intellectual man, he melts under a little bit of pressure. All because he has low emotional Intelligence and he can’t handle his emotions or the emotions of his employees.

You can have the smartest person leading your team or company but it won’t matter if they have low emotional Intelligence. Because when one of the employees speaks their mind and offends that person, they will either snap and make a scene, causing the team to turn against him or he will go to the bathroom to cry.

The Unfair Bias Of The Business World For Women

The business world tends to be more sexist when it comes to business. The bias comes from women “not being able” to handle their emotions. Now this bias isn’t true because I have seen many men lose control of their emotions in tough times. This bias is the reason why you don’t see a lot of women CEOs or managers. The employer wants someone who can handle the heat, and they think women can’t handle the heat. This bias is reinforced by TV shows and movies always showing women crying when it comes to emotions. When in reality this is not true, because women can be more in control of their emotions than men. That is the proof why emotional intelligence is far more important in the business world than intellect itself. If this wasn’t the case, then you would see a lot more women in charge. But you don’t because of this unfair bias towards women.

Emotional Intelligence In The Selling Role

This insurance company wanted to see how important EQ is in selling insurance. They discovered that the sales agents who ranked lower in EQ in things such as empathy, self awareness, self confidence(all things that are part of EQ) only sold $54,000 worth of insurance. Then the sales agents that ranked higher in EQ sold $114,000 worth of insurance premiums, doubling the agents with a lower EQ. These agents sold more all because they knew how to handle the customer, feel out their emotions, have confidence when selling, and have empathy towards who they were selling to.

When it comes to selling, it’s not the person who knows the most about what they are selling(although that does help) but it’s the person who knows how to handle theirselves and the customer the best. You can be the smartest and most knowledgeable salesman but if you can’t handle the customers and feel out their emotions, you aren’t going to be able to make a lot of sells. I watched one of my friends sell before, and he was easily the most knowledgeable when it came to the product and knowing how the product works. When it came to selling, he didn’t know how to handle other people or his emotions in front of others and he suffered when it came to selling. He had so many returns and complaints. He could have easily been one of the best salesman but he’s not because he has low emotional intelligence.

The Paradox Of Selling

On that same coin, a salesman can know nothing about what they are selling and just simply haver good people skills and could end up being the best salesman because people like to talk to him or her, and people feel good around this salesman. More people end up buying from this salesman because they feel good around this person and the customer feels like this salesman genuinely cares about them. At the end of the day, you really just selling feelings and stories. If I make you feel good when selling then you are more likely to buy from me. Compared to the person who come to you with their sales pitch voice and then makes you feel bad. You are going to want to leave and never come back.

This is why Emotional Intelligence is very important because just like selling insurance, we are all trying to ourselves and our ideas to the world. Hence social media. Social media is a big selling platform but not in selling products but in getting other people to like us and find us attractive. You also need EQ when it comes to selling yourself too. It comes down to how people feel around you and how you treat other people.

EQ VS IQ In School

I realized this after being a student for over 16 years, that emotional intelligence is far more important when it comes to school and learning than Intellectual Intelligence. You can be the smartest person in class with the highest IQ but you have low EQ and then become depressed and anxious because of school. I believe school is the one place where students first develop depression and anxiety. Students tend to get put under so much pressure from school, teachers, and their parents that they develop mental illnesses. You can know everything you need to know on your exam but when it comes to the time of the exam, you can’t remember anything because you have test anxiety.

Students who have low emotional intelligence end up quitting school because they can’t handle their emotions. So many students are depressed from school, they end up dropping out, all because they don’t know how to manage their emotions. That is why for succeeding in school, emotional intelligence is far more important than IQ. You can have low IQ but high EQ and still pass your classes and get a masters degree. You always can teach the students what to know for the exam.

Just by having high emotional intelligence can take you further than Intellectual Intelligence.

IQ can get you to the top but it won’t keep you there. EQ is what keeps you at the top. IQ can get you into the door but EQ is what keeps you there or is what gets you kicked out, depending on your level of emotional Intelligence.

Dr. Goleman On Intelligence & Success

Psychologist Daniel Goleman states that 20% of career success depends on IQ and 80% of career success depends on EQ. Dr. Goleman also states that people with high emotional Intelligence earn better grades, stayed in school longer and made healthier life choices than the people who just have high IQ.

Your emotional Intelligence is what determines how far you will go in your career. How many people do you know who seem not smart enough for the job that they have? I know a couple and they keep doing well in their job because they have a great character and can handle people well. You don’t need to be smart to get a good job, all you need is to be able to handle yourself and others well.

People with high IQ make good employees.

People with high EQ make good leaders.

Which one do you think is more important, Emotional Intelligence(EQ) or Intellectual Intelligence(IQ)? Comment Below

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