A few weeks ago I shared a story in a blog about a previous CEO who lacked emotional intelligence (EI.) Although he wasn’t easy to work for because he lacked people management skills, he was good at selling. His low emotional intelligence was actually a strength for him in that part of his role. If he received a “no” from a potential client, he didn’t waste time worrying about it. He just figured out how to work through the reasons they said no or he went on to the next one.
If we take him as an example, but give him high emotional intelligence, what would be different? He would have been really good at managing his people and having strong relationships with existing clients, but would have struggled with selling to potential clients. Receiving all of the rejections that happen in sales would have been harder for him to take due to his higher level of emotional intelligence.
There isn’t a right or wrong place to be when looking at EI. Having a low level of emotions can be very beneficial if you are an accountant or scientist where facts and data are important. Having a high level emotions may be needed in your role if you are a nurse or someone who is in customer service where it is important to build relationships and strong connections.
It is good to understand where you fall on the emotional intelligence scale and what works best for your role. Emotional intelligence is something that can be learned if you are on the low side and want to increase it. However, the important question may be whether you want to focus on trying to increase it or choose a role where your low level of emotional intelligence would be a strength for you.