EQ-i 2.0 - the new Emotional Intelligence model 2011

This article is about the new field of interest for leaders, professionals, and researchers - Emotional Intelligence - "a new science of interpersonal relationships". You can discover the definition of EQ/EI, learn about 5 scales of the new emotional intelligence model EQ-i 2.0, and gain better understanding on how Emotional Intelligence impacts your performance at work, affects your personal relationships, decision-making process, stress management, and your life overall.

Have you ever wondered why some very smart people are lonely, unhappy, and unsuccessful? Do you remember anyone from your childhood who wasn't that smart, but was outgoing, confident, had a positive attitude, and later in life became very successful? We used to think that IQ can predict how well one will do in life. But you know from your own experience that often high IQ is just not enough. What is this "other intelligence" that is so much more important for succeeding in the 21st century? It is called Emotional Intelligence.  

Emotional Intelligence (EQ/EI) was first mentioned in the 1920s by Edward Thorndike. He referred to it as "social intelligence; emotional factors". However, Daniel Goleman, Ph.D. is being considered as the father of Emotional Intelligence, which some people call "a new science of interpersonal relationships", since his book "Emotional intelligence: Why It Can Matter More than IQ" was published in 1995. The interest in EQ has increased over the years, and as for today, there are several definitions of Emotional Intelligence in existence. Let me introduce them to you.

1. According to Multy-Health Systems, Emotional Intelligence is a set of emotional and social skills that collectively establish how well we: perceive and express ourselves, develop and maintain social relationships, cope with challenges, and use emotional information in an effective and meaningful way.
2. According to Henry L. Thompson, Ph.D., Emotional Intelligence is a person's inner ability to perceive and manage his/her own emotions in a manner that results in successful interactions with the environment, and if others are present, to also perceive and manage their emotions in a manner that results in successful interpersonal interactions.
3. According to Reuven Bar-On, Ph.D., Emotional-Social Intelligence is a cross section of interrelated competencies, skills and facilitators that determine how effectively we understand and express ourselves, understand others and relate to them and cope with daily demands.
4. According to John Mayer, Ph.D., Peter Salovey, Ph.D., and David Caruso, Ph.D., EI is the ability to perceive emotions, to access and generate emotions so as to assist thought, to understand emotions and emotional meanings, and to reflectively regulate emotions in ways that promote emotional and intellectual growth.
5. According to the father of Emotional Intelligence Dr. Goleman, EI is the meta-abilities of self-management and interpersonal skills such that self-regulation of emotions leads to interpersonal success.

Emotional Intelligence is built of 5 components. Each of them consists 3 subcomponents.

Self-Perception is the first component of EQ and it refers to one's "inner self" determining how aware you are of your emotions and feelings, how you feel about yourself, and how satisfied you are with what you do in life.

• First subcomponent here is Emotional Self-Awarness - the ability to recognize your feelings, differentiate between them, realize why you feel the way you feel, and know how the emotions you're experiencing affect people whom you interract with or your decisions. Emotional Self-Awarness is the foundation on which the majority of other EQ components are built, as if you are unaware of what your emotions are and how they make you feel, you can't understand why you act in a certain way and how it affects others. People who are high enough on this subcomponent recognize when they feel out-of-sort, irritable, sad, and understand why, so they are able to control thei behavior. As we know, a small change in behavior can lead to some very notable consequences. Emotional  Self-Awarness is the key to building successful relationships.

• Second subcomponent here is Self-Regard - the ability to accept yourself the way you are and to respect yourself. People with healthy Self-Regard know their strengths and appreciate them while accepting their vulnerabilities and successfully managing them. This subcomponent is usually associated with the feeling of security, inner strength, self-assuredness, and self-confidence. Those people have no problem openly and appropriately apologize if they made a mistake. Self-Regard is based on the healthy sense of identity.  

• Third subcomponent is Self-Actualization – the ability to realize your potential capacities. This component of EQ is manifested by your becoming involved in pursuits that lead to a meaningful, rich, and full life. It is a dynamic process, a commitment to life-long development in order to be your best self. People with balanced Self-Actualization are able to clearly articulate what they want, set result-oriented goals, develop a plan to achieve them, follow through, and adjust where needed. Those people make promises to themselves and keep them – that's how they make progress.

Self-Expression is the second component of EQ and it refers to one's ability to openly express feelings both verbally and non-verbally.

• First subcomponent here is Emotional Expression – the ability to openly and effectively send messages to others on emotional level through the words we say, their meaning, the tone and the volume of speech, our facial expression, and our body language.

• Second subcomponent here is Independence – the ability to function autonomously, direct and control yourself, without relying on others to guide you. Independent people may consult with those whom they trust, but in the end they make their own decisions. Making decisions and acting accordingly, following through and keeping commitments is what stands out about independent people.

• Third subcomponent of the second component is Assertiveness – one's ability to express his or her feelings, thoughts, beliefs and stand up for own rights WHITHOUT BEING AGGRESSIVE. People with a healthy level of assertiveness always consider feelings and thoughts of others. Shortly speaking, your assertiveness should not prevent others from being assertive.

The Interpersonal Component is the third component of EQ. It is also called people skills.

• First subcomponent here is Interpersonal Relationships – ability to establish and maintain mutually satisfying, meaningful relationships.

• Second subcomponent here is Empathy – the ability to be aware of feelings and thoughts of others and, as Alfred Adler said, see with the eyes of another, listen with the ears of another, and feel with the heart of another.

• Third subcomponent of the third component is Social Responsibility – the ability and willingness to contribute to your group, your company, and the society as a whole. As successful people say, if you have not succeeded yet, you have not yet helped enough people succeed.

Decision-Making is the forth component of Emotional Intelligence and represents the ability to deal with problems realistically, search for and find best solutions and control impulses that can prevent you from selecting the right course of action and following it.

• First subcomponent here is Reality Testing – the ability to see things as they are, not as we want or fear them to be. People with a healthy level of reality testing think their views out, build arguments and look for supportive evidence. They are able to identify and address problems as well as recognize and build opportunities. 

• Second subcomponent here is Problem Solving – the ability to find solutions to problems in situations where emotions are involved. People with great problem-solving skills see challenges as new opportunities for creativity, development, improvement, and growth.

• Third subcomponent of the forth component is Impulse Control – the ability to resist or delay an impulse in order to avoid making mistakes or rush decisions as well as prevent oneself from getting angry. This is the essential for success at anything you want to succeed at. 

Stress-Management is the fifth component of EQ that refers to one's ability to confront reality in a flexible way and see the light in the end of the tunnel.

• Flexibility is the first subcomponent of this component. It is the ability to adjust to the unexpected, the unknown, and the change. When new evidence presented, flexible people can adopt their way of thinking. They are open-minded and tolerant of different ideas.

• Second subcomponent here is Stress Tolerance – the ability to effectively cope with stress in a positive way.

• Third subcomponent of this last component is Optimism – one's ability to see a silver lightning in every cloud. It indicates the capacity to be hopeful and resilient as well as general positive attitude.

Emotional Intelligence assessment is recommended for measuring one's EQ/EI. Measuring EQ uncovers your Emotional Intelligence abilities and skills and allows you to focus on developing those you need most to achieve your success. We deal with our emotions on a regular basis, there is no way we can avoid it. However, emotions can have a good or a bad impact on our behavior which can either help us achieve our goals or otherwise. If you can become aware of your emotions, your behavioral patterns, your mental habits, then you can manage and guide them to take you where you want to be in your life.