Leadership and the New EQ-i 2.0

Written by Researcher & OD Consultant Katie Ziemer, MOrgPsych

You often hear people remark, “I know a good leader when I see one,” because in many cases the success of a leader is observable yet not always easy to define. With the success of leadership development efforts often tied to a measureable competency model, what role can Emotional Intelligence (EI) play in building remarkable leaders?

Take a look at any well-developed competency model and you will likely see a mix of competencies that are either emotion-based such as Motivating Others (classically defined as “soft-skills”) or technically-based such as Business Acumen.  Here is where EI comes into play, as many of these emotion-based competencies have underpinning emotional and social skills, that when developed, help a leader execute on the broader competency. For example, developing the broader competency Motivating Others may seem vague and daunting to tackle, but by identifying the precise, underlying EI skills (e.g., interpersonal relationships, assertiveness, and empathy) leaders are able to refine their development plans and focus on skills that can often apply across an entire competency model. Can EI provide a bigger ‘bang’ for your development efforts? We say yes it can.

The EQ-i 2.0 is more relevant to leadership than ever before. Successful leaders are often seen encouraging and engaging their team to reach performance levels that exceed expectations. They facilitate and empower personal transformation in their people, but are also able to determine when situations call for a more operational approach. With new business-relevant items, EQ-i 2.0 results are related to these leadership behaviors making clear empirical and theoretical links to leadership competency models in today’s organizations.

Linking EI to leadership competency models just makes sense. It’s intuitive and holds a lot of weight with stakeholders. When validated measurements of EI are used (e.g., EQ-i 2.0), EI can provide a measureable roadmap for helping leaders reach their fullest potential.