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Nowadays we tend to sometimes forget, that we are human beings, packed with emotions, dreams, and hopes and crowned with a great mind that can think and analyse. Very often, there is too much focus on the thinking part only, but there is more to just having a high IQ, and this is where the EQ (Emotional Quotient) comes into play. In short, EQ is the awareness of one’s own and other people’s emotions and the ability to use this to the advantage of oneself, the team, and the business. The analytical mind is great for solving problems and does give you results to a certain degree. However, when it comes to relationships, motivation and great leadership, around 30 years of research have shown that emotional intelligence is where great leaders make a difference. Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon put it nicely: “All of my best decisions in business and in life have been made with heart and intuition - not analysis. When you can make a decision with analysis, you should do so, but it turns out in life that your most important decisions are always made with instinct, intuition, taste, heart.” Another important finding is that the EQ stems from and grows in the right brain, versus the analytical and thinking mind that lives on the left side. So the harder you are thinking and trying to solve a problem through analysis, the less you have access to empathy, compassion, optimism, and more. These and other competencies are interlinked with the EQ, hence, the higher the EQ the better we get at these competencies. There are several ways to increase the EQ. To do so, it is important to understand that the brain is a muscle, that can be trained like any other muscle in the body through consistent practice. Almost like going to the gym, but with your brain. It starts with creating awareness about when we use which half of the brain and trying to intercept when at a decision point. Imagine standing at a crossroads in the brain, there is a choice of either going left or right. The more aware of this crossway you are, the easier it will be to make a decision of going right versus left. Some very simple ways to strengthen your right brain is via the senses. Doing different exercises that take only 10-15 seconds can support decision-making via the right brain. So next time, when at a crossroads, try this: focus on the temperature of your breath when breathing in and out for 3-4 breaths focus on very far away sounds, then what is closest rub two fingertips against each other and feel into all the ridges
This will give your brain a moment to pause versus just going straight down the highway to the left side of the brain. The more often you get to practice this, the easier your brain can access the new neural pathway that is being created. From there, the shift to the positive part of the mind can happen (right brain) and we can access the powers of empathy, exploring, innovation, navigation, and activation. This in turn increases the EQ and the abilities of better conflict management, self-confidence, and being a change catalyst. Or in short, it will make you a better leader, without even thinking too hard!
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