Written by: Kiesha King-Brown, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Emotional Intelligence is the primary factor in the success of your business.
IQ, the intelligence quotient, prepares you to be a business owner. EQ, or emotional intelligence, makes you a successful business owner long-term.
More than 90% of top performers have above-average emotional intelligence.
Emotional Intelligence is the ability to influence emotional behavior in yourself and others, and…it can make or break your business.
EQ encompasses the mastery to recognize, perceive, interpret, understand and manage emotions. Emotional Intelligence allows you to be more self-aware, make better decisions, successfully lead through conflict, collaborate, and communicate effectively. And it’s a skill that can be developed.
Psychologist, Daniel Goleman, focuses on emotional intelligence with five pillars:
1. Self-Awareness
Good understanding of your own emotions and how they impact others. Not easily offended, takes feedback as learnings.
2. Self-Regulation
Doesn’t suppress emotions, uses best judgment and control when expressing them. Thinks before acting.
3. Internal Motivation
Generally optimistic, not driven by money, titles, or social acceptance. Seeks personal development.
4. Empathy
High degree of compassion and understanding for others. Responds to the needs of others.
5. People Skills
Easily builds rapport and trust that is genuine. Good at building networks and managing relationships.
Emotional intelligence is responsible for 58% of people’s job performance.
Businesses with a high emotional intelligence culture outsell those with low EQ. This is because emotional intelligence is key in building relationships with customers and in increasing customer retention. Emotional intelligence increases the ability to read and better understand customer emotions.
Emotional intelligence enables sales teams to deal with uncomfortable situations, negotiate with confidence, and handle sudden changes in processes or environment. The ability to understand and manage emotions better also makes both sales teams and business owners more likely to be perceived as sincere and trustworthy. Having brand perception tied to trust and continuing to improve emotional intelligence as a business is important now more than ever.
The way a business interacts with customers, builds relationships, adjusts strategy to meet needs, and leans into development for the owner and the team, will strongly influence its success during this uncertain time. It will also influence how the business is positioned versus its competitors once the economy rebounds. Leveraging emotional intelligence as part of the strategy, can give the business a competitive advantage.
Add emotional intelligence to your personal strategy to impact your business with:
Active Listening
Listen more than you talk with employees, vendors, partners, and customers. Rephrase what you hear to ensure alignment.
Communication
Communicate to grow genuine relationships that accelerate growth in the business. Use a questions-based approach. Communicate with presence but in a non-threatening way. Seek to understand through communication.
Self-Development
Make learning a priority and lead by example in continued personal growth. Get coaching on key skills to improve self-awareness and accelerate the business.
Differentiated Consulting partners with businesses to reinvent strategy that includes EQ as applicable, reposition the business for the new normal, and relaunch to accelerate growth.
Kiesha King-Brown, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Kiesha King-Brown is an experienced Business Executive that partners to help small business owners accelerate growth with strategic, AI-enhanced consulting so they can spend more time working on the business than in the business and spend more time doing the things they enjoy. She has an MBA in Management, BSBA in Marketing and holds certifications in Consulting and Executive Coaching. She draws her inspiration from 20 years of experience at Fortune 200 companies in Executive Leadership and HR positions helping leaders build strategies, enhance development, and grow their business. Kiesha is the author of "Differentiated Leadership," an Advisory Board Member for a Talent Management SaaS company, and Chief Relationship Development Officer for a Business Development SaaS company.
