Managing the Matrix: The Secret to Surviving and Thriving in Your Organization

11

Why IQ isn't Enough

“OK you've convinced me.” Debra got straight down to business as she brought coffee for the two of them. “I think the definition you have of EI is useful and I can see how EI helps in managing or mastering the matrix. But can it help us recruit better people? How can we test EI? And how is EI different from EQ which I see referred to in some of the articles you sent me?”

“I think EI and EQ refer to the same thing,” Johann replied. “EI is emotional intelligence and EQ is emotional quotient which I think is meant to remind us of IQ or what I suppose we must call ‘general intelligence’. I prefer EI because I think it focuses the mind on the fact that it's about having intelligence around emotions and the ability to improve that. I don't like EQ because the focus seems to be on the emotions which doesn't seem very helpful as surely everybody has an EQ or, to put it another way, an amount of emotions that they will experience and react to. Emotional intelligence – EI – is about having the ability to acknowledge these emotions so that you can use them or manage them effectively.”

“I'm still not sure why there has to be an emotional ‘intelligence’. Isn't IQ enough?” Debra's cynicism seemed to have returned.

“Look, according to studies in the 1980s and 1990s, there was less than a 25 per cent correlation between IQ, or general intelligence, and success (measured as academic achievement and occupational status) so there is a lot left to account for. We've all heard ...