Academic or cognitive intelligence alone is no longer enough to be successful in medicine. EQ (emotional intelligence) is required of all physicians and will lead you to healthy relationships and resilience with the trials of your life and career in medicine.
A 2006 sample study of 946 participants with researcher Peter Salovey found significantly higher scores obtained by women on overall scales of Emotional Intelligence (EQ). Current literature demonstrates that men and women have different kinds of Emotional Intelligence. Women have much stronger interpersonal skills than their male counterparts but men have significantly higher sense of self and independence.
What impact will this have in healthcare workplaces? In the past men have dominated the top positions of influence. Now in healthcare environments, where a culture of teamwork and partnerships are valued, people skills are seen as important. Women’s higher scores in the interpersonal areas will now help them reach higher levels in the corporate world.
What is EQ and Why Does it Matter?
In the book Emotional Intelligence 2.0, Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves define emotional intelligence (EQ) as “your ability to recognize and understand emotions in yourself and others, and your ability to use this awareness to manage your behavior and relationships.” Their research has shown that EQ accounts for 58 percent of performance in all types of jobs. In addition, EQ is the strongest driver of leadership and personal excellence.
EQ can be broken down into four main domains under Personal and Social Competence.
Personal Competence
- Self-awareness (emotions)
- Self-management (behaviors and tendencies)
Social Competence
- Social awareness (understand others moods and behaviors)
- Relationship management (manage interactions with others)
In the next few blogs, we will explore each element and what it means to your success!