The emotional intelligence theory is a relative newcomer in the psychological realm of business, emerging primarily in the 1990’s when the term was coined by Drs. Salovey and Mayer.  Because it’s a relatively new field, it’s still undergoing refinement and many people have many thoughts on how best to define and measure it.

Emotional intelligence (EQ or IQ) differs from the traditional intelligent quotient (IQ) in that IQ measures brain smarts and EI measures how aware and in control you are over your own emotions and those of people around you, too.  Emotional intelligence is far less tangible than IQ.

Traditional IQ levels do not adequately predict or account for a person’s success or failure in life, love and work, but emotional intelligence does. Highly emotional intelligent people are more successful in life and work, which is why it’s important to understand and master in yourself, as well as training within your team or company.

Emotional intelligence defined is your ability, capacity, and skill in identifying and managing your own emotions, the emotions of other individuals, and the emotions in group dynamics.  Basically, the more in touch you are with your feelings, and the more control you have over your emotions, the more highly emotionally intelligent you are.

Several theories exist within the emotional intelligence theory.

Four Cornerstone Model

The Four Cornerstone Model focuses on emotional literacy, emotional fitness, emotional depth, and emotional alchemy.

Emotional Competence Framework

Daniel Goleman, who authored the book “Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ” in 1995, breaks EQ into two main aspects:

• Understanding yourself

• Understanding others.

Next, he identifies five domains of emotional intelligence:

• Identifying your emotions

• Managing your emotions

• Self-motivation

• Recognizing other people’s emotions

• Managing relationships

Beyond these, other EI (or EQ) models include: Six Seconds, Bar-On, Q-Metrics, and a model by Salovey and Meyer, who are forerunners in the EQ field.

People who are highly emotionally intelligent tend to be able to harness their emotional tendencies.  They understand what they are feeling and can express it.  They also are able to identify emotions in others, have empathy for their feelings, and “get into their brain” to see how they think.  It’s not just self-awareness, it’s also other-awareness.