Multi Business Solutions is excited to announce that we are now offering EQ-i 2.0 Assessment and Coaching!
You probably have questions – like, what is this? Why does it matter? And why do I need it? Glad you asked – we’d love to share more!
We’re guessing you’ve heard of IQ, also known as the Intelligence Quotient. Well, EQ is short for Emotional Quotient, often referred to as emotional intelligence. EQ is the counterpart to IQ.
If you’re a fan of “The Big Bang Theory,” you know that Sheldon has an extraordinarily high IQ, but a not so high EQ. In this clip, we see quite a difference between his and Penny’s EQ.
EQ vs. IQ
This chart illustrates the key differences between cognitive intelligence (IQ) and emotional intelligence (EQ). Understanding these differences can help highlight the unique roles each type of intelligence plays in personal and professional success.
IQ
The Intelligence Quotient, or IQ, is a number that represents how well an individual learns, processes information, and applies knowledge compared to other individuals in their age group. If your intelligence is average for your age, your IQ score will be 100. If it is above average it will be above 100, and below average below 100. IQ measures a person’s reasoning, or cognitive, ability. It gauges how well someone can use information and logic to answer questions or make predictions. Let’s look into how IQ came to be.
History of the IQ
The concept of IQ and IQ testing has been around for a long time. After the French Government passed laws in 1882 mandating school attendance for children between the ages of 6 and 13, they soon recognized that some children struggled more than others and needed additional support. However, there was no clear way at that time to identify these children. Enter Alfred Binet.
Binet was an early 20th century French psychologist who was influenced by the work done in the late 1800s by Sir Francis Galton. Galton had proposed that intelligence was hereditary and could be tested. Binet and his colleague, Theodore Simon, began developing questions for schools to use to test students. In 1905, they published the Binet-Simon Intelligence Test, which was recognized as the first IQ test.
Additional measurements and tests have been developed over the years, and there continues to be debate about the accuracy and reliability of the tests. Despite the debate, it is now commonly accepted that a person’s IQ is a combination of genetic and environmental factors and that IQ is generally established by around the age of six. As we age, however, IQ potentially decreases. Most people also agree that IQ does not predict a person’s success in life. And this is where EQ comes into the picture.
EQ
Throughout the mid-1900s, psychologists started to examine intelligence from social and emotional angles. However, it wasn’t until the 1980s and 1990s that the term ’emotional intelligence’ began to really pick up speed. Emotional intelligence is the ability to manage both your own emotions and understand the emotions of people around you.
In 1985, Dr. Rueven Bar-On had been studying why some people who were blessed with superior intellectual abilities seemed to fail in life, while others with more modest intelligence succeeded. He proposed the concept of an “Emotional Quotient,” where the EQ would be quantified and comparable to an IQ score. Ultimately, he created the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i). This questionnaire assesses the presence and degree of emotional intelligence, including self-perception, interpersonal relationships, empathy, social responsibility, decision making, self-expression, and stress management.
We can’t resist showing another clip from “The Big Bang Theory” – this one is Penny exhibiting her high EQ, especially in the form of empathy.
Research finds that EQ does not appear to be permanently fixed. The skills defined and measured by each of the EQ-i component’s scales can be improved no matter your age, gender, or ethnic background. In their book The EQ Edge: Emotional Intelligence and Your Success, psychologists Steven Stein and Howard Book claim, “You don’t have to be sick to get better … it’s never too late to make a change for the better.”
Awareness of Your EQ
We sometimes don’t see the ways in which we demonstrate our EQ in the everyday situations we encounter.
- A car cuts us off in traffic. – what do we do?
- An employee shows up late (again!) to work – what do we think or say?
- A deadline for a work project is quickly approaching and we feel overwhelmed with other tasks that also still need to be completed – how do we respond?
- There’s a networking event that we know we should attend – how does the thought of the socializing and small talk make us feel?
- We have a conversation with someone that we think goes well, but then we notice that they seem distant or don’t respond like we thought they would – do we understand why?
Enhancing our emotional intelligence could greatly improve all of these normal, everyday situations in both our personal and professional lives. In the workplace, higher emotional intelligence among owners, managers, supervisors, and employees leads to increased sales and profits. It also contributes to greater customer satisfaction, improved performance, and lower attrition rates.
EQ-i 2.0
So to get back to one of the original questions, what is the EQ-i 2.0 Assessment and Coaching that MBS is offering?
EQ-i 2.0 Assessment
The EQ-i 2.0 assessment is a level B Psychometric composed of 133 items. Multi-Health Systems (MHS), which was founded by psychologist Steven Stein and publishes a wide selection of psychological tests, has administered EQ tests to over one million people across 66 countries since the early 1990s. The EQ-i 2.0 provides one of the most reliable, valid, and highly researched EQ comprehensive assessment tools. It measures an individual’s effectiveness in the 5 composite scales: Self-Perception, Self-Expression, Interpersonal, Decision Making, and Stress Management – each with 3 subscales, as seen in the chart below. There is also an independent indicator provided for “Happiness.”
The result of the EQ-i 2.0 assessment provides information at three levels:
- How an individual is doing overall in emotional and social functioning, well-being, and performance
- How an individual is doing compared to the population at large
- How an individual is doing in each of the 5 composite scales and 16 overall scales
EQ-i 2.0 Coaching
Once the results are shared with the individual, Natalie Remund – a certified EQ-i 2.0 administrator and SHRM-CP certified consultant at MBS – will provide personalized coaching.
The goal of coaching is to enhance awareness of an individual’s strengths while identifying areas for growth. It’s not about being “good” or “bad” or earning a grade. We want to help individuals understand where they might need to dial up or dial down certain skills in different situations to achieve the outcomes that they desire. Coaching also helps people to recognize their emotional “triggers” or situations that might challenge their EQ skills more than others, requiring greater focus.
People often refer to the components of emotional intelligence as “soft” skills. However, we believe people should consider them “essential” skills instead. This is because enhancing EQ skills can help an individual achieve the best outcomes in both personal and professional life.
For more information on the EQ-i 2.0 Assessment and Coaching from Multi Business Solutions, check out our website and sign up today.