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18 | FALL 2019 But what about emotional intelligence (EQ)? More importantly, how much positive infl uence can EQ have on our career prospects and overall behavior? To answer that, let's fi rst start by defi ning it. Widely introduced as a concept in 1990 by psychology professors Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer, emotional intelligence was described as "the ability to monitor one's own and others' feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one's thinking and actions." In practical terms, EQ represents how we regulate and manage emotions in our brain to steer desired outcomes. Psychologist and author Daniel Goleman helped bring the term further into the public eye with his landmark 1995 book, Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ. Goleman identifi ed fi ve components of emotional intelligence: 1. Self-awareness: The capacity to understand our emotions and not let them rule us or adversely affect others. 2. Self-regulation: An ability to control emotions and moods, avoid impulsive decisions and think before acting. 3. Motivation: A passion to work hard, pursue goals and achieve success for nonexternal rewards not involving money or status. 4. Empathy: The ability to relate to and work with the emotions, needs and viewpoints of other people. 5. Social skills: A command of relationship building and management that includes creating common ground and forming a rapport with others. How to achieve it? Build strong communication skills by maintaining a measured tone of voice, adopting positive body language and making eye contact. Why should you care about developing your emotional intelligence? The traits identifi ed by Goleman are highly valued by employers, and evidence of this trend is mounting. A 2011 CareerBuilder survey of more than 2,600 hiring managers and human resource professionals revealed that 71% value EQ more than IQ in an It's no secret that we regard intelligence as a desirable trait. IQ, or intelligence quotient, has long been held up as a worthy measure of a person's ability to logically reason, judge and comprehend.