Soup for the Soul!
By Debra McKnight
What’s the Difference Between IQ and EQ?
Upon becoming employed at Independent Living, I sometimes wondered what I am doing here. I would look around at everyone sitting at the staff meeting and feel so inadequate. I would say, I am not as smart as that person, or not as engaging as that person, my IQ is limited.
One day as Oprah Winfrey would say, “I had an ah ha moment”. I came across the book titled Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goldman. In this book, Goldman defined the difference between IQ and EQ.
IQ, according to Daniel Goldman:
- Visual and spatial processing
- Knowledge of the world
- Fluid reasoning
- Working memory and short-term memory
- Quantitative reasoning
EQ, on the other hand, is a measure of a person’s level of emotional intelligence. This refers to a person’s ability to perceive, control, evaluate, and express emotions.
EQ according to Daniel Goldman:
- Identifying emotions
- Evaluating how others feel
- Controlling one’s own emotions
- Perceiving how others feel
- Using emotions to facilitate social communication
- Relating to others
That was my “ah ha” moment, I said I may not have the IQ of everyone else, but I have the EQ. I find that working in the field of Human Services, and working with people with disabilities, requires more of your EQ than IQ. Who needs to know math, science, social studies, American History, etc.? Your EQ is wrapped around empathy, emotions, compassion, perceiving how other’s feel, and relating to others. To answer my own question, “What am I doing here”? I am doing what I am supposed to be doing; showing compassion, perceiving how other’s feel, and most importantly, relating to others.
Do not misunderstand me, I am not saying that you do not need a high IQ, what I am saying, for me, it is just as important to have EQ to go along with your IQ. For me, having more of an EQ has heightened my self-esteem and the feeling of self-worth when I found that I had all the qualities of what it takes to be a good human being and a good service provider.
Sources: Daniel Goldman “Emotional Intelligence”