Shawn Andrews: What Is Emotional Intelligence And How Is It Relevant To Hiring?

Why should we care about Emotional Intelligence when building a company today? People with high EQ, work better with others, manage customers more effectively and cultivate an accepting company culture.   

Today's Quote:

“Emotion is more powerful than logic” - Albert Einstein

Show Guest:

Dr. Shawn Andrews is a keynote speaker, organizational consultant, and the founder and CEO of Andrews Research International. She serves as adjunct professor at Pepperdine Graziadio Business School, where she teaches courses on Organizational Behavior, Women in Leadership, Diversity in Organizations, and Leadership and Ethics. She was the 2017 Diversity & Inclusion columnist for Training Industry Magazine, and is the author of the book, The Power of Perception: Leadership, Emotional Intelligence, and the Gender Divide (Amazon.com)

Episode highlights:

• • EQ, What is it?
  • How to you get it?
  • Incorporate into your hiring

What is EQ?

Set of emotional and social skills that collectively establish how well we:

• Perceive and express ourselves
• Develop and maintain social relationships
• Cope with challenges, manage stress and make decisions
• Use emotional information to guide our thinking and action
• Managing emotions
  • Manage stress
  • Overcome obstacles
  • Inspire toward collective goals

• Self perception, Self expression, interpersonal, decision making, Stress Management
• Tied into core company values

Why is it Important?

• Low Emotional Intelligence breeds bad cultures
• “Hire hard, manage easy”

What if you don’t have EQ? How do you get it?

• Get EQ assessment
• Read a book

EQ for different roles:

Leadership:

1. Interpersonal relationships
2. Assertiveness
3. Self-awareness

Sales:

1. Self-actualization
2. Assertiveness
3. Happiness

Marketing / Creative:

1. Optimism
2. Reality testing
3. Independence

Customer Service:

1. Stress tolerance
2. Assertiveness
3. Happiness

Product Development /Manufacturing:

1. Flexibility
2. Problem solving
3. Independence

Interviewing for EQ

• Behavioral Interviewing
  • Comfortable candidate- feel conversational, warm & informal
  • Start: difficult challenge that was solved, commend… then go granular
  • “Hire hard, manage easy”
• Deep reference checking
  • Evidence of low & high EQ behaviors