Someone’s ability to identify and perceive their own and others’ emotions, evaluate them, control their own emotions, and express them in order to facilitate social communication and relate to others, as well as to use all of this information to guide their thoughts and behaviour – this ability is referred to as emotional intelligence.
In contrast to emotional intelligence, which was described above, IQ refers to cognitive intelligence, which deals more with abilities such as general knowledge about the world, reasoning skills, working and short-term memory, as well as visual and spatial processing.
Emotional intelligence is important because humans are largely social creatures. Being skilled in abilities of emotional intelligence, such as empathy, helps when interacting with other people. Research shows that those who have strong leadership qualities also tend to possess more emotional intelligence. Having emotional intelligence also helps with the self, as you are more aware of yourself, and it can help you feel more grounded, stable, and be clear-minded. It can increase initiative and self-confidence. All of these are beneficial to a person’s personal life and their career.