EQ 2.0: The Book That Changed Our View of Emotional Intelligence in Leadership

The book EQ 2.0 was published in June 2009, and it was groundbreaking. Not because it was about emotional intelligence, but because it was one of the first books that made a direct connection between emotional intelligence and the impact it has on your leadership.

Before the book came out, you could work with a coach or join a program and get a quick assessment of your emotional intelligence. EQ 2.0 took that a step further. 

(Here at Winning Ways, we talk about emotional intelligence (EI) a lot. EI is a broad concept that describes a person’s ability to understand and manage their own emotions and those of others. Emotional quotient (EQ) is a measurement of a person’s emotional skills.)

EQ 2.0 is a book – and an assessment 

The authors of EQ 2.0, Jean Greaves, Travis Bradberry, and Patrick M. Lencioni, included a short, online assessment with the book. The assessment provides you with a baseline of your EI. It also prompts you to select one area to work on. Six months later, a new assessment pops into your email. You take it again and find out if you improved that one area you were working on.

Not only is EQ 2.0 a short book – you can read it in just a few days – it is also a great deal. For just $15, you get a phenomenal read, learn things about leadership and yourself around EI, and take two assessments. I recommend it often.

An EI 360 Assessment provides even more information on your emotional intelligence as a leader

If you want to go even deeper, you can take the EQi 2.0 assessment (which, despite its title, is not related to the book). Evaluators include you, plus a dozen or so peers, supervisors, and direct reports who evaluate your EI as a leader. The report you receive provides you with valuable insights on the gap between how you view your EI in leadership versus how others see it. 

This can be profound information for a leader. 

I worked with one leader who took this assessment, and it was filled with good news. He saw his EI the same as most of his evaluators. He was so in alignment with the results  – even in areas where he thought his EI wasn’t very strong.

When we were going through the debrief, he said, “Wait a minute. I guess everyone knows these are my weaker areas.” He picked one area – empathy – and he put together a plan to work hard on that. 

So even if you’re a leader who is very self-aware, like this leader, the assessment allows you to increase your self-awareness even more. 

There is great power in learning more about your EI. It’s truly something that you keep learning more about. You will never learn everything. You will always find new areas to tweak, focus on, be more aware of, increase, decrease, etc.

I have been working on the same EI competency for years. Have I made a lot of progress? Yes. Do I have a ways to go? Yes.

The question I am asked most about EI 

“How do I work with someone who has low EI?”

Every person I have worked with has brought this up. Three common situations I am asked about are:

• How do I, as a leader, work with a direct report who can’t take any feedback?
• How do I work with a supervisor who has so much impulse control they never speak up?
• How do I work with a fellow leader or direct report who has no impulse control?

Here are the tips I provide leaders with:

What to do if a direct report can’t take feedback

If your direct report gets defensive immediately – before you even finish what you’re saying – you need a new approach. Once a person’s amygdala is lit up with fear, they can’t hear you. 

Ask them: 

When is the best time to receive feedback? First thing in the morning, after lunch, or at the end of the workday?

How do you want that feedback delivered? Do you want me to send it in an email ahead of the meeting? Or do you want a heads-up in person that we will discuss it tomorrow?

Knowing in advance what you want to talk to them about can go a long way in calming the amygdala so you can have a productive conversation.

What to do if someone has too much impulse control

You and your team are working on a big project with your direct supervisor. You’re dreading it, because they don’t always speak up during leadership meetings with their peers, leaving you and your team to wonder if you’re going in the right direction. 

If you mention this to them, they will say, that’s OK, someone always asks the questions I have. It works out. 

This person needs strategies to develop a voice and be a more impactful leader. Because they are your supervisor, this might be awkward to bring up with them, which is where a coach comes in. 

A coach can work with them and help them get more comfortable speaking up during meetings. For example, one strategy may be for them to speak up at least once within the first 10 minutes of the meeting and speak up again before the meeting ends. 

What to do if a fellow leader has no impulse control

One of your peers interjects anytime someone is sharing an experience – happy, sad, difficult, etc. Before that person can even finish, your peer interjects, “Oh, yes, my spouse went through that once….” And they take over the conversation, making it all about them.

You can do one of two things:

During a quiet time at work, duck into their office. You can say, “I noticed that when Jenny was telling us about her mom’s cancer diagnosis, you shared your wife’s experience. I know you meant well, that you were trying to make a connection, but you didn’t let Jenny finish. She just wanted to be heard.”

Your peer might not realize that what they’re doing is hurtful, not helpful. A quick conversation might be all they need to do better. If you know this person well, you could also suggest they read EQ 2.0 and take the assessment. You could offer to be accountability partners. You can share what area you’re going to work on and ask them to share what they’re doing to work on.

If your fellow leader cannot take feedback (see above!), your second option is to propose having the entire leadership team take an EI assessment. As a group, you can also watch Brene Brown’s excellent video on empathy and then discuss it.

Try these strategies to see what happens!

Curious as to what your EI is – and how it can help you become an even better leader?

Don’t wait to improve your EI. The one thing you could be working on may be key to moving forward in your career. 

Contact us to schedule an EI assessment today. You can reach us at 703-434-3990 or via email at [email protected].