How to Ensure Accurate EQ Testing Scores

If you do a Google search for emotional intelligence assessments, you will find plenty to choose from. Many you can do yourself, and those are usually free. But when it comes to EQ testing, self-assessments are missing one key element that impacts the accuracy of your score.  

(To clarify: EQ stands for emotional quotient, a measure of your emotional intelligence.)

Self-administered EQ testing isn’t always accurate for one reason 

The best emotional intelligence assessments do a wonderful job helping people understand themselves. Yet there is still the possibility that the result will be skewed based on how you view yourself. 

You may have heard of a study that found the vast majority of drivers rate themselves as “above average” compared to their fellow drivers. Based on the number of car accidents, injuries, and deaths on US roads every year, it is clear that many drivers have inflated views of their driving abilities. 

Well, this extends to our views of our own emotional intelligence. And that is one of the biggest issues with self-assessments. If you take it yourself, it means you are scoring yourself (obviously!). However, your EQ testing score is reliant on your self-awareness. 

For example, are you aware that you talk over people during meetings? Or avoid team projects because you believe you work more quickly and creatively than everyone else? If you are not aware of these behaviors and beliefs, you may score yourself high in certain areas. 

Years ago, a client took a self-assessment, and his EQ score was off the charts. I was really impressed, until I learned more about him. He couldn’t control his temper and had very few long-term relationships. His assessment did not accurately measure his emotional intelligence. 

To get an accurate EQ testing score and truly understand your emotional intelligence, you need to do one of two things.

For an accurate understanding of your EQ score, an expert needs to debrief you

You can absolutely take an online assessment, but you need to have an expert debrief you. If you don’t work with an expert who is certified in the assessment, you may interpret things about yourself that are not accurate. Why get wound up about something you perceive as negative if that’s not the case at all?

It is very common to misinterpret the results of an assessment simply because you are not an expert in the assessment and its terminology. There are 16 of us coaches in the Winning Ways practice, and we are all certified in various assessments. 

Hands down our most popular offering is the EQi 2.0 assessment. 

• It only takes 20 minutes to complete. 
• You receive a 24-page report that provides a baseline score for 16 areas of emotional intelligence.
• Importantly, you get a 90-minute debrief on your EQ test scores with one of our leadership coaches certified in the assessment. 
• You will walk away from the debrief with concrete strategies for improving your emotional intelligence.

This can also be a helpful assessment for your entire team to take.

For an even clearer picture of your emotional intelligence, take a 360 assessment 

The Emotional Social and Competency Inventory (ESCI) assessment is a 360 EQ test. You and your peers, direct reports, and bosses fill it out. The findings are often very powerful. 

Perhaps you think you are very empathetic but everyone in one of your rater groups, perhaps your peers, says your empathy is low. That is a big perception gap between what you think you are strong in versus what everyone else is seeing. You may argue, “That’s not fair, Joan. I know I have more empathy than that!” 

The ESCI is not about fairness. What matters in this EQ test is how people perceive you. Now you have a decision to make. Do you want to work on increasing your empathy to close the perception gap? 

We may find that you have empathetic thoughts (“Oh, wow, that’s so sad about Dan’s aunt”)  that don’t translate into empathetic behaviors (like checking in on Dan to see how he and his family are doing). 

This form of EQ testing is also ideal for leaders, teams, and even entire organizations who have plateaued and want to continue to grow and succeed. 

After one CEO completed the ESCI and realized his influence was much lower than he thought, he decided to set an ambitious goal: Read at least one book or take at least one course every month focused on influencing. He stuck to this goal, and the benefits to him, his team, and the entire organization were extraordinary. 

How could improved emotional intelligence impact your organization?

Imagine what would happen if you: 

• Improved your decision making process
• Understood how you reacted to and managed stress
• Become more aware of your feelings? 

Your increased awareness will transform you into an even more effective, successful leader. 

We’ve seen transformations play out in local and national companies in many industries, specifically engineering and technology. If you’d like to learn more about EQ testing, please reach out anytime to start the conversation: info@winningwaysinc.com.