What predicts success? It's not your IQ

The CEO of one of the world's largest financial management firms was confused. He wondered how it was possible that only a few of his employees were excellent, most were mediocre, and there were weaker individuals. After all, he was recruiting the best and brightest graduates from top schools - shouldn't they all be excellent?

In Malcolm Gladwell's bestseller David and Goliath , which I recently read, the author explored the same mystery. Malcolm was taken aback by the startling discovery. Average and weaker students from Ivy League schools achieved excellent results on the SAT tests. The best students from less prestigious schools were not so successful in the SAT tests, but they are still more successful today.

Both Gladwell and the aforementioned CEO had the same idea: they assumed that our success in school predetermines our success in life . But it doesn't work that way.

Gladwell came up with the explanation that the relative failure in life of average students at top schools is perhaps due to a sense of low self-esteem and the idea that they are just a small fish in a big pond. However, this explains the problem only partially, because there is much more hidden behind it.

A University of Pennsylvania study shows that students who don't have the highest IQ in their class, but still get better grades, share an attitude called "strong will." They constantly strive despite all obstacles and failures.

A thirty-year study of more than a thousand children—the gold standard for uncovering connections between behavioral changes—showed that children with the best cognitive self-control were the most financially successful in their thirties. Cognitive self-control predicted success more reliably than IQ and better than the wealth of the family in which children grew up.

Cognitive self-control describes the ability to deny oneself immediate pleasure in order to achieve a longer-term goal , to be able to control sudden impulses, the ability to manage disturbing emotions well, to maintain attention and to always be ready to learn. Strong will presupposes good cognitive self-control. It is not surprising that this will then be reflected in financial and personal success.

For a deeper understanding of the attributes that really determine success, we find a more satisfying answer in another type of collected data: competency models. These studies are carried out by the companies themselves and serve to identify the skills of the best workers . The models pinpoint the link between willpower and cognitive self-control, but they go beyond that. The skills that distinguish top employees from average ones fall on the spectrum of emotional intelligence: self-awareness, self-management, empathy and social effectiveness.

Both strong will and cognitive self-control represent self-management. A key part of emotional intelligence. Of course, IQ and technical skills also matter: these are essential skills you need to get the job done. However, absolutely everyone with whom you compete at work has these skills.

It is precisely those differentiating abilities that are a crucial factor for success in your workplace: differences that you can only find in top performers - and these are largely influenced by emotional intelligence.

These skills include, for example, self-confidence, determination and persistence in achieving goals, the ability to work under pressure , harmonious cooperation, the ability to persuade and influence. Top employees of companies of all kinds are evaluated for these skills up to twice as often as for their IQ or technical skills alone.

As you move up the career ladder, so does the importance of emotional intelligence: for top management positions, emotional intelligence is 80 to 90 percent.

For this reason, I believe that we should teach children these very skills. It's your intelligence and expertise that will get you the job - but your emotional intelligence that will ensure your success.

You can learn more about developing the skills of future leaders in my new book, which I wrote with Peter Seng - The Triple Focus: A New Approach to Education.

Other interesting resources:

American Management Association Course: Developing Emotional Intelligence (in person or online in the summer)

What Makes a Leader: Why Emotional Intelligence Matters . A compilation of my articles from my time at Harvard Business Review and other business-related articles. This oft-cited, proven material has become essential "literature" for executives, coaches, and educators who are committed to supporting top management, increasing performance, and driving innovation.

R esonant Leadership: Inspiring Others Through Emotional Intelligence : this expert lecture by Richard Boyatzis (Co-author of Primal Leadership and Chair of Organized Learning at the Weatherhead School of Management) gives you the tools to be the kind of leader you want to be - including exercises for self-reflection valuable and effective techniques.

Leadership: A Master Class : An eight-part video collection containing more than 8 hours of research findings, studies and valuable expertise, interviewing recognized leaders in leadership management, organizational research, workplace psychology, negotiation and recruitment. Corporate and educational licenses available.

Article written by Daniel Goleman.
We translated it from the Czech language from http://www.mimoskolu.cz/co-predpovida-uspech-vase-iq-to-neni/