What Trips Up A Leader?

EQ? IQ? Ego?

I am amazed at how often I will hear companies say about a poor performing leader, “yea, I know they aren’t great with their team but we can’t afford to lose their knowledge.” So what you are saying is that a person’s IQ is more important than their EQ? Or rather that you will hurt an entire team’s value in order to retain some IQ in your company?

Inevitably in each case when the company finally lets the poor leader go they find the team suddenly is more productive and MORE knowledgeable then any one ever saw. In fact, every time it was the leader that was holding the team back rather than together!

Don’t be wowed or held prisoner by someone’s IQ. After all, IQ and knowledge can be taught to anyone. IQ is what computers try and very successfully can duplicate. What they can’t duplicate is EQ- the ability to emotionally look at things in order to see them in a different perspective. That quality is one you absolutely need in your leaders. Think of EQ as the windows to the soul while IQ is the stairs to the tower.

When is the last time your ego had a check? Failure is not something we crave in any way. Matter of fact, I find most management teams work so hard to avoid failure that they end up not taking the right risks which results ultimately in…failure.

“A bad day for your ego is a good day for your soul.” Jillian Michaels.

I love Jillian’s comment because whenever we ask executives what are their defining moments, ultimately what comes out is the times that they were challenged the most. It is their failures and how they handled them that defines them, not their successes.

Take action: Take a moment right now to right down some of your failures- what you learned from them and how that shapes what you do today. Note which ones are propelling you forward and which ones define you by HOLDING you back! For example, when you bombed at your first speaking engagement in grade school did you decide to never speak up again or did you tackle learning how to present well so it wouldn’t happen again?

You will be surprised at which ones really have moved your forward and which ones you have allowed to keep you prisoner. Then take the ones holding you prisoner and look at- what can I do to change this? why am I invested in keeping this one (often they give you comfort even though they actually are hurting you.)

Take Action: Be sure to look around today and make sure you promote those who are balanced with IQ and EQ. You need them to be smart but more importantly you need them to make others around them smarter.

Outcome Thinking® is so powerful with leaders because it COMBINES and allows you to take your IQ and increase its value as you build your EQ. It is the best of both worlds.