Emotional intelligence describes an ability, capacity, skill, or self-perceived ability to identify, assess, and manage the emotions of oneself, of others, and of groups. In the workplace, success seems to hinge on intelligence, logical capabilities, and job-related skills, rather than what we do with our emotions. It becomes important to understand what we and others are feeling, how to manage our own feelings and the relationships with others. Thus, emotional intelligence is the outcome of effective communication between the rational and emotional centers of the brain.

If your emotional abilities aren't in hand, if you don't have self- awareness, if you are not able to manage your distressing emotions, if you can't have empathy and effective relationships, then no matter how smart you are, you are not going to get very far (Daniel Goleman, 1998). Emotional intelligence describes the ability, capacity, skill, or self-perceived ability to identify, assess, and manage the emotions of one's self, of others, and of groups (Olivier Serrat, 2009). People who possess a high degree of emotional intelligence know themselves very well and are also able to sense the emotions of others. They are affable, resilient, and optimistic. Surprisingly, emotional intelligence is a relatively recent behavioral model: it was not until the publication of Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ by Daniel Goleman (1998) that the term became popular. The Intelligence Quotient (IQ) is a score derived from one of several different standardized tests to measure intelligence. It has been used to assess giftedness, and sometimes underpin recruitment. Many experts have argued that IQ or conventional intelligence is too narrow: some people are academically brilliant yet socially and interpersonally inept. And we know that success does not automatically follow those who possess a high IQ rating. Wider areas of intelligence enable or dictate how successful we are. But emotional intelligence, often measured as an Emotional Quotient (EQ) is more and more relevant to important work-related outcomes such as individual performance, organizational productivity, and developing people because its principles provide a new way to understand and assess the behaviors, management styles, attitudes, interpersonal skills, and potential of people. It is an increasingly important consideration in human resource planning, job profiling, recruitment interviewing and selection, learning and development, and client relations and customer service, among others (Hughes, Patterson and Terrell, 2005).

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