We’ve all heard of IQ (Intelligence Quotient), but what about EI (Emotional Intelligence)?
While
IQ is designed to measure intellectual intelligence, indicating
cognitive abilities like learning and understanding, EI measures one’s
ability to identify and manage emotions both in themselves and others.
Usually, people with a high IQ are more likely to do well academically
with little mental effort. However, it takes more than just being “clever” to be successful.
Studies actually reveal how someone who is better at networking, being positive and keeping motivated has bigger chances of becoming successful than someone with a high IQ.
Why, you ask?
For instance, individuals with a high level of Emotional Intelligence prove to be better at understanding their own psychological state, which can include managing stress effectively and being less likely to suffer from depression. This is partly because they find it easier to form and maintain interpersonal relationships and to ‘fit in’ to group situations.
Moving on to Motivation, it’s key that we understand its origins.
Emotional
Intelligence is divided into ‘Personal’ and ‘Social’ competences, which
broadly split between personal and interpersonal skills. Motivation is
one of the key personal skills, as shown in the diagram below:
What is Motivation after all?
Motivation is what pushes us to achieve our goals, feel more fulfilled and improve overall quality of life.
Daniel Goleman, who developed the concept of Emotional Intelligence in the mid‘90s, identified four elements that make up motivation: our personal drive to improve and achieve, commitment to our goals, initiative, or readiness to act on opportunities, as well as optimism and resilience.
But how do these 4 elements concretely add up to becoming more successful?
Well, let’s go back to our initial statement on IQ and how it takes more than merely being smart to “making it” in your career.
While it may help to be knowledgeable, you can often find that without the proper motivation, the quality of your work is not at its full potential. It’s all about loving what you do, and doing what you love.
The mechanism is quite simple, actually: when we enjoy our work, we are known to be more productive and deliver better results. It’s the loving what we do that gets us motivated, and it’s the motivation that drives us to working harder and generating high quality work products.
This is what experts call intrinsic motivation, the kind that comes from within and fuels you with desire to overcome a challenge, to produce high-quality work, or to interact with team members you like and trust.
Extrinsic motivation on the other hand is when you are encouraged by external factors to achieve your goals. Pay raises, time off, bonus checks, and the threat of job loss are all extrinsic motivators – some positive, some less so.
Needless to say, we’re all different, and subsequently respond as such to different motivational stimuli. And this is why it’s particularly important to get to know what motivates you– knowing and, of course, using this will get you halfway through to being successful in your job.
But careful, don’t confuse responsibility with motivation. While it’s true we’re each responsible of keeping ourselves motivated and discovering new and exciting sides of our profession, the intrinsic element we discussed earlier will always have a final say.
In other words, as long as you love what you’re doing, you will naturally look to improve yourself in that area.
Is your employer keeping you motivated?
Studies show that motivated people are highly adaptable, particularly when it comes to change, and they have a positive attitude at work. They help to spread an organization's good reputation, reduce rates of absenteeism, and improve performance and profit. They also work hard to achieve their goals, and work with a greater sense of urgency than unmotivated people.
Having in mind these wonderful benefits, it becomes clear
that employers are equally responsible for their team members’
motivation level - by creating an environment that helps them to become
more intrinsically motivated, both the employees and the organization
can reap the rewards.
Motivation at Oracle
Here at Oracle we take this pretty seriously and do our best to keep team members motivated and happy, providing them with a healthy work-life balance level. But don’t take my word for it, listen to what our employees have to say:
And remember: work hard means you also play hard.
About the author:
Andreea Nicolescu is passionate about branding, employee engagement and storytelling. She has been a communication professional for over 8 years. Currently part of the Recruitment Branding team at Oracle, she is looking to improve her marketing skills and find new and exciting ways to promote content.