Emotional Intelligence isn’t just limited to the corporate and workspace; it can be applied anywhere; for anyone. A major industry where there is a great benefit from learning about one’s EQ competencies in Higher Education. Students are constantly being thrown into stressful situations and need the tools to be able to cope with challenges within their daily lives.
The Director of Career Services at Georgia Southern University (GS) recognized this very early on in his career and when he learned about the EQ-i 2.0 assessment, he knew that it was exactly what he had been looking for when he first started in his role. He wanted to find something that would help students with leadership development and competencies. He always knew that he wanted students to receive coaching in competencies to help guide their success while at university because he knew that even though a post-secondary institution can provide lessons resulting in knowledge; it means very little if a student has a low EQ.
During his introduction to the assessment, he recognized in the results that Interpersonal Skills and Emotional Expression were the most easily developed skills and can be foundational in a student’s future success. The open-minded mentality and welcoming atmosphere that colleges and universities provide, aides in the development of these subscales significantly. The vast majority of students in post-secondary share similar experiences and fears when it comes to socialization, academics, and so on. This provides a very rich and productive environment for students to feel safe when expressing themselves.
His research and professional experiences also shone a light on the fact that Independence, Impulse Control and Reality Testing are areas of struggles for students because of the nature of the public education system in North America. Often classes and lessons are highly prescriptive and rigid, which can be counter-productive when students graduate and are encouraged to be independent. Georgia Southern University attempts to leverage a student’s EI to increase retention, progression through the college track, and graduation with an offer for employment in an industry of the student’s choice. GS’s research has shown that awareness of EI skills and strategies for developing areas of improvement have had a significant, positive impact on retention, progression, and graduation rates. The ability for a student to improve their emotional self-awareness suggests that students are being taught how to navigate the social and workplace setting of their future in a very positive way.
If you remember being lost and overwhelmed in a similar situation, it’s easy to understand why tools such as these are integral to one’s emotional and personal growth. Throughout the series, we’ve seen how Emotional Intelligence can help shape a better you and it’s not enough to be smart, or the most qualified person for any given job or post-secondary institution. It’s critically important to understand how one’s Emotional Intelligence can fuel a person’s success in a path of their choosing.
To learn more about our Higher Ed Report, please visit here.
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The Expert Series is brought to you by choice Magazine as part of our ongoing efforts to bring opportunities for learning and growth to the coaching community. Delivered in four parts every two weeks, each series covers useful topics for business development and coaching insights, serving the needs of leaders in all areas and walks of life. Archived copies of the previous series can be found here.
