Accelerating Growth

Last week I spoke at two conferences across the US. I got to meet many folks in the human capital space – both from the industry as well as consultants, coaches, and trainers. I spoke about Emotional Intelligence (EQ) and why now–during this decade–and in the context of all the changes I wrote about last year (recession, globalization, tech, and generations), EQ is the right competency to focus on. One of the more frequently asked questions I get is whether we can actually increase our EQ.

The answer is an unequivocal YES. Unlike your IQ or personality traits that get defined early and then remain relatively stable throughout your life, we can not only grow our EQ, but we can actually accelerate that growth. Is it possible to be 30 years old and have the emotional maturity of a 40 year old? Of course it is. We all know people like that. You yourself may have been accused of being “mature for your age” at one point or another. Can this accelerated growth be orchestrated? Yes and in fact, it is already happening.