The Overestimation of Emotional Intelligence

English

Have you heard? They say that your EQ counts more than IQ for success. In fact, they say, EQ accounts for 80% of success. As the person who wrote Emotional Intelligence, the book that put the concept on the map, I can tell you that they are dead wrong.This and other myths about emotional intelligence constantly float around the blogosphere and get talked endlessly by management consultants.

TIP

你听说过吗？人们常说，情商比智商更能决定一个人的成功。事实上，他们说情商决定了80%的成功。作为《情商》（Emotional Intelligence）一书的作者，这本书让情商的概念广为人知，我可以告诉你，他们大错特错。这种说法以及其他关于情商的谬论在博客圈流传甚广，管理顾问们也对此津津乐道。

English

The misinterpretation started nearly the moment TIME put the question, "What's Your EQ?" on its cover when my book Emotional Intelligence was published in 1995. And by now we are long past the time when it should be put to rest for good. Here are the facts. There's no question IQ is by far the better determinant of career success, in the sense of predicting what kind of job you will be able to hold. It typically takes an IQ about 115 or above to be able to handlethe cognitive complexity facing an accountant, a physician or a top executive. But here's the paradox: once you're in a high-IQ position, intellect loses its power to determine who will emerge as a productive employee or an effective leader. For that, how you handle yourself and your relationships---in other words, the emotional intelligence skill set---matters more than your IQ.

TIP

这种误解几乎始于1995年我的著作《情商》（Emotional Intelligence）出版时，当时《时代》杂志在其封面上刊登了“你的情商是多少？”这个问题。如今，这个问题早已过时，不应再被提及。事实是这样的。毫无疑问，智商是职业成功的更可靠决定因素，因为它能预测你能从事什么样的工作。通常，智商需要达到115或以上才能应对会计师、医生或高管所面临的认知复杂性。但矛盾的是：一旦你身处高智商的职位，智力就不再能决定谁能成为高效的员工或高效的领导者。因此，你如何处理自己和人际关系——换句话说，情商技能——比你的智商更重要。

English

In a high-IQ job pool, soft skills like discipline, drive and empathy mark those who emerge as outstanding.Companies know this. Corporate surveys find that more than two-thirds of major businesses apply some aspect of emotional intelligence in their recruiting, in promotions, and particularly in leadership development. But that emphasis has created a mini-boom in emotional intelligence consultants who too often ignore what the data tells us to make unfounded claims that will sell their services.One of these fanciful claims is the often-repeated mantra that such personal skills "account for 80%" of business success. This particular myth may stem from a misreading of the studies I've written about in my books that look at how much of career success is accounted for by a person's IQ alone.

TIP

在高智商人才库中，诸如自律、动力和同理心等软技能是脱颖而出的标志。各大公司都深谙此道。企业调查发现，超过三分之二的大型企业在招聘、晋升，尤其是领导力培养中，都会运用情商的某些方面。但这种重视也催生了情商咨询师的蓬勃发展，他们常常无视数据，为了推销自己的服务而做出毫无根据的宣传。其中一个不切实际的说法是，人们经常重复的口头禅是：这些个人技能“占了80%”的商业成功。这个谬论可能源于对我书中所写研究的误读，这些研究探讨了一个人的智商在多大程度上决定了职业成功。

English

Most researchers conclude that IQ accounts for between 10 to 20 percent. That, as I've pointed out, leaves room for a wide range of other factors ---everything from the family or social status you're born into, to luck, to emotional intelligence, to name but a few. But people seem to jump to the conclusion that EQ alone makes up that 80% gap---and it does not.

TIP

大多数研究人员认为智商（IQ）占10%到20%。正如我所指出的，这其中还有很多其他因素——从出生的家庭或社会地位，到运气、情商等等，不一而足。但人们似乎轻易就得出结论，认为情商本身就能弥补这80%的差距——但事实并非如此。

English

The wish to believe EQ offers a magical alternative to IQ no doubt has multiple drivers. For some, it may be a consolation for poor school grades; for others a code for humanizing the workplace. Still others see EQ as an argument for more women in leadership. All those reasons may, one day, find hard data to support them.

TIP

相信情商是智商的神奇替代品，这种愿望无疑有多重驱动力。对一些人来说，它或许是学习成绩不佳的慰藉；对另一些人来说，它则是职场人性化的象征。还有些人认为情商是让更多女性担任领导职务的论据。所有这些理由，或许终有一天会找到确凿的数据来支持它们。