What do you think of when you hear the word “leader” or “leadership”? For most people, we probably think of people like the president, the CEO of a company, or our supervisor. Maybe an outspoken celebrity comes to mind or someone who is innovative and breaking strides in a certain field. People who aren’t afraid to stand on the stage front and center, those who take charge, and call the shots. Sure, we want our leaders to be people we look up to, people who lead the way, people to get out there and show us how it’s done!

You have probably heard the term “emotional intelligence” (also known as EQ), but wondered what exactly does it mean? You may have also wondered why you should care about it, particularly in the workplace where we should be controlling our emotions and acting in a professional, rational manner. It turns out that, whether we realize it or not, many of us are already familiar with the concept of EQ, and there are multiple reasons why we should care about it, especially in the workplace.