Why EQ is more valuable than IQ for accountants

Most accountants have great technical skills but what sets the best ones apart from the rest is their emotional intelligence, argues Edi Osborne.

Lately I have read a lot of articles about getting ready for the NextGen accountants - I've even written a few myself. All of us who like to comment on this subject recognise one of the greatest challenges for the profession in the coming years is succession.
 
The message seems to be that the older practitioners need to suck it up, count to ten, and just accept the newest generation and the attitudes they bring to the workplace. I'm here to say, Hogwash! That seems very one sided to me.
 
This tendency to give in and accommodate the younger generation may, in the moment, seem like the right move, but in the long run aren't we just setting up the same scenario to repeat itself when the next generation (still in school) joins the profession? What needs to happen instead is that we stop accommodating any particular group (including grumpy partners) and start growing the firm's overall emotional quotient (EQ).
 
Firms with a high EQ are focused on building a culture where each person on the team, regardless of attributes of position, age, gender, ethnicity, etc. is held to the same high standards of empathy, sensitivity, cooperation, and self-management.

How to up your firm’s emotional intelligence
So how can firms overcome the generational challenges? First we need to recognise that conflict among the generations is symptomatic of poor emotional intelligence (EI) on both sides. In a profession where teamwork is critical, this is unacceptable. Rather than continuing to lecture on multi-generational differences, firms would see a greater ROI by investing in the growth of the entire firm's emotional quotient. Why? You can't change the differences, however you can measurably improve your firm's emotional quotient
 
Unlike your IQ, which is pretty much set at birth and therefore considered an attribute, your EI-EQ is not set, it is a skill that can be developed. This is the greatest revelation of our generation, the recognition that even the most intellectually brilliant people have the potential to fail if they don't have the right EI skills. Proof of that statement is that we all know someone who may not be an intellectual giant but is incredibly successful at what he or she does. Likewise, we know really smart people who are clueless when it comes to interacting with people.

It would appear that success would have far more to do with EI than IQ. Many practitioners - both young and old - who are touted for their technical abilities will never progress upwards in their careers due to their lack of EI. According to ‘Emotional Intelligence 2.0’ by Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves, "as much as 58% of performance can be directly related to EI factors". That means that if someone has poorly developed EI, that person's overall performance is likely to be correspondingly poor especially in the areas of teamwork, training, and managing, which can adversely affect the entire team.

Here's the good news - thousands upon thousands of EI assessments have been correlated and validated against actual performance, and the connection is clear. Those with the highest EI win. Daniel Goleman, a pioneer in the area of social and emotional intelligence, found that EI is twice as important as cognitive ability in predicting outstanding performance. Equally clear is our ability to apply specific skills to improve our EI.

Translating EI into improved performance
What sets exceptional performers head and shoulders above their peers is their ability to willingly accept feedback and translate that into better performance. Equally important is their ability to read a situation in the moment and fine-tune their performances accordingly.
 
Similarly, the difference between a good and a great accountant often comes down to the ability to gauge/feel the needs and issues of others and fine-tune his or her approach accordingly. This is true of every interaction we have whether it be family, clients, team members, or strangers on the street.
 
In the moment fine-tuning is what ultimately improves our EI. The more we fine-tune, the better we get at recognising the need to. The positive reinforcement from those around us motivates us to be even more aware and continually fine-tune going forward. It is a very positive cycle once it gets rolling. Like ripples in a pond, working on your own EI causes everyone on the team to see you and, based on your behaviour, see themselves, in a new light. When everyone is working to improve his or her individual EI, that's when you see the firm's EQ scores really jump.

Bottom line: Every day your firm is not focused on growing its EQ there is a lost opportunity cost. The ROI on improving your firm's EQ is immediate with dividends that will continue to pay for years to come, making your firm a good candidate for the Accounting Hall of Fame. If you are a sole practitioner, consider your clients as part of your team. By raising your individual EI skills you'll be better at understanding and addressing their needs and see the value of your client relationships grow accordingly.

Edi Osborne is CEO of Carmel Valley, CA based Mentor Plus has 20 years' experience helping accounting firms develop a client centric culture. She and her partner, Steve Osborne, are Certified Analysts in multiple areas of human capital assessment. They have applied this talent to help many firms develop better internal communication and cooperation as well as improve external, client focused interactions. www.mentorplus.com

This article originally appeared on our US sister site, AccountingWEB.com.