Read JP’s New Article in Harvard Business Review? Start the Last 8% Leader Assessment + Pre-Order JP’s New Book
Read JP’s New Article in Harvard Business Review? Start the Last 8% Leader Assessment + Pre-Order JP’s New Book
Thank you for your candor in taking the Emotional Intelligence test. Your answers have placed you in the very low emotional quotient range. This score suggests that while your technical or intellectual intelligence may be strong, you are facing significant difficulties when it comes to managing your emotions and interacting effectively with others.
The good news is that you have taken this crucial first step. We know that Emotional Intelligence can be improved, and IHHP offers proven programs to help you build fundamental intelligent behaviors and stronger, more constructive coping skills.
Improve your leadership in a world of nonstop change with IHHP’s science-backed EI solutions. We translate the neuroscience of behavior into practical tools to build trust, engagement, and resilience. Equip yourself and your teams to perform under pressure, foster collaboration, and effectively resolve conflict, driving measurable results and transforming culture.
Emotional Intelligence is the ability to understand and manage your own emotions and recognize them in others. It encompasses various social interactions and determines how you handle pressure and make decisions. Far beyond simple intelligence measures, it is a key predictor of workplace success and personal fulfillment, making it a critical aspect of social intelligence.
If your score is very low, you are likely experiencing significant and disruptive challenges in your professional life. These difficulties stem from a severe deficit in self-awareness and social awareness.
You may experience intense, uncontrolled emotional reactions—such as immediate frustration, defensiveness, or anger—leading to significant conflict and a negative professional image. This points to a lack of impulse control and effective stress management.
You find it extremely difficult to build and maintain professional relationships because you consistently misunderstand or ignore social cues and lack the foundational skills for constructive interaction.
Your default reaction to disagreement is reactive rather than thoughtful, causing minor issues to quickly escalate into major problems and preventing productive resolutions.
You often interrupt or fail to fully absorb what others are saying during conversations. This shows a deficit in active listening and empathy, hindering meaningful connection and learning.
You tend to internalize intense emotional experiences, which manifests as debilitating stress and anxiety. Developing healthy coping mechanisms is essential to managing this pressure and preventing burnout.
Very Low Emotional Intelligence is not a permanent state; it is often the result of learned behaviors and environments, not a lack of cognitive intelligence. Understanding the root causes is the first step toward improving your measure of workplace performance.
The primary cause is the inability to foster trust due to low self-awareness and empathy. This deficit makes it difficult to admit mistakes, be transparent, or share concerns. Teams then struggle with low accountability, poor communication, and often require micromanagement, ultimately eroding psychological safety.
A lack of EI manifests as the absence of core skills necessary for successful DEI initiatives. Without strong self-awareness, recognizing personal biases is nearly impossible. Without empathy and self-regulation, managing reactions and understanding diverse perspectives becomes a severe struggle, resulting in an uninclusive and unproductive environment.
Very low EI hinders the development of a resilient learning culture. Individuals who lack these emotional skills struggle to ask thoughtful questions or seek constructive criticism. The result is a cycle where stress and negative thinking dominate, preventing the curiosity and patience necessary for both individual and organizational growth and adaptation.
Your frankness is commendable. Although you may be technically gifted and have very high IQ, your EQ is on the low side and you likely struggle to manage emotions when you are under pressure. It appears you may have some work to do.
If you scored in this range, you may find yourself blowing up at people or keeping emotions inside and not expressing them. Either way, you may be feeling a lot of stress and anxiety, and losing sight of where you are in life. Are you stopping and waiting to let strong emotions pass before you react? Are you allowing the ‘winds’ of change to direct you – instead of setting your own course based on an internal compass? Are you responding to life and its pressures with fear and insecurity rather than passion and purpose?
Don’t despair! Emotional intelligence is not set at birth – it can be learned and improved. If life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we respond, then we hold the power to create the lives we want!
Whether you are interested in personal development or professional development, we can help you with improving your emotional intelligence.
Our training delivery options include in-person and live online programs as well as self-paced online programs. No matter how much you already know or what your learning style is, there is a program for you.
