Comparing Bradberry And Dr. Jean Greaves

Introduction

After co-authoring Emotional Intelligence Appraisal, Dr. Travis Bradberry and Dr. Jean Greaves took a step further in informing the world why emotional intelligence was so important. As the co-founders of TalentSmart, a consultant and research company that serves more than half of Fortune 500 companies, Dr. Bradberry and Dr. Greaves have created a guide to increase our emotional intelligence. Emotional Intelligence 2.0 serves as a step by step memoranda to increase your emotional intelligence. Drs. Bradberry and Greaves surround this plan around four core skills of self awareness, self management, social awareness, and relationship management. They believe that by increasing emotional intelligence while challenging these skills,

a person will succeed their goals easier and become more intact with their full potential. By reaching their full potential, their personal and professional life will be much more successful. The purpose of Emotional Intelligence 2.0 is solely to increase one’s emotional quotient. In this book review, I will review Emotional Intelligence 2.0 and I will reveal how this book can serve as great resource for human resource leaders in the workplace.
Outline
Recent studies have revealed that emotional quotient (EQ) is more important than intelligence quotient (IQ). Diffen.com states, “people with a high EQ usually make great leaders and team players because of their ability to understand, empathize, and connect with the people around them (Diffen, 2014).” IQ, on the other hand, reveals how well an individual score on many standardized tests, mostly in the fields of education and psychology. Bradberry and Greaves reveal early in the Emotional Intelligence 2.0 that while IQ is interesting, two thirds of people are controlled by emotions (Bradberry, Greaves, 2009). The authors also express the fact that most people in the workforce are not skilled in engaging in the emotions of themselves or their co-workers. Patrick Lencioni, the author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, states that this gap exists because “people just don’t understand it, they often mistake emotional intelligence for a form of charisma or gregariousness and they don’t see it as something that can be improved (Bradberry, Greaves, 2009)”. Discussing EQ, helps bridge that learning-doing gap that Lencioni refers to. It doesn’t take long for the reader to realize that is why Emotional Intelligence 2.0 is such a helpful resource because after revealing what emotional intelligence really is and how we can regulate it, we are able to change the way we think about success.
All emotions drive from five main feelings: happiness, sadness, anger, fear, and shame (Bradberry, Greaves, 2009).

They are natural feelings that remain unavoidable. However, the only way to move past them is to understand them, explore them, and control them (Bradberry, Greaves, 2009). The authors begin Emotional Intelligence 2.0, by giving a very descriptive example of the decisions and emotions a young man goes through while being in the ocean and barely escaping being attacked by a shark. It is clear that the actions the young man makes are controlled from fear. The emotional responses he faced aroused from a reasonable area of the human brain (Bradberry, Greaves, 2009). However, we he took the time to make a conscious decision, he was able to take control of his mind. The authors used this example to relate struggling with emotional decisions with everyday life. It is then brought to the reader’s attention how emotions directly correlate with skills that one has to have in every day life. The authors teach the reader, “EQ is the foundation for a host of critical skills, and it accounts for 58 percent of performance in all types of jobs (Bradberry, Greaves, 2009). The reader is encouraged to take an Emotional Intelligence Appraisal test before reading any further in the book, then again after completing the reading. This test will show where the readers EQ stands. After taking the first test, the book offers an action plan based off of the scores of the test. The reader is allowed to choose which skill they would like to work on and learn about first. The rest of the book is separated between the four skills (self awareness, self management, social awareness, and relationship management). The separations of the book go in depth and give strategies, instructions, and guides on how to strengthen, maintain, and express these skills. These actions strengthen your emotional

intelligence.
Style
Emotional Intelligence 2.0 is an expository piece of literature. Grammar.about.com describes an expository writing as “any piece of writing that conveys information and explains ideas (Nordquist, 2016). The book presents facts to an audience of readers that are interested in improving their emotional intelligence and understanding the emotional intelligence of others. The information is easily accessible and understandable. It offers descriptive suggestions and tips. For example, the book offers images and charts so that the reader can better organize the information being offered. It also gives the reader many chances to physically write in the book, to serve as a reference for the future. To make it even more personal, the authors suggest that the reader should select a mentor and write their name down in the book. This book is different from most because it serves as a guide instead of a suggestion. It is expressed to the reader as a life changing method, a gift to become more successful, and a tool to make day to day life a lot easier. The thesis is very easy to recognize and it is well-argued throughout the entire book.
Assessment
Emotional Intelligence 2.0 contributes to the course of HR 698 because understanding how important emotional intelligence can assist one’s value to an organization and help with leadership skills. These skills and values can increase the chances of an organizations success. This book contributes a key strategy to take into the workplace that can’t be offered by many. For example, when describing how to strengthen social awareness strategies, the authors suggest “to greet people by name, make timing everything, be aware of body language, plan ahead for social gatherings, clear away clutter, don’t take notes at meetings, etc. (Bradberry, Greaves, 2009)”. These key concepts are not always something someone can learn from their boss or even a textbook. These are instructions that the authors have offered based off of their own research and experiences with evaluating the strategies. While the reader begins to understand their own emotional intelligence, they are also able to understand the EQ of others around them. How beneficial it is to understand a co-workers EQ! This is very important while working in Human Resources because “we enter the workforce knowing how to read, write, and report on bodies of knowledge, but too often, we lack the skills to manage our emotions in the heat of the challenging problems we face (Bradberry, Greaves, pg. 2009).” HR.com expresses the following ways that EQ competencies correlate to the success of the workplace:
“Social Competencies-Competencies that Determine How We Handle Relationships
Intuition & Empathy. Our awareness of others’ feelings, needs, and concerns. This competency is important in the workplace for the following reasons. Understanding others: an intuitive sense of others’ feelings and perspectives, and showing an active interest in their concerns and interests. Customer service orientation: the ability to anticipate, recognize, and meet customers’ needs. People development: ability to sense what others need in order to grow, develop, and master their strengths. Leveraging diversity: cultivating opportunities through diverse people. Political Acumen & Social Skills. Our adeptness at inducing desirable responses in others. This competency is important in the workplace for the following reasons (HR.com, 2005).”

Initially, when having to choose a book to do a report on, Emotional Intelligence 2.0 caught my eye because Steven Covey wrote a great review on the book. Steven Covey is the author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, which happens to be one of my favorite books. It also serves as a personal guide to reach success. On a personal level, I enjoyed reading the book and I am extremely happy that I purchased it. I am excited to have it as a new edition to my personal library. I look forward to friends and family coming over and asking, “What’s this one about? Is this a good read?”, because I will recommend it immediately. As a future Human Resources leader, this book revealed a side of employee relations that I had not been exposed to as of yet. This is a subject that can not necessarily be taught in the classroom. For that, I am thankful that I researched it on my own so that I may be able to have a personal experience with the topic.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Drs. Bradberry and Greaves wrote Emotional Intelligence 2.0 to give insight on the meaning of EQ and how to improve it. They offered a clear guide and step-by-step description of how to challenge yourself in strengthen your emotional intelligence so that one would be able to reach goals and full potential in life. The authors gave easy legible definitions of scientific terms and descriptions. The authors did an exceptional job of giving the reader a personalized book by giving them the option to write and chart progression in the book itself. It would be easy for the reader to go back to this book at anytime and refresh themselves on EQ and ways to improve it. I am a firm believer that one must know where they came from, before they can know where they are going. This book is a great source to understand that, as it helps you compare what your emotional intelligence was before you learn ways to strengthen it by following the directions the authors offer.