Claire Shambro
Impulse4Women
The business world has long valued traditional leadership traits such as decisiveness and competitiveness, often overlooking the power of emotional intelligence in driving success. However, emotionally intelligent entrepreneurs possess unique strengths that foster innovation, build strong relationships, and create thriving businesses.
The strength of emotional intelligence enables leaders to connect with employees and clients on a deeper level, while improving communication and decision-making. Despite persistent stereotypes that emotions are a liability in business, the ability to understand and manage emotions is, in fact, a key asset. Women entrepreneurs possess this skill on a larger scale and can utilize it to make better business decisions within fast-paced industries, like the tech sector. Entrepreneurs who leverage the skill of emotional intelligence are able to navigate challenges with resilience, inspire their teams, and set themselves apart in an increasingly competitive market.
Although it’s known as “every man for themselves” in the business and tech world, high interpersonal skills and collaboration are vital strengths that stem from emotional intelligence. Psychologist Daniel Goleman is known for recognizing the interpersonal skills associated with emotional intelligence (EQ): self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills. According to Research Gate, women tend to express higher levels of empathy, self-awareness, and social skills, while assertiveness and confidence are often recognized as the strengths in men. This demonstrates that women possess more traits associated with EQ, and therefore, have the ability to foster higher levels of emotional intelligence when compared to their male counterparts.
To further understand the connection between emotional intelligence and entrepreneurship, there was a study conducted by Dlofan Salman to see if dimensions of EQ would have an effect on entrepreneurial behavior. The result, after studying over 60 people’s personality behavior in a controlled setting using statistics, was that there was a strong correlation between the two. Utilizing EQ characteristics as an aspiring entrepreneur allows for more authentic connections to be created, facilitates communication within the business, and creates an environment of collaborative decision-making. This further demonstrates that women who foster the ability to understand their own emotions and the emotions of others, have the opportunity to harness their innate entrepreneurial behavior.
Women entrepreneurs in the tech industry specifically can cultivate their emotional intelligence (EQ) to make informed business decisions that will allow them to proactively handle the challenges of a fast-paced tech landscape. In the tech world and any aspiring industry of business, entrepreneurship is about leadership and the ability to adapt to constant change, ensuring a startup thrives amidst competition and disruption. As Bill George, a successful business leader, once said, “Leadership is not defined by IQ; it’s defined by emotional intelligence.” In entrepreneurship, EQ serves as the foundation for sustainable business leadership and practices, helping startups not only gain a foothold in the industry but also maintain long-term success within the working environment created.
Emotional intelligence is a crucial trait that enables women entrepreneurs to effectively navigate workplace dynamics across all industries with their inventive thinking. It plays a key role in entrepreneurship, particularly in networking and communicating ideas. As a powerful asset, EQ provides a competitive edge by boosting workplace motivation, morale, and productivity, which are essential elements for a thriving startup. By harnessing emotional intelligence, especially in the tech sector, women entrepreneurs can enhance leadership and teamwork communication, ultimately driving startup success.
