“Emotional intelligence is more important than cognitive intelligence in influencing an individual’s success.” Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Support your perspective.

Many students may argue that to be successful, an individual requires high IQ (cognitive intelligence). Although cognitive intelligence is important, many organizations are recognizing that EI (emotional intelligence) is a critical competency for the performance of most jobs. To effectively work in dynamic, team-oriented environments, employees require the ability to manage, understand, assimilate and express emotions effectively.

At the same time, some popular experts on emotional intelligence may have overstated the importance of this concept. They initially concluded that EI is much more important than cognitive intelligence, but critique from other experts led to more moderate statements today. The relative importance of EI and IQ will continue to be debated, but they are both highly important. A key point as well is that EI and IQ are important in different ways. For instance, EI may be less important than IQ in individual decision making, whereas EQ may be more important than IQ for tasks requiring interpersonal activities.