How Curiosity Becomes the Driver towards Emotional Intelligence

Understanding our own emotions is a critical aspect of leadership. Empathy enables the experience from within the other person’s position. One driving factor is curiosity.

Following the terms IQ and EQ, author and Pulitzer Prize winner Thomas L. Friedman promoted the term “Curiosity Quotient” (CQ) without providing principles of measurements. In his view, curiosity and passion are even more important than intelligence (CQ + PQ > IQ). An often-quoted example is Steve Jobs learning calligraphy which later helped him to design the Macintosh by adding his passion to apply the acquired knowledge.

While curiosity is often meant to learn things in this ever-changing world, it can also be a driver to develop Emotional Intelligence. In my own leadership journey, I have been promoted from an individual contributor role to become an accidental manager in a set of 29 countries in Central & Eastern Europe. It was also the transition from business development within a stable market to a sales management position in an emerging region.

The European VP of Sales as my “dotted-line” manager saw the region like one country and expected me to handle the nuances between the different cultures…