Business schools evaluate applicants holistically. Undergraduate performance—including major, grades, and standardized test scores—provide a glimpse into a candidate’s IQ. These measures allow admissions committees to assess applicants’ ability to handle the rigor of their program. But having a high GPA and a killer GMAT or GRE score doesn’t offer any insight into how a candidate works with others, which is of the utmost importance when preparing to be a people leader.
Although it is vital that business leaders be smart (i.e., IQ), having a high EQ is essential to engaging with others, getting them on board with a vision, and motivating them to work toward a shared goal.
What Is EQ?
Emotional intelligence (also known as emotional quotient or EQ) is the ability to understand, use, and manage your own emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges, and defuse conflict.
Alternatively, (for those who prefer bullet points!), EQ is
- Being able to identify and label different feelings
- Using emotions to guide your thinking and behavior
- Adjusting your emotions to fit different situations
- Being able to understand and relate to others
- Being able to communicate effectively
These components of EQ are essential to being a good classmate, teammate, and leader. However, there isn’t a 4.0 scale or a formal test like the GMAT or GRE to evaluate your EQ.
Having a high EQ creates a virtuous cycle. EQ enhances personal well-being, which leads to increased leadership ability—which, in turn, improves team performance. In addition, having a strong EQ improves decision-making, which can decrease occupational stress and reduce staff turnover. So, a leader with an outstanding EQ can better serve the people they manage, which enhances THEIR well-being.
Admissions committees will look to your essays and recommendations to get a sense of your EQ. If you are invited to interview, this is the ideal forum in which to demonstrate your EQ in real time. There isn’t ONE question that you might be asked to tease out your EQ, and you are unlikely to use the terms “emotional intelligence” or “EQ” in an essay or during an interview. Rather, the experiences you choose to share in an essay must SHOW the reader that you are aware of your feelings and those of others and are able to adapt your engagement appropriately.
EQ in Recommendations
Let’s take a look at how MBA programs are assessing your EQ. Most business schools accept the GMAC Common Letter of Recommendation, making it significantly easier for your recommenders to share their insights with multiple programs. Although some programs don’t officially accept this form, their questions are identical. The Common Letter of Recommendation provides a Leadership Assessment Grid (see excerpts below), on which recommenders are asked to rate an applicant based on 12 competencies and character traits that contribute to successful leadership. Admissions committees are looking to understand your influence and collaboration…
…respect for others…
…and self-awareness.
Your recommenders’ written commentary about your strengths can highlight specifics of your emotional intelligence as demonstrated through your engagement with colleagues.
How MBA Programs Consider EQ
Each MBA program has its own values that inform how it assesses prospective students.
For example, Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business wants students who are smart, accomplished, aware, and encouraging. On its website, the school specifically notes: “Encouraging, collaborative, and empathetic behavior is integral to our community, where supporting and challenging others with kindness and courage fosters strong relationships.” Read more here.
IQ+EQ is central to NYU Stern’s marketing message. “Stern is a diverse community of exceptional individuals – students who harness their interpersonal and intellectual strengths to master change and spark transformation,” the school says on its website. In fact, rather than calling them recommendations, Stern requests applicants submit a professional . Beyond the standard recommendation questions about strengths and constructive feedback, Stern poses: “IQ+EQ is a core value of NYU Stern, and we seek exceptional individuals who possess both intellectual and interpersonal strengths. Emotional intelligence (EQ) skills such as self-awareness, empathy, communication and self-management are at the core of our community of leaders. Please provide one specific and compelling example to demonstrate the applicant’s emotional intelligence.” Read more here.
The Yale School of Management’s application process includes an innovative Behavioral Assessment, a non-cognitive test developed by ETS (creator of the GRE) that measures a set of inter- and intrapersonal competencies that are associated with success in a management program. Each applicant is presented with 130 pairs of statements in a “Which would you rather?” format, asking them to pick which best aligns with their own behaviors. Yale believes that the Behavioral Assessment allows the school to “predict who will perform better than their academic history might suggest.”
The former dean of Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, Bill Boulding, introduced the concept of DQ or decency quotient in a 2019 Harvard Business Review article: “Successful leaders today and in the decades to come must possess triple-threat leadership capability: IQ+EQ+DQ. In other words, they must possess a combination of two familiar attributes — intellect and emotional intelligence — and one that I believe must be recognized and elevated: decency.” I recall precisely where I was when I first heard this term. Boulding notes that a lot of leaders have strong IQ and EQ yet use this powerful combination for their personal gain, not for the good of an organization or society. My mind immediately went to a former manager who exemplified this mindset and destroyed the careers of many colleagues while seeking personal gain. Those lacking DQ would not thrive in the Team Fuqua culture.
In most MBA interviews, applicants will be asked questions that will provide the interviewer with insight into their EQ. Many programs ask behavioral questions along the lines of “Tell me about a time when you failed” or “Tell me about a time when you worked on a team and someone wasn’t pulling their weight.”
The Wharton School takes the evaluation of EQ to the next level in its Team Based Discussion (TBD) interviews. Applicants are put in groups of five or six and are given a prompt to solve in about 35 minutes. As noted on the school’s website, Wharton is looking to “identify characteristics (communication style, level of engagement, leadership skills, decision-making process, etc.) that we believe contribute to the success of a Wharton student.”
Needless to say, your ability to understand yourself and your own emotions informs how you engage with others. Leadership is all about getting others on board with a vision and getting individuals to work together toward a common goal. MBA programs are educating the next generation of business leaders. Having EQ is table stakes for finding success as a leader in business and society.
Whether you are looking for comprehensive MBA admissions consulting, hourly help, or perhaps interview prep, we at Stratus Admissions Counseling can help you! Schedule your free consultation with a Stratus Admissions Counselor today.