How to work with challenging personalities (and avoid being one of them)

"Oscar Wilde famously noted, "Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go." It is arguably one of the best brief illustrations of emotional intelligence (EQ), a trait that became popular thanks to a nonacademic best-selling book by journalist Daniel Goleman, in which he insinuated that EQ is a more important driver of success than IQ (a claim that has been discredited)."

"And yet, there's no shortage of evidence for the importance of EQ when it comes to predicting interpersonal effectiveness, defined as the ability to manage yourself and others in everyday life. In fact, long before EQ was coined in academic research ( before Goleman popularized the term), decades of personality research had already highlighted reliable individual differences in the propensity to engage in more or less effective intrapersonal and interpersonal behaviors. In fact, way before HR managers celebrated EQ, your grandma called it good manners."

"Dr. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic is a professor of organizational psychology at UCL and Columbia University, and the co-founder of DeeperSignals. He has authored 15 books and over 250 scientific articles on the psychology of talent, leadership, AI, and entrepreneurship. Problematic personalities Now onto the actual research: Here are five science-based generalizations about people with challenging personalities; that is, people who are significantly more taxing, unrewarding to deal with, and demanding on others than the average person is."

Oscar Wilde's aphorism contrasts people who create happiness with those who create relief by leaving. Emotional intelligence (EQ) became prominent after Daniel Goleman's popular book, which claimed EQ outranks IQ for success—a claim since discredited. Substantial evidence shows EQ still predicts interpersonal effectiveness, the ability to manage oneself and others in daily life. Decades of personality research identified stable differences in intrapersonal and interpersonal behaviors long before EQ terminology. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic is a psychologist and entrepreneur who contributes to research on talent, leadership, AI, and entrepreneurship. Five science-based generalizations describe people with challenging personalities who are more taxing and demanding than average.

Read at Fast Company