Why Communication is the Most Important Skills for Business Leaders

What did Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Winston Churchill and Gandhi have in common? They were all excellent communicators. Their speech could galvanize the entire nation and spur everyone to follow their footsteps. Think about what they have accomplished by defining a clear vision and communicating that effectively and in simple terms so that even tan illiterate person could understand what he was being asked to do, and would do it without asking any question.

Such is the power of effective communication. While good communication is no doubt important in politics, its importance is no less in the business world. When you think about it a business leader is tasked with the same mission as a political leader – to galvanize the entire organization to rally behind him and give everything to the business he works for so that the business would prosper.



That is why business schools as well as great companies pay so much attention to verbal and written communication. When hiring a new employee he is asked about his communication skills. When promoting someone to a leadership position his communication skills are being looked at very carefully.

So what constitutes good communication skill? According to this article “Good communication means the intended message you send is received by your audience without any distortions in meaning.” A good communicator is able to deliver the message in a concise and clear fashion so that the audience understands exactly what he is asking them to do. In this age the medium of communication has proliferated significantly. You can not only deliver verbal message in person or via Podcast, you can also deliver the same message in written form via email, Twitter, blog, video or even in pictorial form.

IQ vs. EQ – What is More Important to Succeed in Business?

What is an important criterion to determine success in business – Intelligence Quotient vs. Emotional Quotient? The debate of importance between IQ and EQ has been going on for quite some time. Some argue that IQ has been standardized over number of years and hence is a pretty good indicator of a person’s ability to deal with the challenges of business. On the other hand, there are people who make a case that IQ has nothing to do with the success of failure in business. It is how you deal with your own emotions and those of others that helps you succeed in business. So who is right? What is more important IQ or EQ? Let’s understand what they are and how they help a person succeed.

Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

IQ was invented in the early 20th century. Since then it has been the most common professional measure of person’s intelligence. It has been used in number of situations to determine person’ intelligence and his ability to perform certain tasks.

Due to 1971 ruling from US Supreme Court companies are barred from using IQ tests for hiring employees unless they are specifically related the job employees are required to perform. Because of which majority of companies do not administer these tests during job interview and instead resort to behavioral questions and tests. Companies can however use these tests to determine the performance of employees after they have been hired.

According to report published by Harvard Business Review IQ tests predict the performance of managers to a limited extent. They can measure someone’s vocabulary knowledge, or arithmetic and spatial skills, but many of those skills are not directly applicable to the workplace.

Emotional Intelligence (EQ)

As the name suggests emotional intelligence does not really deal with person’s intelligence as such. According to Harvard education professor Howard Gardner “Your EQ is the level of your ability to understand other people, what motivates them and how to work cooperatively with them.” Proponents of EQ argue that EQ is far more important than IQ in dealing with people in everyday lives.