AI or EQ? Try BOTH!

Many of my young coaching clients are worried about Artificial Intelligence and are wondering what they can do to advance their careers. I have given many presentations lately about this topic, so I thought I would share it with you so that you could share it with others. What I tell them is that career advancement isn’t about skills anymore. It is about identity.

Many of young professionals new, needed habits will not be technical. They will be about shaping how others perceive them and how they perceive themselves (emotional intelligence). EQ has become a critical part of today's work environment. That is what will create the new gravity of a long-term career. People will remember who you are more than what you did, especially when you are using AI tools.

And when it comes to creating new habits, subtraction is as important as addition. While building new habits, gossip, unnecessary loyalty and unhealthy routines should be eliminated. Career growth will be less about doing more and more about reducing habits that slow us down.

Some inexperienced executives think networking is an event. You look for events, you schedule them, and you go to them. Networking should become a lifestyle. Remembering names, lifting others up and managing up are not isolated incidents—they build on each other. By consistently doing them you build a reputation. And it pays dividends when you least expect it. It will bring collaborations, promotions and job offers guaranteed.

So here is some advice from someone who not only has a lot of work experience but someone who was instrumental in bringing AI into his profession. First, focus on getting stuff done AND being easy to work with. Build up your self-worth and stick to it.

Hard work is critical. But what is even more important is what you work on and who you work with. So, as the saying goes, work smart. Be smart about who you work with. And be as selective as you can about what you work on. In today’s work environment, specialists are overrated and generalists are underrated. So, the goal is to create a powerful stack of complementary skills.

Whenever you can, manage up. When you report up in the organization, say this: here is what you asked me to do, here is what I did, here are the risks and blockers, but if given more time, I would do this. This approach is magical.

Remember that weirdness could be what sets you apart and gets you hired. This is the complete opposite from when I started my career, but I believe it be true today. We should be our unapologetically weird selves. NO, I do not mean that you should bark in the board room like the recent commercial displayed (NOT THAT WIERD!).

Do not complain. No one likes complaining. So why do we do it? Why do we gossip when no one really likes it because they know that you gossip about them when you are talking to someone else! So cut out all complaining and all gossip.

People love the sound of their own name! And their second favorite is for you to remember the names of their loved ones and pets. The best salesman that I ever knew kept names in his notes for each customer so that when he went to a meeting with a prospective customer he would ask about their lives. He sold more than all the other salespeople combined (in a very large company) and no one could figure out his secret. It is emotional intelligence which is what this entire story is about. As you lift others up, you will be lifted. Success is not a zero-sum game. Your greatest asset will be a network of people whose lives you have positively impacted.

I have written a lot about training the brain. There is a massive amount of information available today about brain science. And I am not going to repeat it here except to say that we need to manage the thoughts that we run through our brain, repetitively. Science shows that if we want to think differently, we need to replace old thoughts with new ones. We need to do that every day, and we need to continue it over three to four weeks before we completely establish new habits.

Science has also shown that when we are establishing new habits, we need to have a strong rest ethic. You will not be effective at what you are doing if you are too tired because of doing too much. One study that I read suggested have a few silent breaks throughout the day. This is where you intentionally try to clear out all your thoughts for just a few minutes. It is also a proven fact that we think better when we eat nutritious foods and stay hydrated. I see so many people at their desk with an open bottle of mountain dew and a bag of chips. If you really want to be on your game mentally, this is not the course of action!

One more word on weirdness. It is a differentiator in the world of AI. Sameness is no longer an attribute. Most workplaces are loaded with people trying to just fit in. And in doing so they make themselves interchangeable in this plug and play world. Show your quirks whether it is unconventional problem solving or creative thinking, or even just your sense of humor. The goal is to create your own personal brand. That uniqueness will make you memorable, and being memorable is a good thing in a world with so much sameness.

Finally, pay your success forward. Thank those who have supported you along the way. The karma thing is real. My son, a software engineer, called a former boss just to say thank you for all the experience that he had while working at that company. He was offered an even better job, with an even more powerful tech company. What goes around comes around-both good and bad. Why not spread the good around?

So, what is your EQ?

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