Beyond Smart

Book excerpt: Everyone is familiar with "IQ"--intelligence quotient. Most lawyers put their IQ scores up there with their SAT and LSAT scores as generally acknowledged evidence of their competence. But what is your emotional intelligence quotient? And why should you care?"Emotional intelligence" (EI) is the ability to recognize, understand, and regulate our own and others' emotions. Industries worldwide have incorporated EI into their education, hiring, training, and management programs to maximize performance. BEYOND SMART: LAWYERING WITH EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE is the first comprehensive guide to understanding and raising emotional intelligence in the unique context of law practice. It explains the origins of EI, a lawyer's historic role in developing the concept, how lawyers compare in EI to other professionals and how to determine your level of EI. Beyond Smart also outlines how: - Emotionally intelligent lawyers are smarter, better practitioners--as negotiators, litigators and judges, make more money, and are physically and mentally healthier;- Emotionally intelligent law departments and law firms profit from more effective leadership, greater performance, enhanced teamwork, and increased client satisfaction, as well as lower attrition, healthcare and professional liability costs;- Emotionally intelligent practices can thrive in an increasingly competitive and technologically complex marketplace, even outperforming artificial intelligence; and- Individuals, workplaces and law schools can take steps to raise emotional intelligence.This user-friendly, practical resource is designed for today's legal professional who desires to improve their communication, client service and leadership skills and create a high performance, high functioning workplace.