For more than a century, scholars, including W.E.B. Dubois, have attempted to uncover the secrets of Black business success and the causes of persistently high rates of underperforming and failing Black businesses. The dilemma continues to be a major impediment to economic and political parity for African Americans. Even among the most successful Black businesses in America, their profits and market share far from rival the performance of Fortune 500 companies. During the past three decades, however, mounting evidence has shown that a key factor distinguishing high-performing businesses, entrepreneurs, and professionals from their peers is emotional intelligence (EQ). White-owned businesses have gotten a jumpstart on leveraging EQ training to help increase their sales, profitability, and longevity. Antonia "Dr. M" Martinez, Ph.D., founder of New York-based consultancy, Conscious Enterprise, Inc., and author of the 10 Steps Forward online emotional intelligence course says it's time for Black entrepreneurs and professionals to catch up.
The emotional equivalent of IQ, but a greater predictor of success, EQ is the ability to acquire and apply emotional, social, and interpersonal knowledge and skills. It consists of multiple dimensions, including self-awareness, emotional self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. People with high EQ have greater mastery over their emotions, clearer insight and intuition, and tend to build quality relationships. This helps them to be more confident and effective leaders, communicators, and problem-solvers, among other things. "As a result, they often advance farther and faster," Martinez explains. "Where people have vulnerabilities in their emotional intelligence, they tend to unconsciously sabotage themselves either personally or professionally—or both."
An area where Dr. M is especially excited to see EQ gains for Black businesses is sales. 2018 data from the Small Business Administration (SBA) showed that White-owned businesses outperformed Black-owned businesses in sales by a factor of 67. "That is a massive gap to close," notes Martinez. "Studies have demonstrated EQ to be an effective and trainable competency for improving sales performance. The ability to read a room is a key EQ superpower contributing to this outcome." Other skills enhanced by training EQ include stress management, work-life balance, teamwork, and decision-making.
"Ultimately, the competencies one cultivates by training emotional intelligence enhances success because EQ increases the capacity to build the right ecosystem to support that success," says Martinez who is also a psychotherapist. The first step in increasing emotional intelligence is to assess it. "We've set up a free, scientifically valid EQ assessment test at FreeEQTest.com that measures eight dimensions of emotional intelligence." The assessment reveals how one's EQ strengths and weaknesses might impact their thinking, behavior, and relationships. It's a useful tool to identify individual EQ training goals and can spark insightful discussions among teams and partners looking to proactively improve their dynamic.
Emotional intelligence contributes to the bottom line and the quality of life within a company or a unit. "Since it can be trained, it should be for those who want to leverage its advantages," concludes Martinez. Coupled with other Black entrepreneurial success factors, including start-up capital, large contract awards, or experience in a family business or apprenticeship, developing EQ can give entrepreneurs a new edge to increase and sustain long-term success.
