Six out of the eight games in the elimination round of 16 in the on-going FIFA Soccer World Cup were decided by a margin of one goal or less. Of the six, two were decided with penalty goals after the extra time plus the 30-minute over time, and three were decided after the extra time (these include the heartbreaking loss in the USA-Belgium game!). In the quarter-finals, all the four games were decided either by a margin of one goal or by penalty kicks after the over time. That means, all these games in the elimination rounds were fought hard until the last second and certainly were nail-biting finishes.

As the teams advance to the higher stages, the quality of teams increases and so does the quality of the contests. As demonstrated in the elimination rounds, more than in the group stage, the teams have to bring much more than the skill and the expertise to win the games. They have to have the stomach and stamina to fight until last, constant focus to not let the guard down even for a second, perseverance to keep attacking, and hold the nerves until the final whistle is blown.

This is akin to what we experience in our career as we advance to the higher levels. What certainly helps us outperform our peers and grow in the initial stages of the career is our IQ (here for argument sake I am including one’s breadth and depth of the knowledge, subject matter expertise, and the intellectual capabilities, all into the IQ). However, once we are at the higher stages where similarly intellectually capable individuals have also arrived at, what helps us hold edge over others is the emotional intelligence (EI, or popularly referred to as EQ).

As proposed by Daniel Goleman in his book “Leadership: The Power of Emotional Intelligence”, and also widely researched about its influence on leadership abilities, EQ is what matters more in higher stages of the career. There are no substitutes to the abilities to hold the nerve under pressure, stand steady against odds, persevere in spite of failures, and stay focused until the completion for a greater success.