Jay S. Sidhu on Emotional Intelligence

"True success in life comes from being emotionally and spiritually healthy or by being an authentic person.

I believe that you cannot be a great leader unless you are a great human being first and you cannot be a great human being unless you are authentic. The same principles that apply to emotionally healthy families, to emotionally healthy and authentic friendships and relationships apply also to teams and businesses. It does not matter whether you wish to pursue a career in business, government, not-for-profit, education, law, healthcare or entrepreneurialship. Your college education has only developed your I.Q. skills. Your successes in life will be mostly dependent upon your communication skills, listening skills, empathy, honesty, integrity, being genuine, constantly seeking feedback, having values - or being authentic.

Socrates and Aristotle, centuries ago, spoke about the importance of self- awareness and knowing yourself. Learn to know yourself and you can stop living with a stranger. Imagine for a moment the person in your life you admire the most. Is it your parent, friend, faculty member, or a coach? Ask yourself why. Is it because they are or were genuinely trusting, a great listener, always there when you needed them, selfless, humble, and yet confident? In other words, they had wisdom and maturity. Wisdom comes from being authentic, knowing yourself, being truthful and most important, listening to the life experiences of your parents, grandparents, and your religious leaders.

So I urge you to continue to develop your emotional intelligence each day."

Read his entire address here.

In 2004, the Jay S. Sidhu School of Business & Leadership at Wilkes University in Pennsylvania opened its doors with a unique program that emphasizes not only business skills, but also the value of cognitive and emotional intelligence.