Good Judgment

Imagine for a moment that you could see through the surface of a person’s fleeting emotions and discover the stable, enduring traits that truly define who they are. Many of us have been told that emotional intelligence—the ability to read and respond to emotions—is the secret to success in relationships and leadership. It feels intuitively right. After all, who doesn’t want to be empathetic, sensitive, and socially adept? But beneath this appealing notion lies a surprising truth: emotions are transient, often lasting less than two minutes chemically, and thus offer only a snapshot, not a full portrait, of a person’s character. Emotions flare up and fade, but personality is like the bedrock beneath the waves, steady and defining.

Consider the popular concept of emotional intelligence (EQ). It has been widely embraced, championed by business leaders and educators alike as a panacea for improving decision-making and leadership. Yet, much of what is sold as EQ is a muddled blend of emotional abilities and ingrained personality traits. This mixture dilutes its scientific validity. Real emotional skills—like recognizing feelings and managing them—are indeed useful but only a small piece of the puzzle. The true essence of good judgment lies deeper, in the stable patterns of thought, feeling, and behavior that we call personality.

Personality traits, unlike emotions, are remarkably consistent over time. They shape how we think, how we relate to others, and how we respond to challenges. These traits are measurable and predictive. The Big Five model, encompassing Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism, has become the gold standard for understanding these dimensions. When we learn to perceive these traits accurately, we gain a powerful advantage in predicting behavior and making sound decisions.

For example, imagine a CEO needing to choose a leader for a critical division. Emotional intelligence might help him gauge who seems warm or confident in the interview moment, but it won’t reveal who will persist under pressure or communicate effectively day in and day out. A deep understanding of personality traits will. Traits like conscientiousness and emotional stability predict who will thrive in demanding roles far better than momentary displays of emotion.

This insight is a call to shift our focus from fleeting feelings to enduring character. It invites us to develop perceptivity—the skill to see beyond surface emotions and recognize the stable traits that govern behavior. This skill is not innate for most but can be cultivated through deliberate practice and understanding.

As we embark on this journey together, remember: good judgment is not about being nice or reading moods. It’s about truly understanding who people are at their core. And this understanding is the foundation for all meaningful relationships and successful decisions. Let’s explore how to build this skill and apply it in our lives.

Next, we’ll dive into a practical framework that distills personality into manageable, insightful categories, making the complex simple and the invisible visible.