The importance of Emotional Intelligence
Emotional Intelligence is the ability to understand, manage and express emotions in healthy constructive ways. It’s about recognising your own emotional state and the emotional states of others. Emotional intelligence is also about engaging with others in ways that draw people to you.
Why does emotional intelligence matter? There are a host of reasons. It affects physical and mental health, relationships, and performance at work. It can also affect your career prospects. Many employers are testing job candidates for emotional intelligence because it shows how well they manage their own emotions and affects their relationships with other people.
A study from the Harvard Business Review found that 90% of the difference between star performers and average ones in senior leadership positions was due to emotional intelligence factors rather than cognitive abilities. Put simply, people with high emotional intelligence make the best leaders.
There are four aspects to emotional intelligence – self awareness, self management, social awareness and relationship management.
Self awareness – The ability to recognise your own emotions and how they affect your thoughts and behaviour, know your strengths and weaknesses, and have self-confidence.
Self management – The ability to control impulsive feelings and behaviours, manage your emotions in healthy ways, take initiative, follow through on commitments and adapt to changing circumstances.
Social awareness – The ability to understand the emotions, need and concerns of other people, pick up on emotional cues, feel comfortable socially and recognise the power dynamics in a group or organisation.
Relationship management – The ability to develop and maintain good relationships, communicate clearly, inspire and influence others, work well in a team and manage conflict.
The good news is that emotional intelligence can be improved through concerted effort and a willingness to be open to change.
So…how emotionally intelligent are you? Do you want to improve? It’s up to you.
Categories: Leading & Managing, Self Development,