THE ROLE OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN WORK

It is not always the intellectually intelligent people who are the most successful or the most fulfilled in life. We probably know people who are good in academics, and yet are socially uncomfortable. They are unsuccessful at work or in their interpersonal relationships. Intellectual abilities or intelligence quotient (IQ) is not enough on its own to achieve success in life or work. Yes, our IQ can help us get into the best colleges. Our emotional quotient (EQ) will help us manage the overwhelming stress and emotions that come with making career choices. IQ and EQ go hand-in-hand at the organizing workplace and are most effective when they complement one another. Thus, in this article we are going to talk about the role of emotional intelligence at work.

HOW DO EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE SKILLS AFFECT THE WORKPLACE?

The competencies that make up emotional intelligence can be learned at any stage in life. It’s important to remember that there is a significant difference between simply learning about emotional intelligence and actually implementing it. It can also override our best intentions and decisions. In order to change behavior in healthy ways that stand up under pressure, we need to learn how to overcome stress in the given moment, and in our relationships.

The role of emotional intelligence at work is commonly defined by five attributes:

• Self-awareness – The ability to recognize and label our own emotions and how they affect our thoughts and behavior. It is the skill to know our strengths and weaknesses, and have self-confidence.
• Self-regulation – We’re able to control and direct impulsive feelings and behaviors, manage our emotions in healthy, appropriate ways, take initiative, follow through on commitments, and adapt to changing environments.
• Social skills – The key is effective communication and active listening. We are able to understand the emotions, needs, and concerns of other people, feel comfortable socially and recognize the power dynamics in a group or organization. We know how to establish and maintain good relationships, inspire, work well in a team, and resolve conflict.
• Motivation – Emotionally intelligent persons are motivated internally to achieve goals for inner satisfaction and happiness, rather than external rewards such as money or fame.
• Empathy – This is the ability to share and understand someone else’s feelings and emotions as if they were one’s own. It is best understanding others’ situations in order to help them deal with life situations better.

ENHANCING EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

Steps to enhance emotional intelligence –

• Perceiving emotions – The first step to enhancing emotional intelligence is perceiving emotions. This ability relates to being aware of recognizing other people’s personal moods and emotions accurately, identifying emotions in other people. Expressing one’s own emotions and needs acting accurately and appropriately according to the situation, and distinguishing between accurate and inaccurate.
• Using emotions to facilitate thought – Using emotions to facilitate thought involves redirecting and prioritizing our thinking based on the emotions associated with those thoughts, generating and intensifying emotions that will facilitate better judgment, rational thinking and memory, capitalizing on mood changes so we can appreciate others opinions as well, and using mood states to improve our problem-solving skills and creativity.
• Understanding emotions – The skill of understanding emotions includes understanding the relationships between various emotions and how they produce different reactions, perceiving the sources and consequences of emotions, understanding complex feelings and contradictory emotional states, and understanding the transitions from one emotion to another.
• Managing emotions – The final technique, managing emotions, refers to being open to and accepting both pleasant and unpleasant feelings, monitoring and reflecting on our emotions, engaging, prolonging, or detaching from a particular emotional state and directing the emotions both within ourselves and in others in the right direction.

The role of emotional intelligence at work is profound. By understanding our emotions we’re better able to express how we feel as well as understand how others are feeling. This allows us to communicate more effectively and build stronger relationships, both at work and in your personal life.