Emotional Intelligence and what it means for your career.

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What is emotional intelligence?

Emotional intelligence is “the ability to manage both your own emotions and understand the emotions of people around you”. Studies have shown that workplaces that exhibit emotional intelligence have: high employee retention, better productivity, and higher success rates in the overall performance of the organizations. Due to this, emotional intelligence has been a critical focus for leadership, and most in managerial positions were trained on it. However, companies now realize the benefits of having the entire workforce trained in emotional intelligence.

According to The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), there are five competencies for emotional intelligence (EI), that is:

• Self-awareness- Understanding one’s emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence behavior across contexts.

• Self-management- Effectively managing one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in various situations.

• Social awareness- Understanding other perspectives and empathizing with all types of people, including those whose backgrounds and cultures differ from your own.

• Responsible decision-making- Making choices about behavior and interactions considering various consequences, from ethical standards to safety concerns.

• Relationship skills- Establishing and maintaining healthy and supportive relationships with diverse people and groups in various settings.

How do you get emotional intelligence?

Here are five steps that you can use to develop your emotional intelligence

1. Self-reflection

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At the end of the day, reflect on how your meetings, projects, and interactions went—positive or negative. Write this down to help you spot specific behavior patterns, reactions, and others.

Through this, you will identify where you excel, how others feel, and what upsets you.

2. Get feedback

Ask for feedback from your manager, colleagues, and peers while conducting a self-assessment. You will gain valuable insights into what your co-workers perceive as your strengths and weaknesses and uncover any blind spots you might have.

3. Become an active listener

It would help if you were a good listener to be an effective communicator and emotionally intelligent. To become more emotionally intelligent, practice active listening. Focus on what the speaker is saying and show that you’re engaged by paraphrasing and using other non-verbal cues like nodding. Avoid interrupting and respond once you are sure the other person has finished speaking. It will be easier to genuinely connect with others once you have mastered this skill.

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4. Pay Attention to Your Emotions

When you feel a powerful emotion, whether positive or negative, consciously think about your feelings. Then, take a second and consider why you’re feeling this way and what might have triggered such a strong emotional response.

This will help you become more aware of your emotions and better understand your colleagues.

5. Take an Online Course or Training

Taking an online leadership course or training could be the best next step if you’re interested in diving deeper into emotional intelligence.

Online courses offer working professionals the flexibility to complete coursework on their schedule and connect with a global community of like-minded peers while gaining new skills and knowledge.

One program to consider is the Harvard Business School Online Leadership Principles course.

Benefits of emotional intelligence

While you might excel at your job technically, if you can’t effectively communicate with your team or collaborate with others, those technical skills will get overlooked. You can continue to advance your career and organization by mastering emotional intelligence.

Conclusion

Whether you are a manager or an intern, you will benefit from having the skills to understand your and your colleagues' emotions, become more empathetic and be an overall effective communicator.

For more information, click here for the white paper on Emotional Intelligence.