Emotional intelligence has been cited time and time again as a beneficial skill for people to develop in the workplace.
But what exactly does it mean?
Emotional intelligence refers to a specific form of intelligence which is centred around using emotional information in a meaningful way.
According to the EQ-i 2.0 model, emotional intelligence is defined as a set of emotional and social skills that influence the way we perceive and express ourselves, develop and maintain social relationships, cope with challenges and use emotional information in an effective way.
The model breaks emotional intelligence down into 5 composite areas:
Self Perception
This area of emotional intelligence involves feelings of inner confidence, the pursuit of meaningful goals and an awareness of your emotions. Developing this area helps you to better understand yourself and increases your awareness of how your behaviours and emotions impact the people around you.
Self Expression
Self-expression includes communicating your thoughts, feelings and opinions in a constructive way and remaining self-directed. This is important because it helps you to motivate others, use your initiative, voice your opinions, and ensure that you have been understood and respected.
Interpersonal
This area of emotional intelligence focuses on building relationships with people in the workplace, actively listening to others and being considerate of their feelings. Cultivating stronger interpersonal relationships improves communication, teamwork, and trust amongst those your colleagues and team.
Decision Making
Decision making refers to using both emotional and logical information when making decisions and being aware of how emotions can impact this process. This reduces the risk of becoming overwhelmed or reacting hastily in emotionally charged situations, helping you to make more effective, balanced decisions.
Stress Management
This area of emotional intelligence involves having coping strategies to deal with stressful and unfamiliar situations and maintaining an optimistic outlook in life. Developing ways to deal with stress is important in order to manage organisational change, pressure and challenges in the workplace.
Despite what many people think, emotional intelligence is not purely about emotions and being overly emotional. Rather, it is about using emotions in an intelligent way.
This idea is summarised well by emotional intelligence expert David Caruso, who once said: ‘It is very important to understand that emotional intelligence is not the opposite of intelligence, it is not the triumph of heart over head – it is the unique intersection of both.’
Learn more about each area of emotional intelligence and how they can developed with the EQ Extra series.
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