Why emotional intelligence makes you more successful

A high level of emotional intelligence (EI) has been linked to greater success in the workplace, including increased chances of being employed, promoted, and paid more. To begin, let's define EI and examine its significance.

The ability to recognise and control one's own emotions as well as those of oneself and others is what we mean when we talk about "emotional intelligence." Having a high EQ makes it easier to connect with others, which in turn boosts team morale, decreases tension, and makes for happier employees. With a high EI, you can improve your team's output and keep more of your employees happy. Companies prefer to hire and promote people with high 'EQ' (emotional quotient) for managerial positions rather than high 'IQ' (intellectual quotient).

People who are serious about their careers should prioritise developing their EI. Based on Daniel Goleman's research, here are the five cornerstones of emotional intelligence and how they might help you succeed in the workplace.

Self-awareness

The ability to know and comprehend oneself, including one's feelings, emotional triggers, strengths, weaknesses, motives, values, and objectives, and how these things shape one's ideas and actions, is known as self-awareness.

It's crucial to check in with yourself and figure out why you might be feeling a certain way, such as worried, annoyed, uninspired, or deflated in your role. Once you've identified the feeling and its origin, you can take steps to remedy the situation, such as volunteering for more stimulating job or figuring out how to get along with a challenging coworker.

Self-management

Emotional regulation is an aspect of self-management, which relies on introspection. Even those with high EQ can suffer from low moods, urges, and unpleasant emotions like anger and tension; nevertheless, self-management is the ability to keep these feelings in check.

Possible repercussions include being slower to react in dangerous or stressful situations. If you decide to sleep on a furious email or phone conversation, you can respond more rationally and calmly the next day. Both your physical and mental health can suffer as a result of acting impulsively or experiencing bad emotions.

Motivation

Motivation is the driving force behind all of our behaviours. When we confront challenges and disappointments, it is important to remember why we are fighting.

Those who lack motivation are more prone to avoid challenges (rather than seek out solutions), worry too much, and give up easily. As a result, they may bring down team morale by complaining about the project's objectives and their assigned tasks.

Those who are driven to succeed by a sense of accomplishment are more likely to seek out criticism, track their own improvement, challenge themselves, and work tirelessly to perfect their craft. It's not hard to see why highly motivated individuals are valuable to any group.

Empathy

Connecting with another person emotionally and seeing their thoughts, feelings, and experiences as valid is what we mean when we talk about empathy. Predicting the wants and reactions of one's counterpart is a crucial ability in negotiations with both internal and external stakeholders and clients.

Emotionally astute and bright managers in the modern workplace build multicultural teams to take advantage of their members' varied experiences and skillsets. The ability to empathise with others is crucial for generating new ideas and approaches to challenges.

The ability to empathise is equally crucial to team success. A positive work environment can be fostered by taking note of, and catering to, employees' emotional needs.

Relationship managemen

The ability to establish and maintain trust, rapport, and respect amongst coworkers is at the heart of effective relationship management. It's not only about doing a trust fall as a team building activity; it's about learning to trust and being trusted by your teammates.

A manager's ability to motivate, direct, and cultivate their team members is directly proportional to the quality of their interpersonal management skills.

In conclusion, while some people may appear to have innate emotional intelligence, all of us have the potential to develop our emotional intelligence via intentional practise and training.