Performance, success and even health in workplace which were once attributed to one’s IQ, are actually a corollary to Emotional Intelligence Quotient. EQ begins from inside-out each individual in a workplace and is necessary for an efficient, effective and friendly work environment.
Emotional Intelligence is the ability to recognize, understand, and manage personal emotions and those of others. The measure of this ability is called Emotional Intelligence Quotient (EQ).
Emotional Intelligence involves recognizing various aspects of your feelings and emotions and taking the time to work.
Goleman’s 5 Elements of EI
Daniel Goleman, an American psychologist and author of the ground breaking book, “Emotional Intelligence,” proposes that EI has five key elements which when managed, help leaders attain a higher level of emotional intelligence. They include:
+Self-Awareness
+Self-Management/Regulation
+Motivation
+Empathy and
+Social Skills
Broadly speaking these elements can be grouped into two competencies: Personal Competencies and Social Competencies. Self-Awareness, Self-Regulation and Motivation fall under Personal, while Empathy and Social Skills, under Social.
Self-Awareness
Self-awareness is one of the critical pillars of emotional intelligence. It is ability to recognize and understand your own emotions. Identifying one’s strengths and weaknesses, emotions and intuitions, gives an aura of clarity, and ensures good decision-making,
EI is however, beyond just recognizing your emotions. It is being aware of the effect and result of your actions, moods, and emotions on others. To become self-aware, you must be able to monitor your own emotions, recognize different emotional reactions, and then correctly identify each particular emotion. Self-aware individuals are also able to recognize the relationships between the things they feel and how they behave.
Self-Regulation aka Self-Management
This is the ability to regulate and manage your emotions. It is a skill that helps an individual manage their disruptive emotions and stress appropriately, become more adaptable and flexible, and open to innovative ideas.
Simply put, self-regulation is an individual’s ability to influence their thoughts and emotions to become more efficient and productive.
Self-Motivation
An internal or intrinsic drive to achieve one’s goals is a key factor in workplace success. Employees who are emotionally intelligent are motivated by things beyond external rewards like fame, money, recognition, and acclaim. They are more likely to be optimistic about their success, more committed to individual and shared goals, better able to recognize and use opportunities, and more likely to take initiatives and make smart decisions in reaching goals.
Empathy
Being empathetic is absolutely crucial and a absolute sign of Emotional Intelligence. It is the ability to understand how others are feeling. However, empathy goes way beyond just being able to recognize the emotional states of others; it also involves how you respond to people based on this information. How do you respond when you notice that someone is feeling bad, depressed or disheartened? Recognizing and valuing other people’s feelings and concerns is fundamental to creating a thriving work environment; by promoting mutual respect and compassion towards co-workers or subordinates, and encouraging others’ individual and professional growth.
Social Skills
Being able to interact well with others is another important aspect of emotional intelligence. EI involves more than just considering your own emotions and those of others; you also need to be able to put this information to work in your daily interactions and communications. Important social skills include effective communication which encompasses- active listening, verbal and non-verbal communication skills; leadership, and persuasiveness. These skillset allow easy resolution of conflict, develops career in workplace and are essential leadership skills
Putting all these into consideration, it’s quite easy to understand why Emotional Intelligence and have a high EQ is important in a workplace. It is singly the best predictor of an organization’s success. Emotional intelligence is the single, best predictor of the success of an organization across all levels. Prospective employees without high EQs, regardless of the academic portfolio are most likely to have stalled performance, imparting the bottom line negatively.
Employers should therefore, prioritize not only academically sound employees but also those with high EQ while recruitment and placing the workplace culture in order to optimize results and improve the bottom line.
References
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/emotional-intelligence-importance
