Success is no longer guaranteed with only mere cognitive intelligence or good technical skills. Another ingredient has come to the forefront, which works hand in hand with both technical and cognitive skills, as a major determinant of personal and career success “Emotional Intelligence”.
The big question is, what is this emotional intelligence?, and why is it so important? This article will expose you to the concept of emotional intelligence, what it is, what elements or factors constitute it, benefits from it, and how to develop such vital sets of skills.
What is Emotional Intelligence?
Emotional intelligence, or EI as it is popularly called is sometimes referred to as EQ, or Emotional Quotient. It is simply defined as the capacity or capability to be aware of and understand one’s emotions and recognize, understand, and influence the feelings of others. It is an interplay of skills that traces social complexities in our environment, helps in making sound decisions, communicate effectively, and building healthier meaningful relationships.
The word was first coined by psychologists Peter Salovey and John Mayer in the year 1990, although it was Daniel Goleman who brought this ability into the mainstream through his book published in 1995 “Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ.” In his book he claimed that it could be as important, or even more so, than traditional measures of intelligence in determining success in real life.
The Four Components of Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence basically consists of four basic components that build upon each other:
a) Self-awareness: This is the foundation for emotional intelligence. It means to be aware of and understand your emotions, strengths, weaknesses, values, and motives. People who are self-aware can recognize their strengths and weaknesses, due to this reason, they are better at decision-making and behaving accordingly.
b) Self-management: Having detected your emotions, you can work towards managing them appropriately. This will mean controlling your feelings and actions, adapting to changeable circumstances, and keeping a positive attitude or outlook. With self-management, you will remain composed even under very stressful conditions.
c) Social awareness: This is an aspect of emotional intelligence, which basically implies sensitivity in perceiving and understanding others. It is referred to by some as knowing the feelings of others, their needs, and concerns. Knowing when to ‘read the room’ in any situation is also part of it. Social awareness helps in effective communication and good relations.
d) Relationship skills: This is the outcome of the other three elements, and it is simply utilizing your consciousness to effectively relate with other individuals. It contains clear communication, conflict resolution, teamwork, and leadership skills.
The Importance of Emotional Intelligence
It has a controlling influence upon almost every aspect of our lives. The way one acts, moves through social complexities, and makes personal decisions toward the realization of positive results is affected by emotional intelligence. Unlike IQ, which remains more or less stable across one’s lifetime, emotional intelligence can be developed and increased with practice and dedication.
In a complex, fast-moving, interrelated world, more than ever is it very timely to know one’s feelings and deal with them, either yours or of others. It affects performance at work, relationships, health, and wellbeing in general.
Benefits of High Emotional Intelligence
The following are the benefits for people who have high emotional intelligence, including:
- Better relationships: improved communication, empathy, and conflict handling.
- Mentally fit because they can fight stressful situations and anxiety hence are more resilient to enjoy well-being.
- Improved leadership qualities since every leader who is emotionally intelligent can inspire and motivate his team effectively.
- More work success: their flexibility to change in the business environment and good teamwork, thoughtful decisions and adaptability make it so.
- Self-motivation is enhanced since they set and achieve personal goals better.
- Better Physical Health: Their ability to deal with stressors helps in achieving better physical health outcomes.
Developing Emotional Intelligence
The good news is that emotional intelligence can be developed and improved throughout our lives. Here are some strategies to enhance your EQ:
1. Engage in Self-reflection: Take time regularly to reflect on your feelings, reactions, and behaviors.
Also, take feedback from friends, relatives or colleagues with whom you work about your emotional response and interpersonal skills.
2. Active listening: While others are talking, understand them rather than waiting for your turn to talk.
3. Empathy: Try to visualize the situations from others’ perception.
4. Stress management: Learn to handle stress and practice meditation, deep breathing.
5. Body Language: Teach yourself to be more aware of yours and others’.
6. Becoming Assertive: Teach yourself how to express needs and opinions clearly but without hurting feelings.
Challenges that Come With Developing Emotional Intelligence
While the numerous benefits associated with emotional intelligence are obvious, developing it is anything but easy:
– Self-awareness is uncomfortable: Bringing our own emotions and behaviors honestly before us can be pretty hard and sometimes painful.
– It takes time to change: The development of new emotional habits and reactions does not come about overnight. It actually requires a lot of truthful effort and practice.
– Cultural factors: In most cultures, there are different values on areas of emotional intelligence attached and, therefore, developed or expressed differently.
– Shedding light on deeply held habits: So many of our emotional reactions are very deeply habituated, so they are very hard to change.
– Consistency: Emotional intelligence does not mean knowing what to do, but doing it every time under every circumstance; this is hard work when one is pressurized.
Setting all these factors aside, developing emotional intelligence is still worth the many benefits that can be enjoyedfrom it.
Final Thoughts
Emotional intelligence is a very powerful set of skills that influences our personal and professional lives. It helps us to understand ourselves better and develop the ability for recognition, understanding, and management of emotions so we can have better relationships and be more effective at decision-making amidst the complication modern life is.
Whether you are a student, professional worker, leader, or one desiring to be able to improve personal relationships, it is an emotional intelligence investment for a more complete and successful life. It is this commitment to personal betterment that allows us to open ourselves to a whole world of better relationships, improved well-being, and greater success in life.
