Emotional intelligence, sometimes referred to as EQ (‘emotional quotient’), refers to a person’s ability to recognise, understand, manage and reason with their emotions. It is a critical ability when it comes to interpersonal communication, and an important skill in the business and corporate world.
I have had the opportunity to be on interview panels and one skill that gives applicants the advantage is having emotional intelligence. For organisations that encourage their employees to take up leadership positions, emotional intelligence is a basic requirement.
Most applicants meet the basic criteria of having the technical skills required to function in the advertised role, but applicants who can prove they have emotional intelligence by giving practical examples, gain the advantage during interviews that are too close to call.
Why Emotional Intelligence Is Important for Success in Corporate and Business.
My experience in Sales, Business Development, Customer Service, Training, Strategic Business Partnership and Communication in different industries and sectors have taught me the importance in improving emotional development and indeed my social skills.
Emotional intelligence influences how well employees interact with their colleagues, clients and business stakeholders; and EQ plays a role in how employees manage stress and conflict.
The corporate and business environment has become very dynamic and unpredictable, thus, it is important that employees and executives use emotional intelligence to respond to these changing needs.
Emotional intelligence also affects overall performance on the job in the long term.
Emotional intelligence is not just for the Business Owner, Managing Director, Managers and Supervisors but also important for every level of employees.
How your employee can Become More Emotionally Intelligent
Emotional intelligence comes naturally to some people, but there are steps that anyone can take to help improve this skill. Social background and personality can play a crucial role in the development of emotional intelligence, but it is a skill that can be improved by learning and applying to issues that come up daily.
Know who you are :
One of the first steps toward utilising emotional intelligence skills in the workplace is to understand your own emotions and how you react to things that happen outside your comfort zone. Self-awareness involves being aware of different aspects of yourself – including your personality, temperaments and emotions.
How?
Ask your family, friends, colleagues and managers about what they think about you. Improve on the positive and work on the negative.
Start a daily journal to understand your journey in life. Observe the patterns in your life, take stock of emotional strengths and weaknesses. How well do you communicate with others? Do you find yourself experiencing impatience, anger or annoyance often? What are some ways you can deal with these feelings effectively?
- Find techniques to release workplace stress.
- Think before making decisions.
Improve Social Skills
Business Owners, CEOs, Managers and Employees with great social skills are able to build great rapport with colleagues, clients and stakeholders, and communicate their vision and ideas clearly. People with good social skills are able to get people to do what they want in the short and long term.
My experience in business networking has taught me the importance of social skills in closing business and building great partnerships.
Strategies To boost your social skills:
- Listen to others. This doesn’t mean just passively listening to other people talk, but understanding them. This involves showing empathy, asking questions and giving feedback.
- Learn to read non-verbal communication. This is a very important skill in business; these are signals people send through their body language and if read right, gives an advantage in difficult challenges.
- Learn the act of persuasion. Your ability to carry influence in the workplace and convince team-members and supervisors to listen to your ideas can go a long way in advancing your career.
- Avoid office drama or politics. Office drama has destroyed the career of many potential great leaders because they got caught with the wrong people or sides.
Every human institution has to handle conflicts at some point in time, but it becomes
toxic when it turns into office drama or politics.
It is important to avoid office drama or politics. Focus on listening to what others have to say, look for ways to solve problems, and minimise the drama.
Have a clear motivation and goals
People who have strong emotional intelligence skills are more motivated to achieve goals rather than focusing on money. Rather than focusing on short-term rewards, they focus on long-term ones because they are fulfilled, and they are passionate about what they do.
Write down your goals, have a plan, and know the end point for the career or business. Focus on what you love about your work; Identify those components of your job and take inspiration from them.
Try to maintain a positive attitude. Notice how people who are self-aware in the work environment give off positive energy.
Summary :
The ability to identify, use, understand and manage one’s emotions in a business environment positively gives an advantage to the person and that of the business in the long term.
Emotional intelligence is about understanding your own emotions and the emotions of others you interact with daily.
Delasie Dogbey is a Consultant, Motivational Speaker and is the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Ladies War Room Organisation 0262006190 e-mail [email protected]
