“The greatest barrier to self-understanding is our fear of knowing the truth within ourselves, but when we do understand ourselves, we greatly enhance what we are capable of.” ― Carla H. Krueger
What is emotional intelligence, and why is it so important? Emotional intelligence refers to the ability to perceive, control and evaluate emotions. It is the ability to identify, use, understand, and manage your emotions in positive and constructive ways. It’s about recognizing your own emotional state and the emotional states of others. Emotional intelligence is also about engaging with others in ways that draw people to you.
Emotional intelligence is, in simple terms, our level of ability to self-awareness, self-management, motivation, empathy and social skills. Social skills are important because they help usbuild relationships, relate to others in social situations, lead, negotiate conflict, and work as part of a team. In the workplace we are a team and the need to connect and be happier since we spend most of the time there.
To have effective relationship we need to learn to understand and communicate our uniqueness and other people’s uniqueness. Happiness comes from deeply connecting with others. Being able to share your happiness and energy with others in the workplace can lead to satisfying work relationship.
By being self-aware you will be able to define the ideal relationships that you desire. Creating ideal relationship require you ask questions such as what kind of relationships, behaviors you will adopt, what is expected by others of yourself.
When you are self-aware, you always know how you feel, and you know how your emotions and your actions can affect the people around you. What can you do to improve your self-awareness? One way is to keep a journal. Journals help you improve your self-awareness. Spend just a few minutes each day writing down your thoughts, this can move you to a higher degree of self-awareness.
Higher emotional intelligence helps us to build stronger internal motivators, increase self-confidence, and improve our ability to focus. It also allows us to create better networks of support, overcome setbacks, and persevere with a more resilient outlook.
When we can understand people’s emotions and empathize with their perspective, it’s much easier to resolve conflicts or possibly avoid them before they start. By understanding the needs and desires of others we become better at negotiation. It’s easier to give people what they want if we can perceive what it is.
You can master emotional intelligence to leverage your skills to develop lasting workplace relationships. Genuine relationships depend on understanding, communication, conflict management and a good deal of empathy, all of which form emotional intelligence. Strong workplace relationships can increase your effectiveness in team dynamics and collaborative settings on the job.
To be effective, you must have a solid understanding of how emotions and actions affect other people. Take the time to work on your self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills. Working on these areas will help you excel in the future!
Keep in mind the words of Rasheed Ogunlaru, “The only way to change someone’s mind is to connect with them from the heart.”