What is emotional intelligence?
Emotional intelligence, also referred to as EQ, defines a person’s ability to manage and control their emotions and influence the emotions of other people around them.
Why is it important?
Emotional intelligence is important, and every working executive/manager should have a good EQ. Emotional intelligence is also crucial for selling because many customers buy specific products based on their emotions.
For leaders, having good EI is crucial because if they do not understand the emotions of their workforce they cannot lead effectively. So, what are the essential components of emotional intelligence?
● Become self-aware: You must understand your strengths and weaknesses and how your emotions affect you and your work life. One way to become self-aware is to take feedback from different types of people. Through the process, you will get to know more things about yourself, and you will have insights into your behavior and how other people in the organization and outside the organization see you.
● Learn to manage yourself: you need to learn to manage yourself. Keep a tap on your emotions, especially during stressful situations, and keep your composure during setbacks. Once you start to control your emotions, then you will be able to remain calm while making decisions.
● Managing work relationships: Managing relationships refers to the ability to manage, and mentor other people in your sphere of influence. When you have a good relationship with colleagues and subordinates, it is easier to avoid conflict. Mutual understanding will keep employees’ and teams’ morale high during tough business challenges.
● Become socially aware: Being socially aware means that you should be able to read the emotions of other people and communicate accordingly. Leaders who are socially aware understand and relate to those in a social setting, outside of a work environment. This insures a wider diversity of emotional understanding.
● Use Downtime to Develop Empathy: To increase your emotional intelligence, you need to learn about employees on a more personal level. One-on-ones are the best way to do this. You can understand employees on a deeper level when you take the time to understand their needs and desires.
Summing up
Businesses need to have leaders who have emotional intelligence.
No company can function properly with frequent disputes and low morale among the employees. This is why it is important for leaders to be conscientious in developing personal emotional intelligence and practicing it a matter of course in their leadership.