Do you ever experience that business as a whole can be hostile? Maybe you have a boss that doesn’t value you. Or a client that treats you like grime. Many a times it has been found that people feel left out, unsung, and neglected at work. And consequently, they suffer. Let’s face it. Business is not always fun. And sure, it’s business. But I think we can certainly develop the business scenery by getting better at one thing: Emotional Intelligence.
Everyone has heard of it. But what is it? How do you get better at it? And how can you use it to get better at business? This year at World Economic Forum, Emotional Intelligence (also known as ‘emotional quotient’, or EQ) was ranked sixth in the world on the list of top 10 skills that employees will need to process to thrive in the workplace of the future.
In today’s economy, solving emotion-related problems is critical. At work, we deal with complex problems. And we often have to work together to find solutions. Achievement in business is not about your grade-based metrics like SAT scores or IQ tests, It’s about making an impact as a leader and if you want to achieve meaningful things, you must be able to work with other people. From that perception, EI is the main expertise that can bring better results and extra success.
Generally speaking, EQ refers to someone’s capability to observe, comprehend and manage their own outlooks and emotions. Noted Psychologist Daniel Goleman has clearly stated that it has five fundamental mechanisms:
1. Conscious Knowledge – the ability to recognise and understand your moods and emotions, and how they affect others
2. Self-reliance – the aptitude to control instincts and moods, and to think before acting
3. Internal motivation – being driven to pursue goals for personal reasons, rather than for some kind of reward (the opposite is external motivation)
4. Understanding – the capability to identify and appreciate others’ motivations, which is vital for building and leading teams positively
5. Social skills – the aptitude to manage relationships and form networks
Emotional Intelligence predicts performance
How much of an impact does emotional intelligence have on your professional success? The best answer is: a lot! It’s a commanding way to focus your dynamism in one direction with a tremendous result. The world foremost backer of Emotional Intelligence, Talent Smart tested EI alongside 33 other relevant workplace skills, and notice that Emotional Intelligence is the toughest predictor of performance, explaining a full 58% of accomplishment in all types of jobs. Naturally, people with a high degree of emotional intelligence earn more money than an average people with a low degree of emotional intelligence. It’s always vital to study the emotional intelligence of your team before throwing a business. Also, if your team members are lacking in this area, it’s significant to work on refining these skills for the betterment of yourself and your organisation.
Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace:
Many prominent mental health experts consider that emotional intelligence is a valuable asset in the workplace, where workers with high levels of EI may possibly be better able to collaborate with others, manage work-related stress, resolve conflicts within workplace relationships, and learn from previous interpersonal mistakes.
This may not mean high emotional intelligence is beneficial or necessary for all jobs. Numerous research based studies shows that jobs that necessitate huge amounts of personal interaction for example, sales or real estate jobs can benefit from workers who possess high emotional intelligence, the opposite is true for occupations that are generally more individualistic, such as a research scientist or an accountant.
On the other hand it has been found that, in places where people tend to work alone and possess high emotional intelligence may actually perform at a lower level than the average worker because they may be desperately concerned about the feelings of other people.
Leadership skills and role of EI:
Employers with high emotional intelligence in many varied situations can be better able to collaborate with others, be able to work-related pressure, resolve fights that may come in inside workplace relationships, and learn from earlier interpersonal mistakes. However emotional intelligence may not be needed for every type of job, it can be an important attribute for most people in leadership positions. To be efficient leaders in the office, managers, superiors, and other specialist figures must be capable to function effectively with people under their charge. A good leader is competent to create the type of work environment where each person feels important and inspired to be successful.
Leaders with greater emotional intelligence are capable to use their social skills to substitute relationship and faith with their employees. They lean towards to view their team members as persons with exceptional abilities, backgrounds, and behaviours, rather than as a uniform collective. Good leaders always try to recognize and associate emotionally with their staff sincerely, sharing in their joys as well as their concerns. The capability to build shared trust and respect can become especially significant if an unpopular choice is prepared within the business setting, but the superiors need to keep their teams functioning efficiently.
Like all other types of relations, work relations may experience glitches sooner or later. When conflict arises, leaders with extraordinary emotional intelligence may be better able to switch their own instincts and can view the condition from all perspectives, and hunt for commonly helpful solutions. Real leaders are apparent and are not frightened to confess when they are wrong. As you train your brain by constantly practising new emotionally intelligent behaviors, your brain figures the trails required to make them into habits. Before long, you begin responding to your surroundings with emotional intelligence without even having to think about it. And just as your brain reinforces the use of new behaviors, the connections supporting old, destructive behaviors will die off as you learn to limit your use of them.
The author is Shaheen Khan, master practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming and founder of Mumbai based CEDP Skill Institute.