The technical skills that got your first promotion may not ensure your next one. If you are eyeing a leadership role, you must consider the crucial aspects of effectively coaching teams, handling stress, providing feedback, and collaborating with others.
What is Emotional Intelligence?
Emotional intelligence (EI), or EQ for "emotional quotient," is the skill to sense, understand, express, manage, assess, and use emotions to communicate and positively connect with others. It involves not only expressing and controlling your feelings but also understanding, interpreting, and responding to the emotions of others.
Introduced in 1990 by researchers John Mayer and Peter Salovey, it later gained popularity through psychologist Daniel Goleman, who told the Harvard Business Review that the most effective leaders share a crucial trait of possessing a high level of what is now called emotional intelligence. It's not that IQ and technical skills don't matter, but they are the basic qualifications for executive positions.
Four Aspects of Emotional Intelligence
It's crucial to develop social skills by grasping and practicing empathy along with the four fundamental aspects of emotional intelligence:
Self-Awareness
Self-awareness is recognizing and understanding one's emotions and how they can impact thoughts and behavior. Research by Tasha Eurich, an organizational psychologist, found that while 95% of people believe they're self-aware, only 10 to 15% genuinely are, and this lack of self-awareness among colleagues can significantly impact a team's success and can result in increased stress and decreased motivation.
A simple way to gauge your self-awareness is by using 360-degree feedback. Assessing your performance and comparing it with the opinions of your boss, peers, and direct reports gives insights into your behavior and reveals how you're perceived in the organization.
Self-Management
Self-management is effectively managing and regulating one's emotions by controlling impulsive reactions, handling stress, and adapting to changing situations.
A reaction is usually automatic. Yet, the more you understand your emotional intelligence, the smoother the shift from reaction to response becomes. It's crucial to pause, breathe, gather, and take whatever steps necessary to handle your emotions to respond to stress and challenges more intentionally.
READ ALSO: Ultimate Guide to Supporting Mental Health in the Workplace
Social Awareness
Social Awareness is being attuned to the emotions of others, understanding their perspectives, and demonstrating empathy, which involves recognizing and interpreting non-verbal cues and emotional signals.
Effective leaders in social awareness practice empathy and try to comprehend their colleagues' feelings and viewpoints, enhancing their ability to communicate and collaborate more effectively.
Relationship Management
Building and maintaining healthy relationships includes effective communication, conflict resolution, and inspiring and influencing others positively. Studies indicate that unaddressed conflicts can consume approximately eight hours of company time in gossip and other unproductive activities, causing a strain on resources and morale.
In a recent Society for Human Resource Management survey, 72% of employees identified "respectful treatment of all employees at all levels" as the most critical factor for job satisfaction.
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