Are Your Employees Emotionally Intelligent?

No two employees are alike. Some are very in-tune with their emotions and feelings as well as those of their coworkers and colleagues while others lack this level of awareness. Emotional Intelligence, while it seems to be more frequently discussed today, is not new. As a concept, it has been around since the 1940s when IQ tests were being developed. It has been mentioned in the business world since the mid-1990s. So, what is Emotional Intelligence and how important is it for your staff?

Emotional Intelligence Defined

Generally speaking, Emotional Intelligence is an individual’s ability to be aware of one’s own feelings and emotions as well as those of other people. It also involves the ability to use this awareness to make decisions and to interact with others. Emotional Intelligence allows people to influence others around them, like in the work environment.

Components of Emotional Intelligence

Many elements are involved in Emotional Intelligence, including emotional empathy towards other people, attention to and discrimination of one’s own emotions, and accurately recognizing one’s and other people’s moods. It also involves skill in mood management, responding appropriately both emotionally and behaviourally, and balancing honest expression of emotions with dignity and respect.

How important are these elements in the workplace? How many times has an employee become overly emotional or provided an overly-exaggerated response when one wasn’t necessary? How many times do you pick up that some employees lack empathy and are indifferent to others? How many staff members have mood and attitude issues? How many employees insult and disrespect others in the workplace? You can see that Emotional Intelligence is priceless!

Skills and Competencies Required

Experts believe that certain skills and competencies are necessary to be emotionally intelligent. There are four skills that fall under two primary competencies – personal competence and social competence. Personal competence is composed of one’s self-awareness and self-management skills. The focus is on the person, not others. It involves the ability to remain aware of one’s own emotions and the ability to manage your own behaviors.

Social competence, on the other hand, derives from one’s social awareness and relationship management skills. It involves the ability to understand other people’s moods, behaviors and their motives in order to improve the quality of relationships.

Self-Awareness

Self-awareness is a major element of personal competence. It involves understanding one’s own emotions as well as your behavioral reactions to them. In order to develop a high degree of self-awareness, one must be willing to tolerate uncomfortable or negative feelings. To understand one’s emotions takes time. People who are self-aware are clear about who they are, what they can do, and how they feel. They are not afraid to make mistakes and are satisfied with life and work.

Self-Management

Self-management is what happens when one decides to act or not act in various situations. It involves the ability to use self-awareness in order to be flexible and direct one’s behaviors in a positive way. The focus is on building comfort with one’s self, one’s feelings, and a sense that the best course of action will emerge. People who are good at self-management tend to be more successful as they put their needs on hold and manage their tendencies.

Social Awareness

Social awareness is a foundational skill that involves the ability to pick up on other people’s emotions and understand what is going on with them. It involves perceiving what others are thinking and feeling even when one does not feel the same way. It involves staying focused and absorbing critical information. People who are skilled at this are good listeners and observers. They stop talking and think before they speak.

Social Competence

This skill relies on the first three emotional intelligence skills. It involves the ability to use awareness of one’s own emotions and those of others to successfully manage interactions. It involves seeing the benefit of connecting with people, even those one does not like. It is the skill of creating connections with people and understanding how to successfully use those connections.

So What?

After reading this, how do you and your employees rank in terms of emotional intelligence? As you can see, each skill is important in and of itself, and when they all come together, they make for one very insightful, successful and emotionally intelligent human being.

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