Why is emotional intelligence considered such a valuable attribute in the workplace?
The answer is simple: If you skip its development, your success could be hindered.
Emotional intelligence (“EQ”, as it will be referred to throughout this post) defines how a person understands and manages their emotions. It’s widely acknowledged as a key job skill that can help immensely with communication, problem-solving, and interpersonal connections.
Becoming More Emotionally Intelligent
Firstly, while some people are born with emotional talent, there are things that everyone can do to increase their ability to comprehend and rationalize emotions.
This is especially useful in the workplace. After all, this is where interpersonal understanding, teamwork, and communication are frequently relied upon in relationships and commercial decisions. Here, environment and personality play a big part in EQ development.
Secondly, it is people who train in important emotional competencies are more likely to show long-term advances in EQ. They may even experience changes in their physical and mental well-being. More often than not, this results in improved social relationships and lowered stress!
Finally, it is essential to take steps in increasing your EQ skills through five key actions: Empathy, motivation, self-awareness, self-regulation, and social skills are all vital choices if you want to improve your work performance.
Becoming More Empathetic
Empathy allows you to comprehend relationships between coworkers and managers at work. By putting yourself in another’s shoes, you are able to observe who has power and how they use it. Conclusively, it becomes easier to understand how a person’s decisions influence the behaviors and interactions that follow them:
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- Allow yourself to think “outside the box”. Rather than allowing minor disagreements to fester, take time to consider a situation from an alternative perspective. In doing so, you will be better able to come up with an effective solution.
- Keep an eye on your interactions with those around you. If people you work with believe their efforts are valuable, they are more likely to increase their productivity from sheer motivation.
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Becoming More Motivated
People with high EQ are more motivated to achieve their objectives. They desire to do things because they are fulfilled by what they do, not because they are looking for external rewards:
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- Focus on areas of your career that you enjoy! Concentrate on what you enjoy! A good work example would be the sense of accomplishment you get when completing a project or assisting clients in achieving goals. Then, after you identify such factors, use them to motivate yourself.
- Maintain a positive outlook on life. Doing this will increase your enthusiasm for your work.
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Increasing Your Self-Awareness
Recognizing your own emotions is an important first step in employing EQ in the workplace. To discover what is causing these feelings, you must first be self-aware:
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- Pay attention to your emotions. You’ll be more aware of your feelings and how they influence your choices.
- Create a mental inventory of your emotional strengths and weaknesses. How effective are you at communicating with others? Recognizing your flaws allows you to find solutions to them.
- Keep in mind that emotions are temporary and transient. You may be irritated by a coworker. It could even be some difficult task you need to complete! However, making hasty decisions based on such strong emotions can jeopardize your long-term success and aspirations.
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Self-Regulation: The Best Ways to Do It
You must manage your emotions to be completely in control of them. Self-regulators, after all, are often better at adapting to changing circumstances. They do not react rashly. Instead, they wait to use the most appropriate methods of expressing themselves.
There are, fortunately, steps you may take at work to help you improve your self-control:
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- When you’re working, try to relax as much as possible. Outside of work, hobbies are a terrific place to start!
- Always maintain a calm demeanor. Accept that you can’t have everything you want.
- Before making decisions, think about ALL your options. In the heat of the moment, emotions may overpower you. In other words, they may stop you from making rational decisions.
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Improving Your Social Skills
People with high EQ can recognize other people’s emotions. Similarly, this allows them to respond correctly to situations. Moreover, they are able to improve workplace communication and build more favorable relationship with those around them. As a result, people with strong social skills can also assume leadership responsibilities when necessary.
To improve your social abilities, it’s good to do the following:
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- Pay attention to what other people have to say. Showing interest, asking questions, and providing comments are all examples of active listening.
- Keep an eye out for nonverbal communication. People give signals with their bodies, which may reveal a lot about their true feelings.
- Develop your ability to influence. Being able to persuade coworkers and bosses to listen to your ideas might help you advance your career.
- Stay away from office politics. True, some disputes are unavoidable. You may still need to listen to what others are saying and doing. Only with this can you look for solutions to existing problems.
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Overall, “EQ” (or just emotional intelligence) is something you cannot avoid when trying to make it in the workplace – especially if that place is in the business world, a sea of communication and constant change.
So, do you want to improve your work performance and career success? Call 781-608-1966 – Direct/Text or visit my main website to find out how you can maximize your emotional intelligence today and to the fullest!
