Your emotional intelligence, also called EQ, is your ability to be aware of and manage emotions and relationships. It’s a pivotal factor in your professional and personal success. IQ will get you in the door, but it’s your EQ – your ability to interact effectively while managing your emotions and others’ emotions – that’ll determine your success in life.
We’ve all worked with and listened to brilliant people. Some were great and…well, some weren’t so great. The mean and the meek and all those in between can teach us more than they realize. When we look at the truly extraordinary leaders who inspire and make a difference, you’ll see they do this by connecting with people at a personal and emotional level. What differentiated them was not their IQ but their EQ – their emotional intelligence.
Leaders with high emotional intelligence understand how their emotions and actions affect the people around them. Daniel Goleman, a psychologist who helped to popularize emotional intelligence, describes five components of emotional intelligence:
- Self-awareness
The ability to recognize and understand your personal moods and emotions and their effect on others. Strong self-awareness means having a clear understanding of your strengths and weakness and operating with humility and kindness.
- Self-regulation
The ability to control or redirect disruptive impulses and moods along with the propensity to suspend judgement and think before acting. People who have high self-regulation rarely verbally attack others, make rushed or emotional decisions, gossip or comprise their values.
- Internal-motivation
Those with a passion to work and pursue goals with energy and persistence have solid internal motivation. They’ve a strong commitment to their job and duties with extremely high standards for the quality of their work.
- Empathy
The ability to put yourselves in their shoes – understand the emotional makeup of other people. Strong empathy allows you to successfully manage a team or organization. Leaders with empathy have expertise in developing and retaining people, cross-cultural sensitivity, giving constructive feedback and serving their clients and customers.
- Social Skills
Proficiency in managing relationships and building networks with the ability to find common ground and build rapport. Leaders with strong social skills have excellent communication abilities, they’re effective in leading change and set examples with their own behavior: They walk the walk and talk the talk!
The more you can manage and master each of these five elements, the higher your emotional intelligence and the likelihood of professional success. How does you EQ rank? Take the time to truly understand your emotional makeup, where you excel and where you fall short. In order to reach your goals and full potential, you have to want to grow. Develop your emotional intelligence and watch yourself excel in business and beyond!
Contact Polished, today to fine-tune your emotional intelligence to build your leadership skills and become more successful in your professional and personal life.
