If you want to know how emotional intelligence can help individuals, reading the book by Daniel Goleman called Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ, could be for you. In addition, this article, which touches on emotional intelligence in the workplace and other general emotional intelligence impacts is for you.
Most people tend to that emotions are something that is outside of their control and regulation. In fact, emotional and empathetic people have been mistakenly thought of as offbeat, troubled or emotionally chaotic. Fortunately, films and books in popular culture have since caught up to the fact that empathy and self-awareness are traits possessed by everyone to a degree. Furthermore, it is widely accepted that these traits need continuous growth and improvement.
Still, there are many who do not believe that emotional intelligence impacts job performance or success.
For most, there is a growing belief that emotional intelligence impacts every area of life from social skills and careers to personal relationships. In fact, there is a plethora of content produced around the world every day on how to learn how to manage moods and emotions.
If you have asked the questions:
How can emotional intelligence help individuals? Or, what does emotional intelligence affect, then this article is for you. Keep reading.
What is EQ
EQ stands for Emotional Quotient which is one area of a concept called multiple intelligences. While, for some in the scientific community, the idea of measuring intelligence on the basis of characteristics, rather than reason and logic has been criticised, there are many who agree that there is a demand for a more holistic approach when it comes to defining intelligence.
Even though it is not a completely new concept, the question of how can emotional intelligence help individuals have been brought into the spotlight by writers like Daniel Goleman. Because of his bestseller, Goleman brought the conversation about social competence and emotional awareness to the forefront. More than twenty years after the book was first published, the importance of measuring empathy and emotions through a unique intelligence test has not been lost on the psychology or the self-help industry.
If the question, of why is emotional intelligence important, interests you, then by finding out how a human is able to understand, process and react to their own emotions as well as the emotions of others will fascinate you.
So, how can emotional intelligence help individuals? Through self-awareness and empathy, one should be able to self-report one’s own emotions. From a psychology standpoint, most of the work on this topic has been researched by Caruso, Mayer and Salovey. To find out more about how emotional intelligence impacts individuals and society and the test (MSCEIT) that is used to measure it, you could start by reading their published works.
How to Develop Emotional Intelligence
From CEOs to gardeners, all people have one thing in common and that is having to deal with emotions. Whether you are searching for answers about what does emotional intelligence affect in the workplace, or whether you want to improve your family relationships, these tips for achieving positive emotional intelligence impacts for any situation should help:
- read more about the topic through websites and blogs
- listen to the latest podcasts about well-being and mental health
- try out new healthy food recipes
- take up new skills like gardening or crochet
The topic of emotional intelligence can be tricky to navigate, however, there is a plethora of online material to answer the question, what does emotional intelligence affect that will help you to begin your journey.
Emotional Intelligence in a Workplace
There is no doubt that for authentic leadership to thrive, it is necessary to have emotional intelligence in a workplace.
From the Dalai Lama to Bill George, there are countless people who have expounded upon the significance and importance of perceiving and understanding feelings and emotions for good leadership and successful relationships. So in answering why emotional intelligence is important, or more specifically, how can emotional intelligence help individuals, the answer is for personal growth, effective leadership and healthy relationships with oneself and others. All of these factors are a powerful combination when emotional intelligence in a workplace is applied.
In answering what does emotional intelligence affect, you first need to know how to develop your EQ. To do this, start by gaining an understanding of the scientific difference between the intelligence and emotional intelligence quotient.
While a high IQ continues to be celebrated by society, apart from this quotient, there is still room for how it should be defined and measured. When it comes to measuring emotional quotient, there are generally three or four categories of mental operations, these are:
- Emotion
- Motivation
- Cognition
- Consciousness
By taking a moment to mentally process these, it is easy to identify how characteristics within these categories can have an impact on leaders, emotional intelligence in a workplace, as well as social awareness, and self-management for individuals.
Psychologists, Caruso, Mayer and Salovey who published an article for the Yale Centre of Emotional Intelligence in 2011 discuss the definitions and measurements of both general and emotional intelligence. Because there are other tests besides IQ to measure logic and reasoning, the authors, in their paper include a quote by famous statistician and psychologist Charles Spearman:
“The most enthusiastic advocates of intelligence become doubtful of it themselves. From having naively assumed that its nature is straightway conveyed by its name, they now set out to discover what this nature really is. In the last act, the truth stands revealed, that the name really has no definite meaning at all; it shows itself to be nothing more than a hypostatized word, applied indiscriminately to all sorts of things.”
Regardless, some believe that it is likely that attempting to provide specific definitions of general intelligence and emotional intelligence will always become outdated as society continues to evolve.
So, why is emotional intelligence important? What is emotional intelligence in a workplace and what does emotional intelligence affect?
One of the first ways to view emotional intelligence is through correctly perceiving one’s own emotions as well as those of others.
In their publication, Caruso, Salovey and Mayer suggest that recognising “emotional patterns” is essential to how we reason through problems.
For instance, identifying and processing emotions like disappointment or happiness is an important mental step in determining how to react. When we are unable to judge someone else’s emotions or body language over a particular topic it can be detrimental to our relationships, both socially and professionally.
For some, social awareness is an issue that has to be consistently worked at in order to improve their interactions with family, work colleagues and strangers.
Of course, you don’t need a Harvard Business Review article to tell you that controlling body language and facial expressions is important for professional and personal success. But apart from having emotional intelligence in a workplace and at home, it is simply good for one’s mental health too.
Unfortunately, identifying and processing negative emotions in a productive way is a task that some adults will struggle with for a lifetime.
Through developing emotional literacy with yourself, and being able to keep an inventory of your feelings, you will not only improve your physical health and relationships with others, but you will more easily achieve goals too.
Developing Personal Intelligence Skills
If you can see how emotional intelligence in a workplace, or the theory of multiple intelligences can improve your leadership skills, then honing EQ skills should be a priority.
When it comes to what does emotional intelligence affect, well everything, because it is like brain science, just for our emotions.
Of course, understanding and perceiving emotions is a broad topic that can be tricky to understand, but if you want to try different leadership styles or coping mechanisms, it is definitely a topic to master.
Some ways to improve relationship skills is to make sure that your emotional learnings are practised in social and group settings. Here are some ways to go about this:
- Join a music class
- Journal about your day
- Practice mindfulness meditation
If you are interested in learning about the different ways to practice emotional intelligence skills, you can also take advantage of the many resources available today to develop your emotional intelligence.
Online Resources to Grow Self-Awareness
There are many informative podcasts and bestselling novels to help you improve social skills, emotional maturity and help you to perceive the emotions of others better. Start by actively becoming more self-aware and then begin to integrate advice from the experts. Here are a few recommended websites to help you start your journey:
- HelpGuide
- Six Seconds
- Psychology Today
Besides these, there are many EQ podcasts and books at your disposal that can help you learn as much as possible about the subject.
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