Emotional Intelligence (NV)

Emotional Intelligence teaches that our emotions, while being a soft skill, count just as much as the hard skills we learn to perform certain tasks. We need to master it in business to increase our productivity, be profitable, retain good workers. In our personal life it is equally important for our health, longevity, more satisfying, or fulfilling, relationships with family, spouses, and friends. Years after creating the content for this section, I enrolled in a leadership program at Cleveland State University entitled, Leadership Excellence. It is a nine-month professional development course. One of the earlier sections covered is what is now commonly known as, Emotional Intelligence. It is also known as EI or EQ. We will only scratch the service here. The actual section was eight hours, not including the pre-work and self-assessments. We used the book, “Emotional Intelligence 2.0” by Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves. You are highly encouraged to read the book and if possible, find a course in your area on EQ and enroll in it. You can review and/or buy the book here https://amzn.to/33FiGL5. (We receive no benefit from your purchase.)

Emotional Intelligence is built upon two competencies and four skills. Personal Competencies – Self-awareness and Self-management. Social Competencies – Social Awareness, Relationship Management

The definitions of the four skills included in the course are as follows.

“Self-Awareness: the ability to identify emotions in yourself and the ability to perceive the impact you have on others.

“Self-Management: the ability to manage your own emotions especially in the midst of strong “negative” emotions in yourself or in your environment.

“Social Awareness: the ability to accurately perceive and understand the emotional states of others.

“Relationship Management: the ability to utilize awareness of others’ emotions to build relationships, teams, and support networks.”

In learning about your own emotions and triggers, you will be light years ahead of your competition in dealing with difficult people. You will also learn, in some situations, the other person may not be difficult at all, they just triggered a deep-seated emotion inside you. Once you discover that, you will be able to control your emotions after the initial response.

Take the time to develop a list of words, or EQ vocabulary. Watch your reaction to these words. If triggered in different relationships name the emotions and tame them. A highly suggested test is the popular Myers Brigg Type Indicator assessment. Look for a practitioner in your area or contact us for referrals. The more you know who you are the better you will understand and appreciate others. The Myers Brigg Type Indicator is a personality test and a great Segway to our next section on Personality Types.