Emotional intelligence can be defined by Oxford Languages as the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one’s emotions as well as to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically. The four main attributes associated with emotional intelligence include self-management, self-awareness, social awareness, and relationship management. These four are important in assessing your own emotional intelligence and finding ways to improve upon it. More details on the components of the attributes are described below:
Self-management is using your emotions to make constructive decisions about your own behavior.
Self-awareness is the ability to manage core feelings and to connect with them.
Social-awareness is practicing mindfulness: the ability to focus on the present moment.
Relationship management is becoming aware of how effectively you use nonverbal communication and learning to see conflict as an opportunity to grow closer to others.
Emotional intelligence is expressing one’s emotions and handling relationships empathetically. It is the ability to use your emotions positively to relieve stress, communicate effectively, and overcome conflict. This overall helps build relationships with others and achieve career and personal goals. Emotional intelligence can help you branch out of your personal network and meet new people while also trying to fit in with a new organization and team. There are a lot of ways to continue to improve your emotional intelligence as well as some advice associated with how to use your emotional intelligence effectively.
Emotional intelligence affects your performance at school or work, your mental and physical health, your relationships, and your social intelligence. When enhancing your emotional intelligence, it is important to keep these specific factors in mind. These factors include reflecting on your own emotions, asking for others' perspectives, being observant, taking a moment to think before you speak, and asking what you can learn from each different situation. It is important to keep an account of your own emotional intelligence and to reflect on ways to improve it.
In leadership, especially working with teams, it is always important to have and show emotional intelligence. Some tips for enhancing emotional intelligence in teams include identifying the team members’ strengths and weaknesses, sparking passion, building a team norm, developing creative ways to manage stress, and allowing team members to have a voice. Along with this too, one of the most important qualities for maintaining emotional intelligence on a team is trusting one another. In order to have a successful team, it is important to practice these efforts on emotional intelligence.
Since October is Emotional Intelligence Awareness Month, it is especially important to keep in mind these practices in order to be effective as a leader and also while working in groups or teams. Emotional intelligence is an important asset to have in order to maintain success and to keep yourself focused on your personal goals.
Here are some resourceful links if you want to learn more information on emotional intelligence:
