"Mastering Emotional Intelligence: A Guide to Success in the Modern Workplace"
"Mastering Emotional Intelligence: A Guide to Success in the Modern Workplace"
If you’ve worked for any amount of time, it’s very likely you have a leader you respect above all others. They are the one you recall receiving advice from, the one who guided you through a difficult time, or the leader who inspired you to go above and beyond every day you worked for them.
These leaders typically possess more than just technical skills and knowledge. They have higher than average emotional intelligence. It’s the ability to understand, manage, and process emotions effectively and consistently. Leaders with high emotional intelligence keep calm under pressure, resolve conflicts, and establish strong connections with their teams, customers, and partners.
Not everyone has high emotional intelligence, but the good news is that it can be developed and improved upon with practice and attention. Are you interested in growing your emotional intelligence or recognizing these traits in your leaders and co-workers? Here are some tips you can follow to do just that.
Tip #1: Listen actively and often
Actively listening to others creates opportunities to learn and better understand their emotions. This can lead to improved communication within your team and generate new ideas for your company.
Active listening involves much more than just hearing the spoken words. Pay attention to others’ body language, facial expressions, and other non-verbal cues to understand the meaning behind the words. Are they making eye contact or avoiding your gaze? Are they fidgety and on edge, or relaxed and at ease? These clues often go unnoticed.
Also, be sure to reflect and clarify what was said. Use your own words to summarize what they said, allowing the opportunity for further clarification or correction if necessary. And if a point is unclear, actively listening will provide you with the opportunity to provide constructive feedback, asking for more information to support an important assertion.
Tip #2: Develop empathy for your team members and customers
Developing empathy is the cornerstone to building strong, effective relationships within your team and with your customers. High empathy, a hallmark of emotional intelligence, involves more than simply understanding others’ viewpoints. Take the time to put yourself in their shoes, feeling what they feel, and let that understanding guide your interactions with them and decisions that may affect them.
Developing your own empathy will help you create an environment where team members and customers feel genuinely heard, understood, and valued. In that kind of environment, loyalty and trust will thrive, two elements that are invaluable for any successful organization.
Tip #3: “Know thyself” or practice self-awareness
No, we aren’t quoting Sun Tzu’s The Art of War here, but the words are poignant. To “know thyself” is to understand your own emotions. Without this understanding, there’s no way to develop the empathy for others mentioned in the previous tip.
Take the time to observe your feelings and how you present yourself to others. This will help you manage your emotions effectively, navigate emotional situations, and solve problems more easily. Going back to the beginning of this article, recall that leaders with high emotional intelligence very often are the ones who stay calm under pressure. This is because they understand their own emotions and can recognize the triggers that might cause those emotions to get out of control.
Tip #4: Know and understand your motivations
Your motivations sit at the center of your psyche, influencing your emotional makeup and very directly your success (or failure) as a leader. Take the same thoughtful approach to your motivations as you do to your emotions. By understanding what drives you, you can motivate yourself to make the best decisions for your own, and your team's, success.
Emotional intelligence requires continuous growth
Remember, emotional intelligence is not a fixed trait, but rather a skill that can be honed and improved over time. As a leader, investing in developing your emotional intelligence will not only benefit you personally but will also positively impact your team and company as a whole.
At FM Talent, we recognize the value of emotional intelligence in the workplace. It is one of our team's most valuable assets. By following these tips, you can develop your emotional intelligence and excel at all levels of your career. It’s never too late to grow your emotional intelligence, and doing so will have an immense positive effect on your professional life!