Do you have difficulty understanding emotions while interacting with people around you? Do you want to be better equipped to deal intelligently with the dynamic work environment? If yes, you are about to get practical tips that will work wonders in your career growth.
Research reveals that low levels of emotional intelligence (EI) make it more challenging to move up in our careers and maintain relationships. According to a survey from Levo Insitute, it was found that 80% of employees believe EI to be an essential component for career success. Whereas 75% of employers stated they were likely to promote an employee who exhibited a higher level of EI. Emotional Intelligence helps to provide a better foundation to understand ourselves and those around us and respond to situations in an intelligent way. This ultimately enhances our social skills, leadership skills, empathy, and more!
Emotional Intelligence is a multi-dimensional phenomenon because it makes people capable of recognizing their emotions, taking responsibility for those emotions, and learning how effectively and respectfully express themselves. It takes,
1. Self-awareness:
Self-awareness allows us to be present and in-tuned with our emotions enabling us to understand our triggers, and thoughts, and allowing us to properly react in situations.
2. Empathy:
This allows us to be sensitive to others' feelings and become more considerate of how our actions affect others.
3. Communication:
Effective communication skills allow us to effectively and respectfully express our feelings and ideas to others. It makes us more inclined to have positive relationships with others due to being able to properly show up in relationships and social interactions.
Emotional intelligence is becoming all the more important in today’s world because it helps you to thrive within your workplace and relationships. People with emotional intelligence make better leaders and are more likely to hold leadership positions because
They have a better understanding of the people around them, thus allowing them to deal with situations in an effective, efficient, and, responsible manner.
They are better able to motivate and inspire their team/employees
They are more likely to create a work environment that is suitable for all employees
Here are a few tips you can try to practice developing emotional intelligence
A. Responsibility: Work towards identifying, understanding, and accepting your emotions by taking responsibility for them so you can better overcome tough situations.
For example, if an idea you proposed in a group meeting was rejected, instead of internalizing that rejection as not having good ideas or being incompetent understand it’s natural to feel upset when things do not go our way and understand it has nothing to do with yourself as a person or an employee.
B. Gratitude: Take 2-3 minutes out of your day to appreciate all the things in your life that you are grateful for. When you practice gratitude you are more likely to experience positive emotions, allowing you to become more positive. It also reduces the chances of getting phased and affected by negativity in the face of adversity.
C. Awareness: Practice becoming more self-aware, you can do this by just occasionally checking in with yourself throughout the day. Ask yourself questions like
How am I feeling?
What is my mood?
How am I showing up today?
D. Management: Learn to manage your emotions, emotional management is simply mastering how to tactfully express your emotions and deal with them. This may look like
Asking for space when you are upset
Take a breather during a heated conversation
E. Consciousness: Learn to say no or avoid situations that might affect you negatively.
For example, if you have a hard time making it on time to work due to chaotic mornings, make sure you get everything such as clothes, lunch, and car keys ready the night before to make mornings run smoothly.
These are just a few for now. Take the leap and improve not only yourself but your work life as well. With relationships being a key component of our daily life, working consistently on emotional intelligence will allow you to relish the joy, trust, and nurture beautiful relationships and continued success.