Emotional Intelligence - The Crucial Leadership X-Factor
Oct 21, 2021
Emotional Intelligence comprises five key elements: self-awareness, managing your emotions, motivation, empathy and interpersonal skills. Research indicates that only 20% of a person's success is contributed to IQ, with another 36% attributable to Emotional Intelligence. Individuals with a higher EI quotient experience more success in their personal and professional relationships and are also feeling more satisfaction and contentment in life. EI is also strongly linked to high performance, productivity and innovation at work. EI can be significantly developed and improved at any stage in life and accelerates personal and professional development during times of transition and change.
Your self-and social awareness is the ability to recognize emotions and their impact on both yourself and others you interact or work with. It simply begins with regular self-reflection and taking time to analye your emotional strengths and weaknesses. Recognizing and defusing your emotional triggers or "hot buttons" when you are feeling stretched out of your comfort zone is an essential leadership skill that avoids unnecessary conflict and enhances creative problem solving skills. If you can stay calm and responsive instead of reacting under pressure, you have already mastered the first challenge.
By taking a brief moment to pause before speaking or reacting (often easier in theory than in practice) in a stressful situation, you are giving yourself permission to feel what is going on for you right now. This simple, yet powerful step will enable you to respond from conscious choice and executive presence instead of reacting from a sub- conscious fear-loop . This crucial moment of self-reflection and emotional analysis will definitely save you from embarrassing moments or making commitments too quickly.
Effective leadership goes hand in hand with social and emotional intelligence. Managing different personalities and opinions, as well as dealing with conflict appropriately will effectively result in improved business relationships that are built on mutual trust, respect and connection.
Emotional intelligence has also a profound effect on your thought patterns and moods. It helps improve your mental outlook when dealing with setbacks, challenges and change and results in greater mental and emotional resilience. By focusing on your strengths and available resources, you'll come up with innovative solutions to problems instead of becoming a victim of your circumstances.
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Emotional Intelligence Manifesto
This Manifesto will help you achieve the three main benefits of EI:
- EI increases your ability to focus and productivity and access your creative genius zone. You get more things done with laser-focused clarity and less effort.
- EI improves your communication and negotiations skills resulting in greater workplace satisfaction and reduced staff turnover.
- EI increases your ability to identify and manage emotions in yourself and others resulting in reduced occupational stress and increased productivity and engagement.
