The Importance of Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace
Understanding our emotions and human behaviour is critical to developing relationships, communicating effectively, and motivating oneself and others.
Here I explain what emotional intelligence is, the benefits in the workplace, and how to improve it.
What is Emotional Intelligence?
Emotional Intelligence (EI) is an individual’s ability to recognise their own and other people’s emotions, and their ability to use this information to guide how they think, respond, and behave.
Emotionally Intelligent leaders have the capacity to harmonise thought and emotion by:
Being Self Aware
Perceiving the emotions of others
Modifying behaviour
Motivating oneself
Persisting in the face of frustration
Controlling impulses
Regulating moods
Empathising with others
Managing stress
Being optimistic
Professor Petrides believes that “EI is a collection of personality traits concerning people’s perceptions of their emotional abilities, these traits predict numerous outcomes (such as life satisfaction, coping strategies and rumination).”
His model identifies 15 personality traits (facets) categorised into 4 factors; Well-being, Self-Control, Emotionality and Sociability and places people on a continuum for each of these traits.
TEIQue Factors and Facets
The Benefits of Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace
Organisational Benefits
Organisations with emotionally flexible individuals tend to have higher levels of:
Engagement and Loyalty
Psychological Safety
Teamwork
Productivity
Staff retention
Well-being
Individual Benefits
People with higher EI tend to:
Have more successful relationships
Be excellent communicators
Have greater physical and mental health
Be able to adapt their behaviour to a variety of situations easily
As a result, they are more likely to have the edge.
4 Tips to Improve Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace
1. Self-awareness
Self-awareness is critical to improving emotional intelligence. There are several assessments designed to measure levels of EI helping individuals to understand their strengths and pinpoint areas of development. These self-report tests ask individuals to rate their behaviour on a strongly disagree to strongly agree scale. If you would like to find out more about Professor Petride’s Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue) visit here.
2. Develop noticing skills
Provide training or coaching to help individuals notice their emotions and how they respond to them. Assisting them to notice behaviours that bring them closer to the person they want to be and those that take them away from this as well as noticing the difference between reactive and proactive behaviours.
3. Understanding others
Create an environment for team members to freely talk about how they feel without fear of how they will be treated and help them to understand the behaviours that either move the team closer to or away from the team’s shared purpose.
4. Cultivate a sense of curiosity
Develop a sense of curiosity by asking others for their perspective and understanding their perspective. Remember as a child how curious you were always wanting to know why. Be open to new experiences.
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