What is emotional intelligence and
why should we use it in the workplace?
Most
people define emotional intelligence as the ability to recognize and understand
emotions in yourself and others, and the ability to use this awareness to
manage behaviors and relationships.
Typically, there is the
implementation of intelligence quotient (IQ) versus emotional quotient (EQ)
throughout the use of emotional intelligence. IQ is as follows: Your ability to
learn and apply information to skills (e.g., logical reasoning). EQ is as follows:
A flexible skill that can be learned (e.g., the ability to type faster).
How does emotional intelligence
allow for effective communication?
There
is a promotion of the following:
Self-awareness: ability to perceive
your own emotions, which helps to understand others in a better manner.
Self-management: ability to use your
awareness of emotions to stay flexible so that your behavior is positive.
Social awareness: ability to pick up
on the emotions of others so that you can play a role towards understanding
their behaviors.
How do you use emotional
intelligence for effective communication?
The following are some strategies that you can use in order
to help you follow through with the use of emotional intelligence within the
workplace:
Pay attention to your
emotions: Understand what
your emotional triggers are. If needed, create a journal and jot down every
time you feel sad, angry, happy, etc. You may find a pattern!
Allow for empathy: Try to understand
how people are feeling before reacting. Within the workplace, the lack of
empathy often creates many problems which can be solved if there was a sense of
understanding.
Practice self-regulation: Do you
have a boss or co-worker that you would like to tell off? Even if this is the
case, it is easy to state what is on our minds without allowing for proper
self-awareness. Take a moment to rationalize your thoughts and try not to react
in the heat of the moment. The goal is to increase your emotional intelligence,
not your enemies!
We all have different personalities,
different wants and needs, and different ways of showing our emotions.
Navigating through this all takes tact and cleverness – especially if we hope
to succeed in life.
Leading Management Solutions helps medical
practice leaders identify ways to improve operations to increase revenue,
employee engagement, and patient satisfaction. Learn more about us at www.lmshealthpro.com.
About the Author:
Anita Haridat has her Ph.D in healthcare/business
administration and her master’s degree in clinical nutrition. She has
several publications in sources such as EGO Magazine, Natural Awakenings
Magazine, Syosset Patch, Our USA Magazine and many more. Her passion for
health and wellness has created multiple stepping stones for paving the
way of creating a positive well being. Her first book can be found here:
