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How Does Working With Emotional Intelligence Help Us In Daily Life?

In my previous article‚ I gave a brief introduction to Emotional Intelligence – what it is, and how developing EI can help in accelerating and sustaining success.

‘I would like to put a start to discussing the topic by first presenting readers with the question: Why has Emotional Intelligence gained so much importance today?

David Salovey and Mayer conceptualized the original theory of Emotional Intelligence. But it was David Goleman who brought the concept of Emotional Quotient to the corporate boardroom. This initiated the dramatic surge of popularity of Emotional Intelligence skills in organizations. The reasons for this acclaim include:

• Changing nature and hierarchies at work
• Increasing complexity due to the impact of technology
• Rising competition
• Globalisation
• Increased stress levels
• Increased emphasis on performance
• Changing definition of success

So how does working with emotional intelligence help us in daily life?

In a research conducted in the United States, partners in a multi-national consulting firm were assessed on Emotional Intelligence (EI); it was found that those with higher EI secured $1.2 million more profit. By mere extrapolation of such research data, the importance of Emotional Intelligence in an individual’s life can be gathered. Take another instance of research finding. According to The Centre for Creative Leadership, the primary cause identified for career derailment amongst top executives was the lack of EI. Likewise, there is a lot of evidence that indicates that emotional intelligence can help in accelerating the level of success.

Hence, having a higher Emotional Quotient has been proven to help organizations to a large extent. Such positive changes are more sustained and stable, since employees base their decisions on balanced and well thought judgement. Since EQ builds skills and competencies, developing emotional intelligence helps in producing better leaders.

Developing Emotional Intelligence skills also help to improve group dynamics. The magazine Business Week in its September 30th 2007 issue carried an article titled, ‘Building the Emotional Intelligence of Groups.’ It spoke of maximizing the effectiveness of a team by focusing upon the group’s EI. This would in turn result in collaboration, creativity and productivity. Infact, the group EI is more important than individual EI in organizations. Contrary to blind belief that group EI is the sum total of individual EIs of a group, it is born out of the norms that support the awareness and regulation of emotions within and outside of it. A group is said to have high EI if each member feels that they work better together than when they work individually.

On a personal level, relationships become more positive. There will be a defined boundary of threshold for ideas, as opposed to a person who is seen as erratic and less emotionally intelligent. This means that others will be able to predict how a person with high EQ will respond to situations, as opposed to a person with low EQ, who will react in an unexpected and perhaps untimely manner. This type of self-awareness in an emotionally intelligent person leads to free flowing communication and less stress. 

All it takes is a little bit of consistent practice to develop Emotional Intelligence skills – in the workplace and at home. There are a lot of avenues for developing emotional intelligence today – emotional intelligence training and emotional intelligence coaching is something that my organization focuses upon. It helps the participant to consciously do some introspection and apply emotionally intelligent thinking in every step or decision that they choose to make.

Source:
www.eiconsortium.org
The Emotional Intelligence Pocketbook, Margaret Chapman
Using Emotional Intelligence at Work, Fenman

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This article was authored by Pramila Mathew, M.Ed, MBA, an executive coach who helps individuals, groups, teams and organizations find the right solutions in the workplace. MMM Training Solutions conducts soft skills training and executive coaching anywhere in the world. We guarantee the effectiveness of our training.

You may reprint this article by requesting permission from: pramila.mathew@mmmts.com