Looking at the word ’emotional intelligence’ itself indicates one’s ability to understand or interpret emotions of themselves and the others. What does that mean? The person can monitor and discriminate different emotions, label them appropriately and use that information to guide their thinking and their behavior.
Hence it is considered crucial in a workplace as it applies to all interactions in a business environment, as it establishes proper relationships between managers and staff, directors and managers, customers and organizations, suppliers/vendors and company staff.
It is said that emotionally intelligent companies have staff who are motivated, efficient, committed, productive, rewarded, and confident. There are various factors or effects of emotional intelligence for different categories of people.
Emotional Intelligence for Managers:
Managing a group of people or a team of multi-faceted sections is not an easy job. There is something beyond showing guts and will power and that is your emotional intelligence. It is not unprofessional to show this quality.
As a manager, you would need to increase performance through the governance of the behavior of people working under you. There are certain traits that you need to check to see whether you know how to govern them.
1. Self-analyse:
Understand what are your strengths and weaknesses. This can be analyzed through feedback from mentors or colleagues. Getting to understand what do they intend to say should be the right approach. Making changes to your behavior would surely bring a great impact.
2. Don’t blame:
Pointing fingers at your team are not going to solve the issue. You must know what the factors behind the issue were and walk the talk with them. This would ease the severity of the issue and bring out more facts. By getting to use a softer tone you could get to the core of the problem. Even they would be ready to provide a solution.
3. Get a mentor:
Sometimes, working in the position as a manager you would probably not be realizing that you have some missing qualities. Having a mentor like your spouse or your friend or your elder relative could help to know what the missing factors to improve on yourself are.
Sharing those details with them regularly will allow to open yourself so that you get the right criticism. Being open to feedback is very important for you to know what you lag.
4. Pay attention to your emotions:
Not every day are you going to have positivity around you. When the negative emotions flow in, stop yourself and ask why. There should be a reason for it. If you cannot get to understand, get help from your mentor. They would use their perspective and explain for you to make the change.
5. Change the methodology:
You would have realized sometimes that you would explain something again and again but your team doesn’t understand what you want to say. Instead of going about the same way, explain it differently. The result you are expecting is the same but the method is different.
6. Observe your team:
It is best to observe your team mind-set and behavior. By observing their behavior you could approach them accordingly to execute the task efficiently. Each team member has different emotional patterns and by understanding their nature you would need to exercise caution while talking with them.
7. Being practical:
When expecting results from your team, try to be practical in approach. If you give an assignment, do not expect a 100% result the next day itself.
There are some factors and circumstances or situations that each member would be faced with. Put yourself in their shoes and then give out tasks that can be executed.
8. Be empathetic:
Though you would not feel what they are experiencing, there could have been other instances when you too would have faced that situation. Hence, being empathetic as much as possible is crucial to get confidence and trust.
9. Encourage two-way communication:
If you desire to achieve good results, then encouraging two way communication is mandatory. You need to show that you are interested in them by listening to them, showing curiosity in what they have suggested, asking for their feedback, letting them be part of decision making. This way there is no withholding of information.
10. Acknowledge efforts:
The most important part of all communications is to acknowledge the efforts of your team. Take time to thank your team for their hard work and indicate to them that success was achieved because of them. Celebrate the success with them through rewards. You would get more support from them for future assignments.
Emotional Intelligence for Students:
Students whether in school or college environment undergo a lot of emotional state of mind during their sessions in the classrooms. There is a mixture of feelings that guide them throughout the day.
Studies show that the student has to practice the skills of how the emotional input connects with empathy and understanding, receipt of feedback and evaluating judgment of others. The emotional brain connects with the rational brain.
Students who are the future bricks of society building block need to have developed the emotional intelligence skills along with the other skills. These skills are not visualized in the resume or other documents. It can be only seen once they start interacting with other members.
The most basic skills are self-awareness, self-assessment, self-empowerment, crisis management, problem solving, communications, positive thinking and tolerance for others. These skills can develop by getting to know how to harness them
1. Self-awareness:
To do this, the teacher or tutor has to instigate the students to express their feelings. By doing so the student would know what sort of feeling he/she is undergoing. It could be fear, anxiety, anger, happiness, bitterness, etc.
The negative thoughts would bring out so that they teach how to interrupt them. Besides, the relationship between thought, feeling and action better explained. It helps to make the student realize what the outcome of their thoughts or feelings is.
2. Self-empowerment:
The student is made to realize the limitations they should exercise. If the student feels bad about failure, then she/he is taught how to soothe or pacify themselves. By setting up goals it would be easier for the student to know how they can achieve their objectives.
This would show them that they have the power to change destiny. Developing an attitude of positive thinking is one important factor.
3. Developing communication:
The basic need for the student is to be able to communicate. They must be taught how to understand, what the effects of their body language are. Also, they must be taught when to use “I” and when to use “we”.
The teachers must be quick to note the blockers in student communication. Their speaking skills can be enhanced by assigning classroom seminars, speeches, skits, dramas, etc.
4. Group interaction:
The students should be made to work in groups to enhance the interaction within a group. It will bring out the leadership qualities as well as follower skills. Besides working in groups the student would share information and value each other’s contribution.
The opinions within the group trigger emotional factors that are controlled. When working in a group each student recognizes the commitment they have towards the task. They also learn to tolerate within the group.
5. Conflict resolution:
Every classroom or each student is faced with conflicts during their study phase. When confronting them, the students would have to resolve their differences. This makes them know how to resolve issues by identifying their needs and wants.
Emotional Intelligence for Teachers:
A successful teacher needs to handle their negative and positive emotions in a proper healthy way. Then only can they develop a good atmosphere in a classroom? To know what the ways to manage them are, let’s have a glimpse of some of them.
1. Manage your feelings:
As you are in front of the classroom every day, you need to keep a check on your emotions. If you feel a sign of disrespect or things out of control or not obeying, then don’t blame the children. You are responsible for those.
Ask yourself what feelings you are going through. You know respect must be earned. So if you show them, you will receive them. Besides, the child’s emotional needs are what you as the teacher need to take care of. So use patience in knowing that.
2. Feel good:
Make yourself feel good about yourself. When you feel good, you are more patient, understanding, accepting, and tolerant. The implication is that the student also would feel the same way.
3. Respect students feelings:
When you talk with students asking about how they feel and what they would feel after an action, you would be bringing closer interaction and thereby respect. They feel that their feelings are respected. Accept and validate their feelings with empathy whenever needed to. Show concern in your voice.
4. Avoid being judgemental:
Don’t conclude an incident and indicate the tone of implying ‘should’. After all, every student has their way to showcase their work. They would perform better at later sessions.
5. Empower students:
Make the student realize how their decision could have their effects. You could teach them how to solve their problems using compassion, empathy and how to respect each other’s feelings while taking them.
6. Free to make choices:
Allowing them to make choices will bring in many advantages. By forcing those to participate in any activity would only hurt them. Participation should consider voluntary. It shows you, respect their interests as well.
7. Don’t command:
It is always better to express your feelings as a teacher to students rather than commanding. By doing so, students would feel that they not humiliated or embarrassed or punished. There is freedom from a fear factor that causes emotional pain.
8. Stimulating environment:
Creating a stimulating environment for pursuing their course of study is essential. By speaking to them kindly and with respect would bring good results.
9. Supportive:
Treat the students as an individual entity. Each of them has their unique talents and recognize them for it. Bringing out those talents helps the students to build self-confidence. They become self-aware and self-empowered.
10. Flexible:
Having a flexible mind would make the students accommodative. There are always instances where the rules can be bend. Being flexible with students whenever needed has a great impact on the relationship.
How Does Emotional Intelligence Affect Your Career:
Emotional Intelligence is a factor that determines one’s ability to understand another emotional language. In other words, it is one’s professional and personal perception and interactions.
1. Able to manage stress:
Managers have to handle day to day stress. With high emotional intelligence, a manager said to handle emotions with ease. It can see in the form of reduced accident rates, reduced grievances leading to higher revenues.
2. Higher Valued
Staff with better emotional intelligence valued as they tend to remain calm during stressful situations or unforeseen events. They know how to manage the situation. Also, they can resolve conflicts and are empathetic to their colleagues. They are people who lead by example.
3. Preferred personnel:
Generally, personnel with better emotional intelligence preferred over the others as they drive the company’s profits. A specific image created about them.
4. Having better qualities:
Personnel with emotional intelligence say to have better qualities when compared to others. For instance, they admit and learn from their mistakes, take criticism, cool under the stressed situations, able to control emotions and conduct thoughtful decisions, not selfish, not rigid, caring for their team.
5. Get promotion:
People working under you are happy means that you are taking care of their emotional and financial needs. This could help you land with a promotion as the team is more productive under your guidance.
