Are You Emotionally Intelligent? - [website] Published: 21st of Apr 2011 by: (c) Staff Training Reporter
Emotional Intelligence (EI), one of the training courses offered by Staff Training ...
... is a concept whereby we validly reason with our emotions and the emotions of others and use them to enhance thought.
A definition of EI, according to an article by leading researchers Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer, is “the subset of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and actions” (from the 1990 article “Emotional Intelligence”).
Therefore, should you have high emotional intelligence you would find it a valuable tool when dealing with others, and even yourself, as you would cope with anger, disappointment, defeat and success in far more positive ways.
Having high EI is no mark of success, however, and likewise low EI does not denote failure. Many, many successful people have low EI (if you consider that at least half the population must score below the average, and that said half of the population is not all going to be equally successful or unsuccessful), it just depends on how you adapt yourself and the skills you do possess to the problems and situations you face.
Practical uses at work
EI can be used practically when, for example, a doctor assesses the emotions of his patient. Research shows that doctors capable of this ability are more effective in treating their patients than those who do not possess this attribute, while the same can be said for financial advisors who perform better with higher levels of EI, according to a study of American Express employees.
For managers it can help determine what level of tension (if any) exists in the office.
Managers would do this simply by noting how many people are smiling, how many are engaging in informal conversation, what the level of eye contact is between staff and if there is a reduced energy level among workers.
In addition to this, managers with high EI would be able to decipher what their employees are really asking when they say things like, “There are probably going to be many changes around the office…” (“Is my employment here guaranteed?” Or, “Is my job safe?”)
