The talk’s about AI but let’s not forget EI (Emotional Intelligence)

Whatever your feelings about the pros and cons of artificial intelligence, essential human skills such as emotional intelligence (EI) seem unlikely to be replaced any time soon and remain indispensable.

On a personal basis, it could be argued that our ability to understand and manage our emotions becomes even more vital as we steer our way through this increasingly complex and polarised world. But our EI skills also have a crucial part to play in ensuring a healthy and productive workplace.

“Emotional intelligence, more than any other factor, more than I.Q. or expertise, accounts for 85% to 90% of success at work … I.Q. is a threshold competence. You need it, but it doesn’t make you a star. Emotional intelligence can.”
Warren G. Bennis

 

What is Emotional Intelligence?

Emotional Intelligence is the ability to recognise, manage and communicate our own emotions, and to use this awareness to influence and treat our interpersonal relationships empathetically and with understanding.

The term was devised by psychologists Peter Salovey and John Mayer in 1990, later being popularised by psychologist, author and science journalist, Daniel Goleman in his 1995 bestselling book “Emotional Intelligence, Why It Can Matter More Than IQ”. Today, EI is considered a vital skill both personally and professionally as it helps us build relationships, communicate constructively and retain our composure when under pressure.

EI comprises of 4 key components which are often referred to as the Four Pillars of Emotional Intelligence:

1. Self-awareness - involves our ability to recognise our thoughts, emotions and behaviours; and understand how they impact others. It includes developing strategies to identify and manage our “hot-button” moments effectively.
2. Self-management – is about our impulse control, emotional regulation, and aligning our actions with our values. Practically, this helps us learn to manage our reactions and get things done regardless of how challenging the situation.
3. Social awareness - includes empathy, non-judgmental listening, and being able to read social situations accurately. It's enables us to understand the perspective of others and the dynamics of social interactions.
4. Relationship management - encompasses building rapport, handling conflict, encouraging effective teamwork, and improving our influencing and communication skills.

 

Can we increase our Emotional Intelligence?

Thankfully, we can all develop our emotional intelligence skills to help us perform at our best. EI is now considered one of the most desirable interpersonal skills in the workplace. In fact, it often tops the list of sought after skills, being valued by many employers over technical skills for those seeking leadership roles.

 

What are the effects of EI in the workplace?

A workplace where EI skills are lacking tends to be a workplace where there is regular conflict and misunderstanding due to individuals’ emotions not being clearly voiced, recognised or understood.

Employees look for leadership from their managers. Often, individuals are promoted to managerial positions for doing a good job using their technical skills. However, if they aren’t also helped and trained to strengthen their interpersonal skills, problems arise. Over time, relationships can falter, reducing team effectiveness and productivity. Conversely, teams led by those with high EI are more engaged, manage conflicts more successfully, and are encouraged to innovate. In the workplace, EI is recognised as contributing to better decision making, improved communication and higher rates of retention.

In a study by Yale University, researchers found that the whole workplace benefits when employees’ emotions are acknowledged by managers who also manage their own feelings.
Due to the large number of participants, the researchers were able to create two extreme groups. One which comprised of the 25% of supervisors who were described as having high emotionally intelligent behaviour. The other consisting of the 25% described as having low emotionally intelligent behaviour.

The researchers found that amongst employees with supervisors who showed little emotional intelligence, 70% of their primary feelings about work were negative. In comparison, amongst employees whose supervisors showed high emotionally intelligent behaviour, almost two-thirds of the words they used to describe work were positive.

 

4 Practical Tips to improve our Emotional Intelligence in daily life

For those who would like to improve their emotional intelligence in day-to-day life, here are some practical tips. It’s worth remembering that like any skill we aim to develop, it is a gradual process and patience plus consistency in practising small steps leads to improvement over time.

• Have a regular check-in
  Throughout each day, take a few minutes to periodically check in with yourself. Use the moment to be conscious of your thoughts and feelings but attaching no judgement to them. Noticing your emotional states and their triggers, helps build self-awareness over time.
• In conversations, listen actively
  Rather than just waiting for your turn to speak, focus on truly understanding the speaker’s perspective. Trying to see situations from their point of view helps improve our empathy, social awareness and relationship management skills.
• Use daily interactions to practice empathy
  Consciously consider the feelings of others in your everyday interactions. In each case, try to imagine their emotional state, responding with kindness and understanding. With regular practice, this strengthens your ability to read and respond effectively to other people’s emotions.
• Practice pausing before reacting
  Especially in challenging situations, when you feel a strong emotion arising, take a brief pause before you respond. Use this moment to take a deep breath and weigh up the most constructive way to react. This tip can help our impulse control and our emotional regulation.

 

Improving Emotional Intelligence in the workplace

For those seeking to help their workforce learn skills to improve communication, empathy, relationships and the ability to influence others in the workplace, we can deliver a 3.5-hour course, either in person or live online, facilitated by a specialist trainer.

The exact course content can be tailored to specific workplace groups e.g. managers or those on management development programmes.