The concept of emotional intelligence (EI) has been studied for decades. It wasn’t until 1995, with the publication of Daniel Goleman’s book Emotional Intelligence ,that EI was pushed to the forefront.
At the same time, employers still didn’t embrace EI in the workplace. Maybe it was because they believed that emotional intelligence myths like the idea that there actually isn’t such a thing. That has changed as research has found that emotional intelligence was the strongest predictor of workplace effectiveness.
Additionally, McKinsey & Company anticipates that the demand for technological, social and emotional, and higher cognitive skills will rise by 2030. And as we begin to embark on a post-COVID world, EI is more relevant than ever.
With that in mind, here’s how you can deploy emotional intelligence to improve both your personal and organizational work success
Create capacity
While “EI is a set of skills, attitudes, and behaviors,” it’s also a variable, states Bill Davies, a Principal Consultant at PSI Talent Management International. “I can be emotionally intelligent one moment and emotionally stupid the next. So, developing EI is about being more emotionally intelligent more of the time.”
Davies continues that whenever we’re tired or irritable, it’s possible to lose our capacity for EI. More detrimental is that these emotions allow us to become easily triggered. As a consequence, this leads defensive habits like micromanaging or aggressive body language.
Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/author/john-rampton
