Written By: Vivian Vega
So, you’ve taken the time to advance your skills, acquire certifications, learn new technologies, but how is your emotional intelligence and how important do you think that is in the workforce? What is emotional intelligence you may ask? It is the ability to perceive, interpret, demonstrate, control, evaluate, and use your emotions to communicate efficiently and productively.
Here are some things to think about:
Are you able to work well with others?
Do you show curiosity and actively listen to what other members on your team have to say?
Do you have self-control in difficult or frustrating situations?
What about self-awareness, do you know your own strengths and weaknesses?
Here are 4 main reasons why demonstrating Emotional Intelligence is so important in the workforce.
1. Establishing relationships: Getting along well with others and showing interest is an ability that an emotionally intelligent person carries. Someone with this ability is normally comfortable talking to anyone, whether it is a friend, co-worker, customer, or stranger. A person with this ability is also able to read body language and facial expressions. Reading non-verbal cues can be just as important in building relationships as verbal communication. It allows you to better interpret the moods and emotions of others around you. For a company to succeed, it is important for team members to be able to work well together, treat each other with respect, and communicate effectively to achieve goals.
2. Trustworthiness: Trustworthiness goes hand in hand with establishing relationships. An emotionally intelligent person is typically highly ethical and performs with integrity when it comes to business and relationships simply because it is the right thing to do. This helps in building trust in your work environment and working with others within your organization. It also establishes a level of comfort between leaders and their team.
3. Self- control and instinctive decision making: Just as important, an emotionally intelligent person is also aware of their own feelings and has self-control. Being aware of your own feelings and having self-control in frustrating situations can go a long way. An emotionally intelligent person can observe their own emotions and pinpoint the reason they’re upset. Instead of complaining, an emotionally intelligent person will seek what can be done in the moment by stepping back, assessing the situation logically, and determining the best steps to move forward. This will allow you to instinctively make wise, rational decisions.
4. Self- improvement: Along with being aware of your own feelings, it is also important to be aware of your own strengths and weaknesses. If you know where you excel, this can build strong self- confidence. Having strong self- confidence will keep you motivated. Being motivated allows you to take the initiative to set high standards for yourself. Being motivated is also about resilience and optimism. Someone who is emotionally intelligent not only knows their strengths but is also aware of their weaknesses and is not afraid of any negative evaluations. We can all continue to improve in our own ways. Accepting and seeking feedback about your own weaknesses will make a positive impact on that self-improvement process. If you can only point out your strengths, you’re not assisting yourself with becoming better.
Being emotionally intelligent comes with many benefits. Knowing how and why being emotionally intelligent is important can lead to more opportunities, establishing better relationships, and accomplishing more goals. Emotional intelligence also contributes to building confidence, self- improvement, motivation, and much more. Now that you’ve read a variety of reasons for why emotional intelligence is important, how important is having this skill to you?