Techniques to increase Emotional Intelligence.

Credits: Google

As we all are aware IQ basically refers to the general level of intelligence in humans. It’s concerned about your ability to grasp, remember & retrieve the information. However, EQ is the one’s capacity to be aware of, control & express one’s emotions, and to handle inter-personal relationships judiciously & with empathy. IQ will be same when you’re 15 and even when you’re 50 years. However, EQ is flexible & can be developed upon practice.

As per research, EQis so critical to success that it accounts for 58 percent of performance in all types of jobs. It’s the single biggest predictor of work performance & the strongest driver of leadership & excellence. Professionals having high levels of EQ were found to be earning more money- on an average of $29000 more per year than people with low EQ.

Credits: Winning Skills

In Emotional Intelligence 2.0 written by Dr. Travis Bradberry & Jean Greaves. EQ has been classified into four main skills which pair up under two main competencies-

Personal competence- self-awareness & self-management.

Social competence- social-awareness & relationship-management.

Credits: Google. Dan Goleman's EI Model.

Tips to increase Self-awareness:

So, the next time if the emotions begin to build, be mindful & stop tagging them as good or bad, take 5 deep breaths which will enable you to cool down & think objectively. This technique helps you even to get reduce stress, worries & anxiety thoughts.

· Observe the ripple effect from your emotions: let’s say a manager loses calm & berates an employee in front of all. It seems the manager’s target is only the employee. This creates a ripple effect in the team, the other’s will feel the manager’s wrath & they’ll return to their desks with the pit in their stomachs. The Manager thinks his tirade was good for the productivity because it scares people & make them productive. But, it’s the converse. People will not take any initiatives & they begin playing safe with the work. They won’t take any interest & risks. Ultimately, it’s the team which suffers due to lack of productivity.

So, moral of the story is- your emotions are powerful weapons & primary drivers of your behavior. It’s important to assess the effect before we make a decision to express our emotions & act cautiously. This is stated in the book ‘How to win friends & influence people’ by Dale Carnegie by giving the example of Abraham Lincoln. Criticizing people will make them more immune & makes them to give disservice. S Some people think guilt is not a right emotion. They avoid it all costs & dismiss it as unimportant. As a result, they’ll never learn to recognize it especially when it’s needed.

There are other strategies related to self-awareness, which we’ll be learning in the coming posts.

Thank You all!