Emotional Intelligence: What it is & How You Can Improve Yours Posted

Emotional intelligence is the ability to control your own emotions, while also being able to accurately evaluate others’ emotions, as well. People with high emotional intelligence tend to be self-aware, persistent, motivated, empathetic, and excellent at developing strong interpersonal relationships.

Obviously, having a high emotional intelligence can help to contribute to your business success. It’s even more important when you consider its role in the hiring process. In fact, according to a study conducted by Leadership IQ in 2009, 23% of new hires fail because of their lack of emotional intelligence.

But, unlike IQ, which is set by adulthood, emotional intelligence is something that can – and should be – improved upon, especially if you’re in a leadership position. Strong EI can help you:

  • Enhance cooperation among your team members
  • Achieve greater control over your reactions
  • Solve problems with less stress
  • Increase your own productivity

So how can you enhance your emotional intelligence? Here are some aspects of emotional intelligence and how you can improve each one:

Self-awareness.

How do you react to others or to difficult situations? Do you tend to rush to judgment, or stereotype, before you have all the facts? Take a step back and really to try to objectively analyze your reactions. Being self-aware will help you to leverage your strengths and identify your weaknesses, allowing you to deal with tricky situations in a more productive manner.

Listening skills.

When someone else is talking, are you really listening? Or, if you’re like many people, are you actually formulating your response to what the person is saying? If it’s the latter, practice focused listening. Focus your total attention on what the person is saying and how they are saying it (i.e. evaluating their body language). Before you offer your opinion, summarize what you heard the person say and ask them if your portrayal is accurate. If you’re not really listening, you may be surprised by their answer.

Empathy.

When faced with a decision or a difficult situation, you may be most concerned with how it will impact you. But step outside yourself and try to look at it through the other person’s eyes. You’ll gain insight into what your employees are thinking and feeling and will better be able to understand why they are acting or reacting a certain way.

Humor.

Rather than getting angry, try to use humor to diffuse a situation. That said, use sarcasm sparingly. If you don’t, you may end up alienating others.

Accountability.

If you hurt someone’s feelings, or made a mistake, take responsibility for it. Don’t try to pass the buck or make excuses. You’ll garner a lot more good will than you think if you make an honest attempt to do the right thing.

And if you’re looking to hire talent with high emotional intelligence, Pacific Staffing can help. As one of the top Woodland staffing agencies, we have the proven processes and strategies in place to help ensure your next hire can contribute positively to your organization. Contact us today to learn more.