Emotional intelligence is a term associated with companies for some time. Beyond passing fads, emotional intelligence has come to the world of work to stay. Companies demand professionals capable of identifying and managing their own and others’ emotions, with social skills and the ability to adapt to different situations.
But before going any further, it is necessary to know what emotional intelligence is. There are many definitions, but here we are going to stay with the definition of the author who popularized emotional intelligence in the business world. For Goleman, emotional intelligence is “the way of interacting with the world that takes feelings into account, and encompasses skills such as impulse control, self-awareness, motivation, enthusiasm, perseverance, empathy and mental agility. They configure character traits such as self-discipline, compassion, or altruism, which are essential for a good and creative social adaptation”.
Advantages emotional intelligence offers to managers
Psychologists agree that this skill can be learned by all people at any age and has very positive impacts on the strategic direction of companies. Among the most valuable benefits for managers are:
Improves communication with the team
The ability to distinguish what the needs of a certain person are within the team and to recognize, in advance, what their emotional situation is, is the key to good communication. For a manager, it is also essential to learn to control the expressions on his face and manage his gestures. Non-verbal communication has a very significant weight in work exchanges, and in the end, that depends on the ability of managers to identify their own emotions.
Creates a positive work environment
A manager with high emotional intelligence is someone capable of recognizing what are the emotional patterns, and the individual affective needs within his team. Another important element is having the ability to use emotions and find a way to bring groups together, reducing frustrations and natural conflicts that appear between the team at different times.
Achieve better performance
Managers with broad emotional intelligence are more likely to rely on their interpersonal relationships to find solutions to problems and stay motivated. This helps you achieve better job performance in the medium and long term.
Get faster promotions
Other important characteristics of emotional intelligence are empathy and social skills. These refer to the sensitivity of managers to understand the motivations of others and especially their ability to build a network of allies and collaborators. This ability to expand their fabric of social relationships helps managers with high emotional intelligence to be more likely to find job advancement opportunities and have the support of their peers to assume greater responsibilities within the company.
Conclusion
To be effective, leaders must have a solid understanding of how their emotions and how their actions affect the people around them. The best leader relates and works with others. Take your time to work on self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills. Working in these areas will help you to excel in the future as a leader.