Emotional Intelligence (EI) refers to the ability to be able to observe the emotions within and relate with the emotions of others as separate from the visible behaviour and behave accordingly. In other words, it is about being empathetic towards self and others and in that being able to manage and sometimes even manipulate personal behaviour situationally so as to avoid conflict and maintain peace. Emotional Intelligence is about a transition 3from conditioned automatic behaviour to an intelligent way of dealing with self, others and the given situation.
Emotional intelligence is the foundation of all human behaviour. It has the power to transform relationships, beliefs and value systems and therefore lives. We see stress and conflict at almost all areas of our lives whether it is within family, at the workplace or with friends, relatives, neighbours and even strangers. The inner conflict or cognitive dissonance – the battle within the metamorphic mind and the heart certainly top the chart. Being emotionally intelligent empowers us to manage both success and failure in life and remain centered.
Benefits of Emotional Intelligence at The Workplace
A person with high self-esteem lives with an abundant mindset and is emotionally more stable than a scarcity mindset led person. The benefits of emotional intelligence are many. EI forms a psychological safety network around an individual and helps scaling up the mental faculties. EI impacts our cognitive and physical competencies by simplifying our thoughts, feelings and behaviour which impact the way we perceive our work and the environment. A few of the benefits of emotional intelligence can be discussed here:
Self-regulation – When you are able to see your emotions rise inside your mind, you are naturally empowered to see through these emotions without getting engaged in them and hence will be able to regulate emotions wisely and even manipulate them as per your needs. This helps in dealing with high workload stress as well as interpersonal conflict. In case of both, it boils down to how we perceive the situation more than what we see outside of us.
Relationship Management – With empathy in place, there is no reason for misunderstanding in relationships. Interaction with people is on a deeper level, with more chances of knowing what the other person wants from a relationship and what I can contribute.
Leadership and team management – Leadership is about bringing efficiency and effectiveness on the table while ensuring team development and motivation. This happens when we do not compromise on and are able to balance discipline with employee welfare. This is not as easy as it sounds in a world which loads expectations on the leader at all levels of hierarchy. With being emotionally in control, we can play different hats as per the need of the situation so as to ensure the job done well.
Career choice – Occupational stress is a common phenomenon these days. So much so that if an employee is happy working and has no stress, eyebrows are raised. While there are many reasons for stress but it starts with a wrong career or job choice. When careers or jobs are chosen on the basis of fear or greed, the critical thinking aspect gets clouded leading to wrong choices.
Career Stability – The same mindset leads to frequently changing jobs and having a resume that mirrors career instability. Emotionally intelligent people possess a clarity of thought on what they want to do in their life and have a natural ability to discriminate when to compromise and where to draw a line and hence seldom enjoy a relatively stable and fulfilling career. Also being good in relationship management, they are able to maneuver conflicting situations and create a balance between ego and self-respect.
Assertiveness – The biggest stressor for a human being is the inability to express ourselves the way we want to. Sadly, the stress of not being able to express makes us behave in undesirable levels whenever this pent up frustration finds a way to let loose. Assertiveness comes naturally to an emotionally intelligent person because there is no deficiency of self-esteem within. When we are sorted from inside, we are able to express ourselves maintaining meaningful relationships with all our stakeholders.
Holistic happiness –What is the point in being successful and yet dissatisfied with self. Being assertive makes us be ourselves and calms the mind of the desperation to express itself. There is nothing that makes us happier than being the way we want to be. Being emotionally intelligent and operating from the correct vantage point of self-confidence, we are an asset to the society and are clear about what will give us holistic happiness, inclusive of all around us.
It is absolutely vital to regulate emotions so as to be in control of your actions eventually. A man of wise thoughts, emotions and actions always has a very good perceived value in the society with obvious benefits.
EI will be the core strength required in an individual in the world of rising innovation and advanced learning systems like artificial intelligence, machine learning and quantum computing. Innovation and improvisation are natural to the human mind but only if it gets the freedom to think and take risks as well as be ready to fail and learn. In all of this, it is important that one is ethically correct as well. Whether this is possible to integrate EI and value based mindset curation in the current textual academic learning is certainly something to think about. With the world ready for a complete paradigm shift in thinking with a huge upgradation in technology and the way we live, it is compulsory to be emotionally intelligent in tomorrow’s world so that mind has the space to think, innovate and SURVIVE !!
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