What exactly is Emotional Intelligence?

According to the definition provided by Daniel Goleman, “Emotional Intelligence is the ability to know our own feelings and those of others, to motivate ourselves and to manage emotions well, in ourselves and in our relationships.” That is, the ability to understand, perceive, manage and use the emotions in a positive and successful way.

EI and professional development

Although emotional intelligence skills can be applied in many situations, it is especially important to use emotional intelligence at work, as any professional relationship is influenced by our emotions.

Knowledge and practice of emotional intelligence as a professional is the key to promoting any type of strategy, achieving success in the objectives and consolidating satisfactory relationships, both with coworkers and with clients.

“The effect of selling” is not enough, it is necessary to convey emotions, experiences, sensations and identify with the values and priorities of the client in order to add added value, offer a positive experience.
The development of personal and social skills increases the productivity and benefits of any project at all levels, especially in the area of Retail.

What are these competencies?

The American psychologist Daniel Goleman, points out five competencies that are encompassed within emotional intelligence. These are:

1. Self-awareness, a capacity that allows us to detect and understand our emotions and their impact on the emotional state of other people. In addition to knowing our resources and intuitions.
2. Self-regulation, this ability allows us to control our resources, feelings and impulses to adapt emotionally to changing situations.
3. Motivation refers to the emotional trend that guides us to successfully achieve our goals.
4. Empathy is awareness of the feelings and concerns of others. A skill necessary to adequately respond to and understand other people’s emotions. This competition allows us to anticipate and adapt to the needs of our clients, to better understand our colleagues.
5. Socialization, which allows establishing optimal and meaningful relationships with other individuals through persuasion, inspiration and negotiation. It is essential to be able to work with others towards a common goal and to learn to resolve conflicts. It also encompasses different skills, such as leadership or social intuition.

These qualities are increasingly in demand in companies. Within an organization, emotional intelligence is beneficial in increasing the level of job satisfaction, better leadership, reducing stress, and fighting mobbing.

It allows us to become aware of our emotions and those of others, to tolerate pressures and frustrations, thus increasing the ability to work as a team. For these reasons, more and more companies have decided to bet on emotional intelligence by training their team and managers.

“For better or worse, intelligence can come to nothing when the emotions hold sway.”

Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence

We must remember that a good leader, in addition to having knowledge and experience, must also work on their soft skills if they want to improve the performance of their projects.

In order to apply all the techniques necessary to achieve the objectives of a company or a project and enhance its efficiency, it is essential to count with the professional figure of Project Manager with training in Emotional Intelligence.

Source: Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman

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