eBusiness Weekly
Blessing Nyatanga
For anyone in business and dealing with a lot of people, one would concur that the concept of emotional intelligence is an integral component in ensuring that any organisation is driven forward under its levers of power.
In light of this notion, it is therefore paramount and cardinal to dissect this prodigy.
According to Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence is defined as the ability to perceive, use, understand and manage emotions. People with high emotional intelligence can recognise their own emotions and those of others, use emotional information to guide thinking and behaviour, discern between different feelings and label them appropriately and adjust emotions to adapt to environments.
Management should predominantly emphasise the potency of emotional intelligence as a key driver of success. It is imperative to equip management and employees with the essential elements of this concept to inspire confidence to the market and to ultimately attain success. This article will merely attempt to dissect the five components of emotional intelligence and what it entails.
Self-Awareness
The ability to recognise and understand one’s moods, motivations, and abilities. To achieve a state of complete self-awareness, an individual must be able to monitor their emotional state and identify their emotions. Traits that prove an individual as emotionally mature include: confidence, the ability to laugh at one’s self and their mistakes, and the awareness of how you are perceived by others. By reading the reaction of someone else, you know how you are perceived by them.
Self-Regulation
This is the ability to control ones impulses, the ability to think before you speak/react, and the ability to express yourself appropriately. The emotional maturity in this component as being able to take responsibility for your actions, being able to adapt to change, and the ability to respond appropriately to other peoples irrational emotions or behaviour.
Motivation
Relating to having an interest in learning and self-improvement. It is having the strength to keep going when there are obstacles in life. It is setting goals and following through with them. An emotionally mature individual in this category must have traits such as having initiative and the commitment to complete a task, and having perseverance in the face of adversity.
Empathy
Entails the impeccable ability to understand other people’s emotions and reactions. Empathy can only be achieved if self-awareness is achieved. One must be able to understand themselves before they can understand others. Emotional maturity in this category includes people having traits such as perception of others, being interested in other peoples worries and concerns, the ability to anticipate someone’s emotional response to a problem or situation, and the understanding of societies’ norms and why people act the way they do.
Social Skills
This is the ability to pick up on jokes, sarcasm, and customer service, maintaining friendships and relationships, and finding common ground with others.
The emotional maturity in this component defines someone who has good communication skills, good time management, the ability to be a leader or manage a group of people, and the ability to resolve difficult situations or conflicts using negotiation or persuasion.
In a nutshell, it is therefore intrinsic and fundament that management and employees embrace the essentials of emotional intelligence as this phenomenon can move brands forward and beyond.
Blessing Nyatanga holds a bachelor’s degree in Banking and Investment Management from NUST.0784909184/[email protected]
