Emotional Intelligence - The Basics

What is Emotional Intelligence?

In basic terms Emotional Intelligence or Emotional Quotient (EQ) is the ability to "identify your own emotions and those of others, harness and apply them to tasks and regulate and manage them".

We are adults – we know how to control our emotions, don’t we? Surpressing the urge to scream when something goes wrong is a style of management, but is it effective? Who is really being affected?

Ultimately it is all about using your emotional responses to your benefit and the benefit of those around you. For example being grumpy about something you cannot change hours after it has happened only really impacts you.  Everyone else may sympathise with your position, but only you are feeling the pain – not the guy who made a bad choice in his car this morning. In fact, he remains unaffected, only you are having these feelings.

All of the time spent attached to a negative emotion represents a lost opportunity to make a positive impact on your day.

In a business situation, EQ can help to understand the motivation of others which can be applied in many different ways. It can provide a framework for ethical dilemmas, assist in taking your team on a journey through change and help to promote a growth mind set.

The Theory

The theory of EQ was first introduced by Daniel Goleman in 1995 in his book “EQ why it can matter more than IQ”. He was interested to explore why it wasn’t always the academically gifted who got promoted.

He highlighted five main areas to consider :

The first two are Self Awareness and Self Management. These are primarily looking at what you do and how you manage it. In basic terms, working out what pushes your buttons and deciding a strategy to give you a positive outcome.

The next three are how you use it to influence the world around you. They are empathy, motivation and social skills. Some EQ writers such as Travis Bradbury describe these as Social Awareness and Relationship Management

The Practice

It all starts with you.

Step one is to recognise your emotions as they occur and pause before you react. Then choose a response which is measured and gives you the outcome you desire – where possible and where appropriate.

There is evidence that mastery of this skill is vital for the advancement of your career. Research carried out by the ACCA in 2016 called “Professional Accountants – The Future” highlighted the need for accountants to cultivate EQ in terms of working practices in order to thrive in a digital world. Clearly this is not just limited to accountants, this research certainly shows a shift in opinion about what it takes to master the workplace now and in the future.

Most importantly, EQ is a way to a happier, more productive and more influencial you. 

Discover Your Bounce for Business has workshops covering all aspects of wellbeing and culture including EQ

https://www.discoveryourbounce.com/engage/

The full report ACCA report can be downloaded here. https://www.accaglobal.com/uk/en/professional-insights/pro-accountants-the-future.html