What is Emotional Intelligence? Why Should I Care?
What is Emotional Intelligence? Why Should I Care?
By Author and Blogger, Jane Ryan, Certified EQi, Leadership Career Coach
What is Emotional Intelligence?
Let’s begin with the fact that Emotional Intelligence (sometimes referred to as EQ or EI or EQi) is a huge and powerful skill everyone can develop to become more successful in life and career. During the early 1990s, Peter Salovey (Yale University) and John D. Mayer, (University of New Hampshire) researched and presented the framework for emotional intelligence (EI) as, "the subset of social intelligence and they posited EI involves the ability to monitor one's own and others' feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one's thinking and actions" (Salovey & Mayer, 1990).
People who have honed the skill of emotional intelligence are better at understanding and expressing their own emotions, recognizing emotions in others, regulating the effect of emotions and use moods and emotions to motivate and drive adaptive behaviors. EI is a skill that when continuously honed helps individuals achieve “self-actualization”—aka—reach your full potential in one’s life and career. Emotional Intelligence allows us to adapt to either internal or external events and potentially lead us to a transformation of personal interaction that can enrich our lives through positive experiences.
In 1995, the concept of emotional intelligence was significantly popularized after the publication of psychologist and New York Times science writer Daniel Goleman’s book Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ.
Goleman presented the case that emotional intelligence was just as important as one’s intelligence quotient, if not more important. He stated, “The rules for work are changing. We’re being judged by a new yardstick—not just by how smart we are, or by our training and expertise, but also by how well we handle each other and ourselves. This yardstick is increasingly applied in choosing who will be hired and who will not, who will be let go and who retained, who passed over and who promoted” (Goleman, 1995).
When Goleman refers to how well we handle each other’s emotions and our own, he is describing was is called “intrapersonal intelligence” which is one’s ability to detect, differential and regulate emotions” and “interpersonal intelligence” which involves our ability to monitor other’s moods and temperaments and then take this knowledge into consideration to predict a person’s future reactions or behaviors (Gardner, 1983).
Why Should I Care?
Daniel Goleman explained the WIFM (what’s in it for me) very well when he said the yardstick used to measure who gets the job, raise, or promotion has changed and this change calls for individuals to strengthen their emotional intelligence in order to be more successful in life and in careers. Current research now points to emotional intelligence as the missing link between people with average performance and those with a star performance in life and in careers. Studies show 90% of high performing individuals also have high emotional intelligence and individuals with high emotional intelligence out perform individuals with solely high IQ 70% of the time (Bradberry, 2015).
Travis Bradberry is the author of Emotional Intelligence 2.0. In his book he posits, “Emotional intelligence is responsible for 58% of a person’s performance” (Bradberry, 2015). So what are you doing to develop, improve, strengthen yours?
As you can see from these three emotional intelligence models, the foundational behaviors of EI all include self-awareness, self-management, awareness of others and relationship management in some form or fashion.
If you care about becoming all that you can be in life and in your career, emotional intelligence is a skill that you should understand, develop, strengthen and apply in your day-to-day lives and work. It boils down to our ability to have sufficient awareness of our personal and social competencies so that we can effectively interact with others in more positive ways.
Emotional Intelligence is the special ingredient in our ability to adapt and compete in today’s rapidly changing world. It is time to be all that you can be! Carpe Diem!
What Can I Do To Strengthen My Emotional Intelligence?
Emotional intelligence enables us to communicate more effectively. It begins deep within the central area of our brain’s limbic system called the “Amygdala”—this is where our emotions are generated. The Amygdala is where primal senses such as fight or flight take place. When our emotions are generated due to events that are taking place and stimulating the neuropathways in our brain they travel to the frontal lobe of our brain where executive and cognitive abilities are rationalized and emotions are exhibited. Emotional intelligence is the foundation for critical thinking and the driver of how well we emotionally understand our own emotions and those of others. Strong emotional intelligence ultimately enables us to align with others and achieve more positive outcomes from every interaction.
Okay, so what can I do to strengthen my EI? Begin with a good dose of self- awareness—take an emotional intelligence assessment, and then understand your emotional intelligence level. Research, find and engage an emotional intelligence coach—someone who can teach you techniques and ways to measurably learn and apply techniques to strengthen your EI on a daily basis. Learning how to effectively apply techniques is not something that just happens overnight, although once learned your commitment to apply techniques and new ways of thinking can help you strengthen your EI. For example, while the following techniques may seem like no brainer’s—it is HOW you apply them and your ability to discipline yourself to apply them continually until you master them that counts.
If you would like to learn how to strengthen your emotional intelligence and you are ready to acquire the missing ingredient in your life and career—let me know and contact me today—I would love to help! For more information go to www.JaneRyanAssociates.com or email at Jane@CoachJane.Life.
References
T. Bradberry (2015). 18 behaviors of emotionally intelligent people. Retrieved online from Inc.Com.
P. Salovey and J. Mayer (1990). Emotional intelligence. Retrieved from unh.edu online. Baywood Publishing Co., Inc.
S. Epstein and G.J. Feist (1988). Relations between self- and other-acceptance and its moderation of identification, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, pp. 309-315, 1988.
H. Gardner (1983). Frames of mind. Basic Books, New York.
By Author and Blogger, Jane Ryan, Certified EQi, Leadership Career Coach
What is Emotional Intelligence?
Let’s begin with the fact that Emotional Intelligence (sometimes referred to as EQ or EI or EQi) is a huge and powerful skill everyone can develop to become more successful in life and career. During the early 1990s, Peter Salovey (Yale University) and John D. Mayer, (University of New Hampshire) researched and presented the framework for emotional intelligence (EI) as, "the subset of social intelligence and they posited EI involves the ability to monitor one's own and others' feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one's thinking and actions" (Salovey & Mayer, 1990).
People who have honed the skill of emotional intelligence are better at understanding and expressing their own emotions, recognizing emotions in others, regulating the effect of emotions and use moods and emotions to motivate and drive adaptive behaviors. EI is a skill that when continuously honed helps individuals achieve “self-actualization”—aka—reach your full potential in one’s life and career. Emotional Intelligence allows us to adapt to either internal or external events and potentially lead us to a transformation of personal interaction that can enrich our lives through positive experiences.
In 1995, the concept of emotional intelligence was significantly popularized after the publication of psychologist and New York Times science writer Daniel Goleman’s book Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ.
Goleman presented the case that emotional intelligence was just as important as one’s intelligence quotient, if not more important. He stated, “The rules for work are changing. We’re being judged by a new yardstick—not just by how smart we are, or by our training and expertise, but also by how well we handle each other and ourselves. This yardstick is increasingly applied in choosing who will be hired and who will not, who will be let go and who retained, who passed over and who promoted” (Goleman, 1995).
When Goleman refers to how well we handle each other’s emotions and our own, he is describing was is called “intrapersonal intelligence” which is one’s ability to detect, differential and regulate emotions” and “interpersonal intelligence” which involves our ability to monitor other’s moods and temperaments and then take this knowledge into consideration to predict a person’s future reactions or behaviors (Gardner, 1983).
Why Should I Care?
Daniel Goleman explained the WIFM (what’s in it for me) very well when he said the yardstick used to measure who gets the job, raise, or promotion has changed and this change calls for individuals to strengthen their emotional intelligence in order to be more successful in life and in careers. Current research now points to emotional intelligence as the missing link between people with average performance and those with a star performance in life and in careers. Studies show 90% of high performing individuals also have high emotional intelligence and individuals with high emotional intelligence out perform individuals with solely high IQ 70% of the time (Bradberry, 2015).
Travis Bradberry is the author of Emotional Intelligence 2.0. In his book he posits, “Emotional intelligence is responsible for 58% of a person’s performance” (Bradberry, 2015). So what are you doing to develop, improve, strengthen yours?
As you can see from these three emotional intelligence models, the foundational behaviors of EI all include self-awareness, self-management, awareness of others and relationship management in some form or fashion.
If you care about becoming all that you can be in life and in your career, emotional intelligence is a skill that you should understand, develop, strengthen and apply in your day-to-day lives and work. It boils down to our ability to have sufficient awareness of our personal and social competencies so that we can effectively interact with others in more positive ways.
Emotional Intelligence is the special ingredient in our ability to adapt and compete in today’s rapidly changing world. It is time to be all that you can be! Carpe Diem!
What Can I Do To Strengthen My Emotional Intelligence?
Emotional intelligence enables us to communicate more effectively. It begins deep within the central area of our brain’s limbic system called the “Amygdala”—this is where our emotions are generated. The Amygdala is where primal senses such as fight or flight take place. When our emotions are generated due to events that are taking place and stimulating the neuropathways in our brain they travel to the frontal lobe of our brain where executive and cognitive abilities are rationalized and emotions are exhibited. Emotional intelligence is the foundation for critical thinking and the driver of how well we emotionally understand our own emotions and those of others. Strong emotional intelligence ultimately enables us to align with others and achieve more positive outcomes from every interaction.
Okay, so what can I do to strengthen my EI? Begin with a good dose of self- awareness—take an emotional intelligence assessment, and then understand your emotional intelligence level. Research, find and engage an emotional intelligence coach—someone who can teach you techniques and ways to measurably learn and apply techniques to strengthen your EI on a daily basis. Learning how to effectively apply techniques is not something that just happens overnight, although once learned your commitment to apply techniques and new ways of thinking can help you strengthen your EI. For example, while the following techniques may seem like no brainer’s—it is HOW you apply them and your ability to discipline yourself to apply them continually until you master them that counts.
Techniques To Strengthen Your Emotional Intelligence
Jane Ryan Copyright 2015, 2016, 2017
1. Daily Morning Mindfulness/Prayer Practice—Creates Discipline & Focus—Being in the Moment—Blocking Out Distractions (Daily/15 minutes minimum)
2. Weekly Critical Self-Reflective Journaling* (Weekly/15 minutes maximum and minimum time to spend)(your continuous self-improvement process)
3. Stop, Breath, Think then Speak /take Action (SBT-S/A)
4. Learn your personality, your stressors, and the personalities and stressors of others (building greater self-awareness and awareness of others)
5. 5W’s and HOW (who, what, when, where, WHY, HOW)
6. Listen Actively (be in the moment with whoever you are listening to)
7. Question Effectively (using open-ended questions)
8. Paraphrase and Align Frequently (ensure you are on the same page)
9. Be Observant – Watch Body Language (yours and others)
10. Study and Apply Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (all habits align with EQi competency strengthening
If you would like to learn how to strengthen your emotional intelligence and you are ready to acquire the missing ingredient in your life and career—let me know and contact me today—I would love to help! For more information go to www.JaneRyanAssociates.com or email at Jane@CoachJane.Life.
References
T. Bradberry (2015). 18 behaviors of emotionally intelligent people. Retrieved online from Inc.Com.
P. Salovey and J. Mayer (1990). Emotional intelligence. Retrieved from unh.edu online. Baywood Publishing Co., Inc.
S. Epstein and G.J. Feist (1988). Relations between self- and other-acceptance and its moderation of identification, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, pp. 309-315, 1988.
H. Gardner (1983). Frames of mind. Basic Books, New York.
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