Emotional intelligence in the workplace is one of the most critical leadership skills, as it helps employees understand and manage their own emotions when around their coworkers. The workplace can be a volatile environment, filled with stress, pressure, anxiety, and even drama from time to time. It can also be a place of happiness, contentment, and excitement. All of these facets can play a role in how someone feels at any given moment, and managing those feelings indicates their level of emotional intelligence (EI).

EI contributes to how people handle their professional relationships. An office filled with even one person with low EI management may suffer from an increase in workplace conflict, decreased performance, and high turnover. On the other hand, teams with highly emotionally intelligent people will perform better, have increased job satisfaction, and experience better employee retention rates.

Elements of Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace

Daniel Goleman, back when he first popularized emotional intelligence, broke the concept down into four elements: self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, and social skill. Further research has expanded on this idea, with some experts including motivation as an additional element. These key separate elements all work in tandem to promote emotional intelligence in the workplace.

  • Self-Awareness involves the ability to recognize one’s feelings and emotions. It also involves noting a person’s particular strengths and weaknesses.
  • Self-Regulation involves managing one’s feelings and learning how to adapt to different situations.
  • Empathy means being able to see what other people are going through. That means understanding how they feel.
  • Motivation involves what drives a person.
  • Social Skills involves knowing how to react in social situations. People with great social skills say the right things at the right time. They communicate their ideas so others can understand them.

When employers and employees view EI through the same lens, everyone wins. Employees have what they need to be productive and fulfilled, while companies earn loyalty and productivity from team members. From foundational research to the present, the most effective teams are emotionally intelligent ones.

If you are interested in learning more about emotional intelligence, register for L&OD’s Emotional Intelligence class on August 30 & 31. After taking this class, you will walk away with tools and strategies for improving self-awareness and interpersonal relationships!

 

References:
Forbes (2022, May 4) Alex Argianas: Adopting Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace is More Than a ‘Nice to Have’
Leaders (2023, March 22) Colin Baker: Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace: What You Should Know