Whether you are a lawyer, accountant, doctor, banker, mailman or any other occupation it is likely that good interpersonal skills are important to your success.
In our modern work world, we often work in groups or as part of a team.
You need to work effectively with people who have different personalities, motivations and work habits.
When I was growing up in Chicago, we called someone who got along well with others and who was great at influencing them street smart.
Today, the terms emotional intelligence and social intelligence have popularized the importance of social community and connectivity.
The concept of emotional intelligence became popular after the immense success of the Daniel Goleman 1995 book, Emotional Intelligence, Why It Can Matter More Than IQ.
It was followed by a second best seller in 1998 by the same author, Working with Emotional Intelligence.
The business community was rocked by the research that overwhelmingly showed that up to 90 percent ofperformance effectiveness was due to emotional savvy rather than technological knowledge.
In the US where IQ and SAT scores have dominated thinking on who is likely to succeed, the evidence is now clear that people skills are far more important when it comes to the bottom line.
For many years it had been considered inappropriate to show or to have emotions in a work situation.
An overwhelming amount of research shows that not only are emotions very much a part of the work experience, but to a large degree they set the course that a company follows.
Unlike IQ, which is unchanging from childhood on, emotional intelligence can be developed.
In fact, it usually does become greater with age and maturity.
The importance of developing your emotional intelligence is essential to success in the workplace.
Utilizing the power and energy of your emotions leads to high motivation, and improves problem-solving and decision-making.
Understanding emotions contributes toward building an emotionally intelligent organization.
An emotionally intelligent organization can be imagined where: o Everyone communicates with understanding and respect o People set group goals and help others work toward them o Enthusiasm and confidence in the organization are widespread What Is EQ? Daniel Goleman defines emotional intelligence it as the capacity for recognizing our own feelings and those of others, for motivating ourselves, and for managing emotions well in ourselves and in our relationships.
IQ is a measure of your cognitive abilities, and has been quantified and validated by scientists since the first decades of this century.
Standard IQ tests measure spatial and mathematical reasoning, verbal comprehension, information and memory.
To measure your emotional functioning is a more complicated task.
Goleman summarizes emotional intelligence intothe following components: 1.
Emotional self-awareness 2.
Managing your own emotions 3.
Using emotions to maximize intellectual processing and decision-making, including self-motivation 4.
Developing empathy 5.
The art of social relationships and managing emotions in others Most people have trouble managing situations that are emotionally charged, especially when the emotions aroused are anger and anxiety.
This difficulty is often accompanied by, or causes, poor communications skills.
There is currently a great deal of information available that can help you develop better emotional intelligence and improve your interpersonal skills at work.
Working with a seasoned executive coach can help leaders develop emotional intelligence and social intelligence competence.