In
today’s volatile, uncertain, ambiguous, and complex world everyone is trying to
achieve a lot within a limited time. Due to the lack of time, we often do not
have enough empathy for ourselves, let alone for others. This can drastically
affect the work environment and reduce productivity. That's why lately there
has been an emphasis on emotional intelligence. Emotional Intelligence (EI) is
viewed today as an important element for businesses to grow, expand, and
survive. Let us further explore this subject to understand how emotional
intelligence can help to enhance your business growth.
Today,
it is becoming obvious that interpersonal relationships and communication can
greatly affect any business. The ability to learn how to behave in certain
situations can be used to avoid unpleasantries. And, on a much greater scale,
it will affect productivity. If successfully utilized in a company’s practice
and training, EI can have various positive impacts on the business itself.
What
is Emotional Intelligence
(EI)?
There
are many manifestations of emotional intelligence. Communication skills,
leadership skills, and others are all part of these, often called, soft skills.
By enhancing their emotional intelligence: managers and workers can demonstrate
better individuality and greater functionality as a team. Generally speaking,
it is the ability to recognize, manage, and understand the feelings and emotions
of yourself and others.
There
are several aspects of emotional intelligence:
●
Self-awareness: the ability to perceive your current strengths,
weaknesses, moods, behaviors, etc. and learning how they affect you and the
people around you.
●
Empathy - the ability to share the emotional experience of others.
Recognizing, understanding, and feeling the same emotion as them.
● Self-regulation/Impulse
control - being able to maturely control the way you react in situations,
avoiding impulsive responses, and patiently sorting out the most appropriate
response.
● Internal
motivation - having a kind of subjective motivation that drives you toward
accomplishments. A sort of passion, but not of the materialistic type.
● Resilience
- maintaining a positive attitude in hard times, enduring challenges
effectively with an optimistic view for a better outcome, and having a will to always push forward.
● Social-awareness
and Interpersonal skills: being sensitive to the other person’s situation,
collaborating, developing strong relationships, and knowing how to deal with
others appropriately while simultaneously earning their respect and trust.
● Agility
& Flexibility: assessing new conditions, being open to dynamically
adapt to them, and accordingly adjusting your behavior.
Why
is EI important in business?
The
importance of EI in the business world lies in many factors. Let us try to
explain some of them and how they influence business in general.
Identification
The
ability to observe, identify and understand other people's behavior, attitudes,
and actions can help in a business environment. If a team member is
experiencing some uncharacteristic struggles, recognizing the problem will help
you find the solution.
Finding
the right team members
Emotional
intelligence also helps
to find the right people to build the team. If you hire the wrong person,
it can easily disrupt an otherwise healthy work environment. Also, not everyone
can perform the same tasks equally, giving the right position to the right
person will also demonstrate better results. For example, a manager needs to
know how to hold a team together and how to solve delicate situations.
The
effect on productivity
People
with high EI will probably get along together. It leads to better communication,
exchange of ideas, and constructive criticism. And the team where everyone
respects and trusts each other and collectively builds rational ideas
will show significantly better results. Such an overall positive culture is a
great foundation for a stable and prospective business.
The
ease of assessment
Since
EI is quite important for a business to be successful, you need a proper expert
to assess it and explain the relevant aspects that matter for you to grow.
After all, large successful companies employ professionals to deal with this type of assessment
for a reason.
Build
relationships and a better working environment
The
effect of emotional intelligence in various working environments can be
tremendous. While many people claim to function well under the pressure and on
tight schedules, the inner reality for themselves is not the same. With proper
guidance, people can learn how to cope with
increased pressure and reduce the amount of stress. It becomes especially
important in a collective environment where one person's behavior can easily
affect that of others. If learned well, it can lead to increased collaboration
and team coherence.
How
to improve EI?
There
are many ways to increase emotional intelligence. Let us name a few useful
practices:
● Practice
listening to what others have to say and try to avoid interrupting.
Gradually, you will be able to better understand people.
● Try
to understand the circumstances leading to various events. In reality, you
cannot always control everything. Some situations happen out of anyone's
control.
● Think
carefully before you act. Take some time to think before you say or act on
something or respond to someone.
● Show
appreciation. For example, if a manager knows how to praise and appreciate
his or her team, it encourages and motivates people to do better. A small &
timely compliment about their work, recognition at team events, awards,
bonuses, etc. are all proven to increase productivity and overall atmosphere.
● Learn
from criticism. Even though you may not like it at that exact moment,
sometimes criticism is a perfect way to learn what to improve.
● Observe
body language since it is an important part of communication. Without the
full picture, you might misinterpret other people's words.
● Learn
to apologize when you are wrong. If you know how to admit and apologize for
your mistakes, you will earn a lot of respect from others in the long run.
● Control
impulsiveness and at the same time know how to express feelings. Always try
to see things from another person's perspective.
Conclusion
There are many ways in which emotional intelligence helps in your business growth. Understanding how it works is an important part of improving your business. When necessary, don't hesitate to reach out to a professional EI advisor to help you grow and better understand your co-workers and employees.
