What is the Importance of Emotional Intelligence?

The word ‘emotion’ means the spirit that moves us. That energy is the transmitter and recorder of all the feelings, thoughts and actions. It determines what we dream about, what we are drawn to, believe in and committed to. If we say that a person is ‘more intelligent’ than another, it can only mean that he/she acts more intelligently most of the time. Even the research has continually shown that grades at school or a high IQ cannot predict unerringly who will be successful and who will not be. It is because, no intelligence is more important than the interpersonal.

Now the question arises what exactly Emotional Intelligence is and what role it plays?   Emotional intelligence is basically a type of social intelligence which involves the capacity for recognizing our own feelings and those of others for motivating ourselves and for managing emotion well in ourselves and in our relationship. Various characteristics makeup emotional intelligence such as self motivation, ability to control impulses regulates moods and keeps distress away from swamping the ability to think. Therefore, it can be concluded that emotional intelligence helps to enhance the ability to set a goal in life; work towards achieving it, negotiate it and feel empathetic towards others.

Emotional intelligence helps to yield potential for learning practical skills such as:

• Self-awareness: Self- regulation, Self-control, Trustworthiness, Conscientiousness, Adaptability, Innovation, Motivation, Achievement drive, Commitment
• Empathy: Understanding others, Service orientation, Leveraging diversity, Political awareness.
• Social Skills: Influence, Communication, Leadership, Building bonds, Collaboration and Cooperation, Team capabilities

How can emotional intelligence be developed?

Emotional intelligence can be developed by developing self- awareness, personal decision making, managing feelings, handling stress, empathy, communication, self disclosure, insight, self –acceptance, personal responsibility, assertiveness, group dynamics and conflict resolution. However, there are many ways to enhance emotional intelligence such as:  

• By observing good role models like teachers, parents, etc. one can gradually learn how to analyze and cope with life.
• Direct reading classes on personality development, value education, etc
• Reading personality improvement books and articles are quite helpful.
• One can learn from his/ her own life experiences if he/she is introspective.
• By attending workshops and seminars on personality development.
• Media programs can be very informative and educative.
• The positive aspect of religion can offer a lot of solace and guidance.

Cornerstones of Emotional intelligence:

• Emotional Literacy: This involves developing a clear and useful vocabulary, for emotional literacy and recognizing respecting and valuing the inherent wisdom of feelings. This can be done through monitoring thoughts and feeling; self- observation, paying careful attention to get feelings etc.
• Emotional Fitness: Emotional fitness refers to those qualities that illuminate our personal values and character and the feeling that enliven and drive them. If you are genuine about your accessibility, other will trust you and you will stand out from the management crowd.
• Emotional Depth: Emotional depth calls forth ones core character. It is the manifestation of a person’s commitment, drive, initiative, conscience, and accountability. Emotional depth can be developed by including self-awareness, assertiveness, empathy, communication, and by referring the role model.
• Emotional Alchemy: It is blending of forces that enable us to discover creative opportunities and transform lesser ideas into greater ones. It is emotional alchemy through which we extend our creative instincts and capacity to flow with problems and pressure and to fight for the future. It throws light on the range of hidden solution and untapped opportunities.