Top Ten Tips… Emotional Intelligence In The Workplace

Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize and understand emotion in ourselves and others. It is vital to good communication in all aspects of life and helps us deal with challenges and maintain healthy relationships.

Research suggests that emotional intelligence influences how effectively employees relate to one another, cope with stress and overcome conflict. It can also affect job performance and job satisfaction.

Here are our top ten tips for successfully reading and responding to emotions in the workplace:

1. Work On Your Self-Awareness

To truly be emotionally intelligent, you must first work on your own self-awareness. This means, not only are you able to think about how others are feeling, but you can understand your feelings, too. You also know how these emotions are impacting those around you.

In a leadership role, having high EQ transcends to having a clear picture of your strengths and weaknesses. Try and notice which types of workplace situations emit specific emotions, which is the first step in how you can improve on your self-awareness.

2. Be A Good Listener

When we have a lot on our minds, it sometimes becomes harder to listen to people. Don’t try to save time by planning what you’re going to say while the other person is speaking. Instead, become an active listener; pay attention to what’s being said and demonstrate you are doing this by maintaining eye contact and asking follow-up questions. Also take note of non-verbal communication such as body language. Listening attentively allows us to more easily recognize the emotions of others and respond appropriately.

3. Improve Your Communication Skills

Emotionally intelligent leaders have an understanding of how to communicate with others, especially when emotions are high. Even the most powerful emotional response is temporary, so in an emotionally charged conversation that involves an angry coworker, it’s important to not only know how to respond but to take some time before responding. 

When you take a moment to collect your thoughts, consider how that individual is feeling, and respond accordingly and professionally, not only does this give everyone a chance to calm down, but they’re also given the chance to think rationally and respond in a professional manner.

4. Understand Your Team’s Motivations

How much do you really know your team? Do you have an understanding of their responsibilities at work? How much do you know about their personal stressors?

Leaders looking to strengthen their emotional intelligence will work on putting themselves in another person’s shoes to have a better understanding of how they feel and what they’re going through. Doing so not only builds empathy but can also improve the dynamics between you and your team.

5. Pay Attention To Body Language

One key step in growing more emotionally intelligent is understanding and paying attention to body language. 

In addition to body language, this also includes nonverbal signals and facial expressions. As a leader, you need to pay close attention to what your team is telling you, both verbally and non-verbally.

As an example, my managers know that if I become bored in meetings, I start to play with my hair. Additionally, my team knows that I’m a little nervous when speaking when I start to fidget or play with jewelry, like a necklace or earrings. 

Knowing this about me, and being able to interpret my body language, my manager exhibits emotional intelligence as they get a sense of how I’m feeling and what could be contributing to these emotions.