The name of this blog comes from our mission at INFLUENCE: “To empower people with clarity and confidence.”
Our objective is to provide brief but meaningful topics (under 500 words) that inspire, educate and empower leaders through resources both inside and outside of INFLUENCE. This week’s edition is provided by David Salmons.
In 1995 Daniel Goleman wrote the #1 bestselling book titled, Emotional Intelligence. In his book, he highlighted the connection between emotional intelligence and star performance, specifically amongst leaders.
Studies have continued to support Goleman’s assertion that emotional intelligence (EI) is central to individual and organizational success. As a matter of fact, a growing body of research demonstrates that EI accounts for up to 80% of the variance in differentiating star performers from their peers.
Likewise, leaders with higher EI are more promotable, and the higher they climb, the more important EI is.
So today – for those interested in increased opportunity – we’ll take a brief look at emotional intelligence and a few things you can do to increase it.
What is EI? At its simplest, EI represents our ability to recognize, understand, manage, and use emotions to positively influence self and others.
And before moving on we should note that while some personal or performance characteristics are difficult to change, experts agree that emotional intelligence can be improved dramatically with effort.
As Marc Brackett, Founder and Director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, writes, “If we can learn to identify, express, and harness our feelings, even the most challenging ones, we can use those emotions to help us create positive, satisfying lives.”
So, let’s focus on Brackett’s first directive, identifying our feelings. To that end, we might confess that sometimes we misinterpret what we’re feeling, for example, by thinking we’re angry when we’re actually anxious. Or perhaps we’re chronically unaware of our emotional states, leaving us to behave like a blunt instrument when finesse is needed.
As Bracket states, accurately identifying our emotions makes a difference in our emotional awareness; and by extension, it provides a better chance to manage our emotions effectively. In contrast, when we know neither our emotions nor their magnitude, our emotions may control us.
How to start? Here’s some exercises to improve basic awareness:
- Check emotional states regularly. Name it to tame it. Are you fuming? Restless? Worried? Concerned? The more specific you can be, the more power you have over the emotion.
- Describe it aloud (or write it on paper) once the state is identified.
- Reflect on the connection between your emotions and your behavior.
There’s a great deal to be said about emotional intelligence. As a shallow dive, this post is hopefully instructive and motivating, and potentially a prompt to learn more!
In summary, emotional intelligence is not just an indicator of promotable leaders. It’s a key differentiator in general effectiveness, successful relationships, greater well-being, and an increased quality of life, and – to close with the words of clinical psychologist and researcher, Dr. John Gottman – it’s learnable. As he says, “Emotional intelligence is not a static trait – it can be cultivated and learned at any point in life, by anyone, to their benefit and the benefit of those they interact with.”