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Possessing good emotional intelligence (EI) can be key in leadership development, enabling you to better handle high-pressure situations and rally team members to the cause.
EI is the ability to recognise and understand your emotions and those of others, as well as using this information to build stronger interpersonal relationships and create calmer working environments.
While these skills may come naturally to some, others may find them more difficult – however, everyone can improve their EI through leadership training courses.
Here are some simple tips to get you started on the path to boosting your EI.
Be self aware
People with high EI are good at self-evaluation and can accurately gauge their weaknesses and strengths in emotional situations.
Examine closely how you interact with others and see if you could be more empathetic or patient and less quick to jump to conclusions.
Isolate your stress triggers
Everyone reacts differently to stressful situations, but what are your specific anxiety triggers?
Being able identify what makes you anxious can help you to formulate ways of avoiding the problem or coping with it more adequately in the workplace.
Take responsibility
It is often human nature to try and avoid owning up when something goes wrong or somebody’s feelings are hurt.
However, problems don’t often go away simply by ignoring them. Being willing to take responsibility for your actions and apologise is a big step forward for boosting your EI.
People will be more forgiving of your mistakes because of your honesty.
Control your anger
Anger and frustration can be common in many workplaces, whether it’s a missed deadline, underperforming staff or technology glitches.
Maintaining a cool, calm demeanour in even the most enraging situations sets a good example for the rest of the workplace, while also showing the higher ups you have everything under control.