2024 - What is emotional intelligence?

Intelligence and emotion are two generally opposed concepts. Intelligence appeals to reason while emotion designates primary reactions. Third model: emotional intelligence, which would lead to success.

On a daily basis, do you rely more on your intelligence and your rationality or your feelings and emotions? There is a third concept: the combination of intelligence with emotions, which could be the key to success and make it possible to face the obstacles of life through the influence of psychology. Anyone can reach this understanding of the world through affect, since it is not an innate quality but a conscious choice.

What is emotional intelligence? For psychologists John Mayer and Peter Salovey, whose work in Humanities and Social Sciences are cited in a Harvard Business Review article, this concept is “the ability to perceive emotion, to integrate it to facilitate thought, to understand emotions and to control them in order to promote personal development”.

The concept of emotional intelligence of Mayer and Salovey is therefore based on the awareness of his emotions and feelings, in addition to having the competence to take control of said emotions. It is also a question of appealing to his capacity for reflection as well as his capacity for action, while taking into account his observations. It will then be easy for you to develop an influence on your motivation because you will know what you are worth and will be aware of your aptitudes and shortcomings.

Read also : 7 tips to learn to manage your emotions and stop being subjected to them

Emotional intelligence: more important than the intelligence quotient for the management of companies

“Emotional intelligence is rarer than classical intelligence, but in my experience it is actually more important in shaping a leader.”

The Huffington Post explains that when the concept ofemotional intelligence was discovered, scientists were able to explain why in 70% of cases, individuals with an IQ estimated to be “average” have the ability to be more efficient than other people with a higher IQ, thanks to the mastery of their emotions. The IQ would then not be the only key to success. For Jack Welch, chemical engineer and writer, “Emotional intelligence is rarer than classical intelligence, but in my experience it is actually more important in shaping a leader. We can’t just ignore it “.

Work on the development of your emotional intelligence

If you want to improve your leadership skills in the workplace, you need to practice mastering emotions and feelings, here are some tips. First of all, you have to get to know yourself. The more you become aware of your skills and your weaknesses, the more likely you will be to accept yourself and therefore to have confidence in yourself and your skills. Also, by cultivating your emotional intelligence, you strengthen your ability to cope with stress and anxiety in order to avoid disrupting your emotional state.

Influencing your emotions will also help you improve your ability to step back and make decisions, whether for yourself or for others. This concept of emotional intelligence is more beneficial when its development has a collective goal and not just an individual one, for example in a company. Indeed, the emotional intelligence model encourages people to know how to manage the various difficulties of social life and to be able to make choices in order to achieve success. By caring about your environment and your relationships, your curiosity will lead you to provide solutions in conflict situations, especially at work.

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Emotional intelligence helps manage a business team

All the human and social capacities found in emotional intelligence are also expected in the field of management. Stress management, ability to make decisions, motivation, empathy, self-control, leadership spirit or even management of a team within a company are skills sought by companies to become a model manager. .

“By teaching people to listen to their emotions intelligently […] we can make a positive difference in our world. “

For Daniel Goleman, psychologist and author of the New York Times bestseller “Emotional Intelligence” (Emotional Intelligence) and Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships (Social intelligence: the new science of human relations), “By teaching people to intelligently tune in to their emotions and expand their circles of caring, we can transform organizations from the inside out and make a positive difference in our world”.

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And because emotional intelligence is flexible, unlike IQ, to become a good manager at work, you just need to mold your behaviors through psychology. So, when you try to control your emotions repeatedly, the actions used will become automated in your brain and bad habits will disappear. The intensity of your emotional intelligence will develop as you create a stable environment free of harmful thoughts for you and others.