“Emotional Intelligence is the ability to monitor one’s own emotions and the emotions of others, to discriminate between different emotions and use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior.”
(Wikipedia.org, referencing: Coleman, Andrew (2008), A Dictionary of Psychology, 3rd Edition, Oxford University Press.)
Individuals with high levels of emotional intelligence (EI) are better able to collaborate with others to achieve goals, but measuring emotional intelligence levels is not an easy task! There are a number of assessment instruments available that provide some measurement of EI levels and any number of books on the subject.
Emotional intelligence provides a number of benefits for individuals within organizations, including, the ability to:
- Develop stronger, more productive relationships with co-workers and colleagues
- Manage and work through conflict within the workplace
- Communicate more effectively up, down and across the organization
- Use their understanding of emotional intelligence and how others may react in certain situations to solve problems and make decisions
- Contribute to a productive and positive team environment
- Use emotional intelligence to engage others in the organization to achieve goals and objectives
There are any number of ways to learn about and increase your emotional intelligence, including through books, blogs, web sites and articles in magazines and journals. Once you have learned more about emotional intelligence, develop an action plan on how you might increase your own emotional intelligence. You may find value in connecting with a coach who can help increase your emotional intelligence. Certainly many of the books and reference materials available will provide tips and best practices for increasing emotional intelligence.
