Emotional intelligence (EI) is an essential skill both in your daily life as well as your career. Those with high EI are able to effectively navigate social situations by balancing self-awareness and empathy for others’ emotions. According to this article, EI can “…help you become self-aware of your emotions, while also giving you the ability to control, express and evaluate them in the context of both challenging and successful academic outcomes”. EI will serve you well in your career as you encounter a variety of circumstances with colleagues, managers, or other stakeholders. That might be conflict, collaboration, or perhaps news that you are receiving a promotion of 1 million dollars (we can dream, right??). In any of these circumstances, your ability to manage your emotions and use them in constructive ways is essential.
So start taking inventory of your emotions as you encounter new experiences in work, school, and life in general. Are you the master of your emotions or are your emotions mastering you? Check out these five easy tips below and take a peek at this article for some ways you can work on your EI!
Five ways to display emotional intelligence at work include:
- Use small talk strategically
- Show openness to other perspectives
- Praise genuinely and specifically
- Share and seek constructive feedback
- Practice empathy and keep you anger in check