Over the years, emotional intelligence has evolved into a must-have skill.
Workers with high emotional intelligence are shown to more likely stay calm under pressure, resolve conflict effectively and respond to co-workers with empathy.
It’s important to recognise and understand the core values of emotional intelligence.
One of them being self-awareness. Self-awareness is very important, as it helps to understand your strengths and weaknesses and how it affects your team’s performance.
In order to bring out the best in others, you need to bring out the best in yourself first.
The second core value is self-management, referring to the ability to manage your emotions, especially in stressful situations.
Leaders who lack self-management tend to react in a poor manner and have a hard time keeping their impulses in check.
The more in-tune you are with your emotions, the more appropriately you can react to stress and adversity.
Social awareness is another core value of emotional intelligence. Knowing how to read others’ emotions can be very beneficial in recognising the dynamics within your organisation.
Leaders who have high social awareness are more likely to empathise with their colleagues, which enables them to communicate and collaborate more effectively.
Relationship management is the fourth core value, which refers to the ability to influence, coach, mentor others, and resolve conflict.
Addressing conflict is always important, as it will inevitably rise and cause strain between colleagues. Unresolved conflict will drain morale and resources as time is wasted in gossip and unproductive activities.
As a leader, you will have to step up and clear the air to keep your team happy.