What is emotional intelligence and why is it important in your career?

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Did you know that emotional intelligence can help you develop in your career?

Yes, because it promotes the ability to know and manage your emotions.

That way you can improve your way of dealing with difficult situations and improve your relationship with other people.

In this article you will better understand what emotional intelligence is, its importance in your career and how to develop it.

Shall we check?

What is Emotional Intelligence?

Emotional intelligence is the set of skills that allows a person to be able to deal with emotions.

Thus, it is nothing more than the way you deal with, understand and control your emotions so that you can adapt to situations and use them to your advantage.

Emotional intelligence was initially mentioned by biologist Charles Darwin, who believed that it is essential for survival and adaptation.

But who popularized the topic was psychologist Daniel Goleman who is known as the father of emotional intelligence.

According to him, people who develop their emotional skills are happier and more satisfied with their lives, being able to dominate their minds and improve their productivity.

In his book on Emotional Intelligence he classifies it into 5 pillars:

Emotional self-knowledge: the ability of human beings to recognize their own emotions, which allows for better control over our feelings;
emotional control: the ability to deal with emotions and adapt to every situation in life;
self-motivation: the ability to manage emotions to achieve a goal, that is, being able to deal with anxiety and stress without losing focus and carrying out the tasks that need to be done;
recognition of emotions in other people: the ability to understand the feelings of others and empathize with them, in this way it is possible to relate well with people both in your personal life and at work;
interpersonal relationships: through empathy and recognition of the emotions of others, it is possible to build a good relationship and thus interact better with people and be able to avoid and resolve conflicts.

How important is emotional intelligence?

Through emotional intelligence, you can not only develop better in your professional life, but also live healthily.

Because this skill set allows you to find a balance between your rational and emotional sides.

In addition to helping you deal with negative emotions and boosting positive ones to achieve good results.

In this way, it is possible to have less stress and anxiety, more emotional balance, improve your relationships with others and increase your self-confidence.

Check out all the benefits that emotional intelligence provides below.

Enhances motivation

Emotional intelligence increases your motivation even in difficult situations.

That way, You can keep your spirits up amid adversity and are able to meet the demands and goals you need to achieve.

Improve your adaptability

This emotional skill set also helps you to adapt more easily to situations and to have the resilience to get through tough times.

Thus, you become capable of managing your emotions, thoughts and behaviors and are able to accept changes at work and face difficult environments or moments.

Increase your empathy

Another benefit of emotional intelligence is that it helps to increase empathy, that is, the ability to understand and put yourself in others' shoes.

That way you can listen to people without judging them, showing respect for their opinion.

So you can provide good service, do the work without getting hurt by anyone and live lighter.

Improve your interpersonal relationships

Emotional intelligence also helps you improve your relationships with people.

After all, relating to others is not so simple and this set of emotional skills will help you to communicate better, listen to other and let go of disagreements so that they do not disturb the relationship.

That way, You can have a better relationship with your co-workers, managers and customers, as well as the people who are part of your personal life.

Promotes achievements

Emotional intelligence allows you to manage your emotions and avoid procrastination and discouragement when carrying out your everyday tasks.

This way you can have good productivity, achieve goals and objectives.

In this way, it is possible to develop professionally.

Provides more innovation

With emotional intelligence, you can also understand the best time to suggest innovations.

For how you become more adaptable to situations and have the necessary empathy to understand how changes will affect others.

Thus, it becomes capable of developing the ideal environment to develop solutions and achieve the stipulated objectives.

Improves your leadership ability

This emotional skill set should accompany any leader. After all, it is the leader who has the role of motivating and inspiring his team members and guiding them to meet the company's goals and demands.

So the leader must have emotional intelligence so that they can relate better with their team and help their members to feel more satisfied and to develop as professionals. In addition, the leader must have good emotional control to deal with his assignments and with each employee, knowing how to understand when they are stressed and tired.

That way he is able to protect his mind and avoid psychological problems.

How to develop emotional intelligence?

To develop emotional intelligence, you need to practice self-awareness, learn to control yourself and have empathy for others. Below you will see how you can do this through five simple attitudes.

Name your emotions

First, You must know your emotions. For example, after a busy day at work you feel irritable and moody and have difficulty communicating kindly with people. Understand why. Are you tired and stressed? Couldn't reach your daily goal? Did you get a scolding from your boss?

Understanding your emotions and feelings will help you understand and analyze your behavior and reflect on how you can improve.

Control your emotions

Depending on the situation, we get nervous and want to be rude to someone, curse or even hit. However, this impulsive behavior is very harmful, as we can bitterly regret our actions and spoil relationships. So when you are in moments of extreme irritation and nervousness, or very sad or overly excited, breathe deeply and do not act impulsively.

A few minutes of silence can help you to reflect better and thus avoid conflicts and wrong attitudes.

Developing your empathy

Another way to develop your emotional intelligence is by learning to develop your empathy.

So, if you usually speak harshly to people or judge them severely, start to stop that and put yourself in others' shoes.

Think about why the other person is acting or speaking in a certain way and try to understand.

In this way, you are able to improve your relationship and communication with the people around you, making the environment more pleasant and collaborative.

work your self confidence

Having self-confidence seems difficult when we judge ourselves harshly or if something is going wrong. However, you must believe that you are capable of overcoming the obstacles that appear. So just remember your strengths and what you've been able to achieve so far. That way you will have more motivation and perseverance.

keep your motivation

To develop your emotional intelligence you must be able to maintain your motivation even when the situation is against you.

Because problems and unpleasant situations can happen at any time and if we don't work on our emotional intelligence we are not able to face these moments.

That's why you must strive to ward off negative thoughts and encourage positive ones.

Thus motivating themselves to face situations and achieve the goals set.

Tips for having emotional intelligence at work

At work, we usually go through stressful situations and moments, in addition to the pressure to meet goals and demands.

This can all generate anxiety and stress. However, through emotional intelligence, it is possible to deal with these situations in a more confident and peaceful way.

Let's check out some actions we can take to have emotional intelligence at work.

Be a flexible professional

Don't get stuck on one idea if it's getting in the way of your personal life. For example, if you decide to be a lawyer and you are working for a large company. But he is stressed by the intense routine and the excess of work. Changing the environment can be a good option.

So you can act autonomously or join a law firm and schedule your hours and work with more flexibility. So keep jobs related to yours open so that you can change in case of stressful work environments. That way, you can find an activity that gives you the opportunity to breathe and at the same time feel professionally accomplished.

Know your limitations

Another tip is to understand your limitations, because if you are not good at dealing with people, acting in a role that has to constantly communicate with the public may not be a good option. Perhaps an administrative or more operational role is the best choice for you. That's why it's important to know yourself and think about the best strategy to feel more satisfied and engaged in your work.

Recognize your achievements

To stay motivated at work, you must be able to recognize your achievements and the good work you have done.

That way, you have more motivation to overcome the next challenges and you can still motivate your colleagues.

Reward yourself

Another way to increase your motivation is to give yourself rewards.

So, with each difficult task completed, stop for 5 minutes and do some activity that you like, such as listening to music, enjoying the sun, eating something tasty or checking messages on social networks.

In addition, you can set goals to be met and rewards at the end of them. For example, going out for a walk at the weekend after completing the tasks you set.

Be humble

You can improve your emotional intelligence at work and elsewhere by being humble.

Because humility helps to transmit security to people, since you don't have an arrogant attitude, you don't belittle others and you are able to admit your mistakes.

That's why, even if you are an arrogant person, you should know how to disguise it and start showing more humility.

That way, you avoid conflicts and know how to recognize the work of your colleagues.