Emotional intelligence, often known as EQ, is one of the fastest growing job skills.
Leaders and professionals with high EQ are typically:
- Better problem solvers
- Better listeners
- More emotionally stable
- More open-minded
- Better crisis managers
- More flexible
- More empathetic
- Better conflict managers
- More open to change
- Better team players
- Less ego maniacal
- More open to feedback
- Less sensitive to imagined slights
- Less prone to vindictiveness
Just to name a few! It’s no wonder that high EQ is associated with promotability and other career opportunities.
What can you do today to boost yours? There are several steps to increasing your EQ.
Step #1 Realize that EQ is something that can be improved. Emotional intelligence is not a fixed trait. It is something that can be developed with effort and intention.
Step #2 Know where to focus your improvement efforts. Emotional Intelligence is a multi-faceted ability. It is the ability to identify, understand, manage, and use emotions in a positive and constructive way. There are opportunities to improve in many areas. For example, you can become more adept at identifying your emotions and in the process be building your EQ.
Step #3 Be humble (which means teachable) and realize that no matter how strong you believe your EQ is, it can always get better. Be willing to look at yourself and ask if you want the benefits above enough to put in some effort.
If you are looking for a simple way to know where to focus your efforts and energies, you can take this quick EQ Assessment.
Step #4 Take the time to access and learn new EQ skills. Make developing this skill a top priority. Make it part of your personal professional development plan. That may mean attending webinars, reading books, watching videos, or attending workshops. This expenditure of time and resources is sure to pay off. Especially if you put the tools and skills you access into practice.
Building your EQ can be your ticket to success whether you are a leader or looking to move into a formal leadership position, or you are hoping to get the attention, authority, and respect you deserve at work.
If you or your team could benefit from learning more tips to communicate with emotional intelligence, please tune into our live webinar May 19, 2016. You will learn what “EQ” is, why it matters, and how to leverage it to decrease conflict, eliminate stress, improve relationships and your leadership skills. Register here.
Pamela Jett is a communication skills and leadership expert who knows that words matter! In her keynote presentations, workshops, books and online learning programs, she moves beyond communication theory into practical strategies that can be implemented immediately to create the kind of leadership, teamwork, and employee engagement results her clients want.