Emotional Intelligence... Why is it so important?
It impacts business performance
Research suggests it's implicatons include:
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Increase sales by 20%
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Decrease attrition by 50%
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Leaders who are high in it, are 40% more successful
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It accounts for 58% of performance in all job types
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90% of high achievers, are high in emotional intelligence
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
IN THE WORKPLACE
Most people misunderstand it however it accounts for 58% of performance in all job types
What is it?
Emotional intelligence is your ability to understand yourself and others, then use that insight to guide your behaviour, decisions, and relationships. It explains a large share of performance because emotions drive your mood, your mood drives your behaviour, and your behaviour drives your results.
Most people misunderstand emotional intelligence, yet it accounts for around 58% of performance across job types. Ask people what it is and most will struggle to explain it; many will say it’s simply empathy, which is only one part of one of its main components.
The word “emotional” is often misinterpreted as being upset or angry. In reality, our emotions drive our behaviour, and our behaviour drives performance – fundamental to our successes and failures, at home and at work.
Judgement and action.
If you were to sum emotional intelligence up in one word, you could choose judgement – the ability to make considered decisions and come to sensible conclusions. But it’s not just about what you think; it’s also about what you do next. Action includes what you choose to do and what you choose not to do.
Emotional intelligence is how you understand yourself and others, and then use this understanding to guide your behaviour, decisions, and relationships.
Emotions triggers behaviour
Emotions drive our mood, behaviour, and actions. When we feel engaged, confident, and positive, we’re more focused and energised, able to work smarter for longer, and more curious to learn and improve because we want to do our best. In this state, we naturally project our mood and energy onto others in a positive, infectious, and energising way. People are more likely to want to work with us, do their best for us, and be supportive.
Conversely, when we’re down, stressed, or anxious, we tend to lack energy, are more easily distracted, and are less productive. We may struggle to focus, take shortcuts, and not produce our best work. We can also bring a negative energy into the room – and most people don’t want to spend time working with someone who consistently feels like that.
Self-awareness is the cornerstone
The cornerstone of emotional intelligence is self‑awareness – being aware of how we’re feeling, our attitude, and our strengths and weaknesses. This connects directly to self‑management (or self‑discipline): knowing the right thing to do (self‑awareness) and following through on it (self‑discipline).
Working effectively with others
It also includes social awareness (understanding others and what’s going on around you) and social management (working with others effectively and getting things done through them while maintaining trust and respect).
Five Dimensions Shape Your Emotional Intelligence
NB Emotional intelligence is often referred to as EI.
Round Table Discussion
Build Teams, Build People, Build Performance
Getting people together to discuss emotional intelligence and how it plays out in the workplace is a great way to build awareness and boost performance—both individually and across the business. Ideally, form groups of around five people, either from the same department or a mix. In the first roundtable, each person should introduce one of the five areas of emotional intelligence, followed by an open discussion about how it shows up in their role, team dynamics, current challenges, and individual strengths and weaknesses.