In a recent poll on social media platforms (https://ie.linkedin.com/in/rabiamirza and https://twitter.com/Rabia_Mirza_), people were asked what they thought Emotional Intelligence is. Four options were provided. We received multiple outcomes as well as comments. This led us to create this article and video (https://bit.ly/RabiaMirzaYOUTUBE) to give a general outline of what Emotional Intelligence (EI) is and why it is important in leadership.

 

The basics

Regardless of how logical and pragmatic people think they are, emotions exist. Full stop! We are emotional creatures. It is literally how our brains work. Sometimes, people in leadership roles feel that they should/ cannot show their emotions. They feel that they have to control and suppress their emotions because they must put on a brave face – after all, they are in a leadership role and people have high expectations from them. Showing emotions can be seen as being weak. Emotions exist. We are emotional creatures. Let’s accept it! The good news is that it does not have to be hard.

 

What is it?

Emotional intelligence is about working with people, interacting with people, motivating people, managing conflict in others (and self) and managing change. These are some of the elements of people management, regardless of formal leadership titles (supervisor, manager, director etc.) or informal leadership titles (coordinator, administrator, QA etc.).

 

3 components:

Emotional Intelligence consists of Inner focus, Other focus and Outer focus. It is about managing, regulating and interacting with emotions in self, others and our changing environment. I believe that leadership is about working with people. Sure, you need to know how to do the tangible aspects of your job (engineering, machining, operations, QA, finance etc.), however, working with people adds different layers of complexity.

 

Why should you develop your EI?

·         Build self-confidence

·         Improved decision-making

·         Managing people

·         Effective communication

·         Effective conflict management

·         Increased productivity

·         Motivating people

·         Team building

 

Free tips to develop your EI:

·         Consciously know yourself

·         Recognise your emotions & feel them

·         Develop your self-confidence

·         Have empathy for yourself

·         Review your relationships

·         Have empathy for others

·         Intentionally look at the positive in everything

·         Review how you handle change

Time to develop YOUR EI?

Rabia Mirza has been rated as one of the top coaches in Ireland (https://bit.ly/TopCoachesinDublin_2023). She is an accredited Emotional Intelligence Practitioner and Leadership Coach. She specialises in developing these skills in leaders. If you would like to improve your confidence, get more results from your team, have better relationships at work, why not book a free consultation with her to find out more.

“What a lovely & unusual name? Where are you from?”

This type of question could land you at the WRC (workplace relations commission).