At work, where we are least likely to encounter it, is where we require emotional intelligence (EQ) the most. Because so many individuals still think that interacting with coworkers personally hinders efficiency, the office continues to be the final refuge of IQ worship.
You do not have the same emotional connections at work that encourage you to get on with others the way you are able to at home. You lack the advantage of a common past or common viewpoint on current events to aid in your understanding of what motivates individuals around you.
Because of this, it is even more crucial that you’re equipped with a technique to recognize what your coworkers need right now. That ability is already present in you; it is called active awareness, and it results in empathy. These are the qualities that coaching groups look for and use to successfully coach teams in the workplace.
Putting those aspects of your EQ to use will help you succeed and deal with issues at work. If you are capable of listening to people’s sentiments, office politics, morale issues, and a lack of collaboration will not have to ruin your working life.
The emotional intelligence quadrilateral
Self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management are the four components of emotional intelligence. Click here to read more about self-awareness. How well-versed in each of these sources are you?
Self-awareness: The capacity to be aware of your feelings and how they affect you while relying on your intuition to make judgments. Can you enter a room, encounter a stranger, go to a meeting, and immediately tell them that something is off? This innate understanding, once called “intuition,” depends on emotional intelligence.
Can you diffuse a quarrel using comedy or by persuading someone else to see things your way? These are not universal measures of self-awareness, but they can be good indicators of emotional intelligence in the workplace.
Watch for indicators of this nature and use them to coach your staff accordingly. Remember, even the most emotionally intelligent subordinates and co-workers can sometimes need assistance in this department.
Keep in mind that we all experience the same things
People spend more time protecting themselves from actual and imagined threats than working cripples many enterprises. When fear reigns, valuable time is squandered trying to maintain dominance, avoid the wrath of the boss, or battle for position.
If you keep in mind that we all experience the same emotions, the incontrovertible reality that certain people in any organization have more authority than others should not fill you with terror.
Does your manager put on a harsh persona out of fear that doing so would make them weak?
Are your staff members grumbling because they are feeling just as discouraged as you are?
Does the individual in the adjacent office become irritable with you because they are equally concerned about potential layoffs that you are?
It is simpler to approach the supervisor, to urge a worker to offer a bit more, or to realize that a coworker’s impatience is not personal when you keep in mind that we are all emotional peers. Use your emotions to unite rather than divide you; they are excellent at bringing people on an equal footing.
Everyone wants to feel wanted and respected
How long are you willing to think you would stick it out in a job if you did not feel appreciated by your coworkers? Regardless of the profession, when we engage with individuals who show us that we are respected and appreciated, we gain confidence about ourselves and are especially motivated to work more diligently, creatively, and for a longer period of time.
And when we help people feel loved and appreciated, we receive the type of assistance we require to perform our tasks effectively. Showing gratitude is going to go a long way, whether you are working with a supervisor, a staff member or a coworker.
Foster collaboration, empathy, and teamwork
Psychologists have long recognized that teams of people are more effective and productive with a similar number of persons working alone. Empathy (https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/empathy/) motivates us all to collaborate. Harnessing the empath in our subordinates can be a very useful training and coaching tool.
Make it advantageous for your workers to depend on and support one another. Offer rewards or additional motivation for collective rather than solitary accomplishments. For instance, you could host TGIF lunches and sporadic morning bagel fests both with and without you, allowing your group to feel comfortable creating a shared space for complaining about the boss.
Create a mentoring program that pairs up new hires with those who have the most experience. When you use your sharp emotional skills to balance one person’s shortcomings with another person’s strengths, soon everyone will be lifting one another to new heights.
