Emotional Intelligence as one of the Key Components of Success Within the Organization
Essay by tektr • June 3, 2013 • Essay • 1,631 Words (7 Pages) • 1,993 Views
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A recent survey on the site CareerBuilder has shown that employers prefer employees with high indicator of Emotional Intelligence (EI) than with Intelligence Quotient (IQ) and they have the reasons for that:
- with the increasing complexity of tasks ability to work as a team becomes more valuable;
- an intelligent man, with whom it is impossible to work, is useful only in a narrow field of the work;
- an intelligent man who cannot cope with stress is more harmful than helpful;
- the more potential for growth the employees have in the company, the more important the emotional stability becomes. The need for technical knowledge disappears with time: 75% of all promotions are associated with a person's ability to communicate with others.
Taking into consideration all mentioned above I consider the issue of Emotional Intelligence to be essential in professional as well as social sphere of life of each individual and to present certain interest for study. In this paper I would like to give a brief description of the understanding of the notion of Emotional Intelligence, to underline its importance in the sphere of organizational behavior, to focus on implications of EI on leaders within the organization and to try to touch the question of Emotional Intelligence development.
Today, no one will argue with the assertion that successful people are distinguished by high rate of emotional intelligence. The earliest roots of emotional intelligence can be traced to Charles Darwin's work on the importance of emotional expression for survival and, second, adaptation. In the 1900s, even though traditional definitions of intelligence emphasized cognitive aspects such as memory and problem-solving, several influential researchers in the intelligence field of study had begun to recognize the importance of the non-cognitive aspects. For instance, as early as 1920, E.L. Thorndike used the term social intelligence to describe the skill of understanding and managing other people. The notion of EI has also been gaining greater recognition and acceptance rising since Goleman published Emotional Intelligence in 1995. Goleman defined EI as a competency of managing yourself and your relationships with others, making effective teamwork, leading others, and forecasting the future, all of which had positive effects in terms of efficacy and job performance. Thus, emotional intelligence is an essential requisite for employees who should manage their emotions in order to display organizationally desired emotions.
There are hundreds of emotions and emotional tones. For the leader it is important to understand not only the variety of human emotions, but also how these emotions are expressed. Researchers identify eight major groups of emotions: love, fear, anger, sadness, pleasure, surprising, shame and disgust. The leaders, sensitive to their own emotions and the emotions of others, create a good working atmosphere that is beneficial to the entire organization.
The components of emotional intelligence are divided into four main categories listed below. It is important to remember that emotional intelligence is assimilated and developed. Anyone can enhance the quality of four specified categories.
Self Other people
Consciousness Self-awareness:
* Emotional self-awareness;
* accurate self-assessment;
* self-confidence Social consciousness:
* empathy;
* corporate consciousness;
* focus on the provision of services
Behavior Self-control:
* Emotional self-control;
* trustful actions;
* awareness Management of relationships:
* Development of other people;
* encouragement of others;
* the impact on others
Self-awareness can be seen as the foundation of all other components of emotional intelligence. It includes a person's ability to assess their own emotions and understand how they affect work and personal life. It is easier for people who know their emotions to be masters of their own lives. Leaders with high self-awareness level are able to trust their own senses and it helps them in times of trouble to take difficult decisions. Sometimes it is unclear whether or not to make a big deal, to fire the employee, to reorganize the business, to reallocate job duties. When information from external sources is inadequate, leaders should rely on their own feelings. Self-awareness also includes adequate assessment of their strengths and weaknesses and self-confidence.
Self-control is the second key component of emotional intelligence, which can be defined as the ability to control destructive or harmful emotions. Leaders learn how to maintain emotional balance, so that anxiety, fear or anger does not interfere with clear thinking. To control emotion means not to suppress or hide them, but to understand, and to use this understanding in different situations.
This category includes such features as the desire to inspire confidence in others (the manifestation of honesty and integrity), conscientiousness (responsible attitude to the duties), adaptability (ability to adapt to change) initiative, optimism against all odds and failures.
Social consciousness is the ability to understand
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