The Role of Emotional Intelligence in Career Success
Unlocking Career Success: The Power of Emotional Intelligence
It is very likely you have encountered an individual who possesses exceptional skills and intelligence, but is struggling to thrive professionally. The flip side to that coin, you may also be able to think of one or many highly successful individuals who are not necessarily the most intelligent or talented. The division in levels of achievement can be attributed to many concepts, but one of the most important which I will discuss today is the concept of emotional intelligence. We will explain how furthering your emotional intelligence can help you to succeed in your future career.
Defining Emotional intelligence
Before working with a concept it is important to define exactly what it is. According to the esteemed Harvard Business Review, it refers to an individual's aptitude to accurately perceive, comprehend, and manage both their own emotions and those of others. Essentially, it boils down to emotional discernment and reacting to those emotions appropriately.
The impact of emotional intelligence on success is profound. A TalentSmart study reveals that emotional intelligence surpasses 33 other workplace skills in terms of its influence on performance. Emotional intelligence accounts for 58% of success across all job types. However, it's crucial to delve into the reasons behind this connection and comprehend how emotional intelligence manifests in an individual's behavior.
Several key traits associated with emotional intelligence shape the way emotionally intelligent people conduct themselves. These traits also affect their interactions with others and their responses to various situations. Therefore, our current task is to explore how these markers of emotional intelligence contribute to an individual's success so that we can learn from them to become more successful ourselves. With a basic definition of emotional intelligence we can now begin to explain how furthering your emotional intelligence can help you to succeed in your future career.
1. Self-Awareness
Self-awareness is a fundamental aspect of emotional intelligence that encompasses a deep understanding of one's emotions, strengths, and weaknesses. When you possess self-awareness, you are more inclined to acknowledge your mistakes and admit when you lack knowledge. Moreover, you become adept at processing and comprehending how specific situations impact your emotional state. A Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis is often one of the first things we do when working with career coaching clients. Interested in learning more about career coaching read about important career coach considerations here.
The significance of self-awareness/SWOTs in relation to success cannot be overstated. By recognizing how your emotions influence your performance, you avoid creating problematic situations for yourself and others. You fearlessly acknowledge when a task exceeds your capabilities, enabling you to take proactive measures and steer clear of potential pitfalls. Identifying where you need be proactive in your career answer the question of how can your self-awareness inform your next career and life decisions.
Additionally, self-awareness fuels personal and professional growth as you actively strive to address your limitations. These concerted efforts toward improvement increase your prospects of success in various domains. However, you must have a roadmap to maximize your efficiency when making improvements vs wandering blindly about. Self-awareness is a key part of a successful roadmap. Self-awareness will help you succeed in your career and inform your next career and life decision.
2. Self-Regulation
Self-regulation is downstream from Self-Awareness and is another critical aspect of emotional intelligence. Self-awareness creates a profound understanding of your emotions as self-regulation gives you the ability to manage them effectively. Note managing emotions does not mean suppressing your emotions, rather it allows a person to refrain from acting rashly driven through an impulsive reaction to one's emotions.
If you can exercise restraint and allow emotional storms to subside, you’re much less likely to yell at co-workers, your boss or anyone in the workplace. For those who need to hear it explicitly, yelling in the workplace is a surefire way to cripple your chances of having a successful career. Restraint on the other hand enables you to respond with reason and thoughtful intention, exercising control over your words and actions. Mastery over self-regulation empowers you to make calculated decisions instead of succumbing to impulsive choices. Moreover, it equips you with the resilience to handle change and adapt to new circumstances.
3. Empathy
A heightened sense of empathy is another trait that sets emotionally intelligent individuals apart when compared to those with lower emotional intelligence. They excel in accurately perceiving others' emotions and comprehending how their own words and actions can impact those emotions. Consequently, they demonstrate an ability to consider people's feelings when selecting appropriate responses. In a way empathy serves as an impression management tool.
Empathy does not eliminate the passing of instant judgments, but it does allow logic to speak up and come to a better conclusion. Empathetic people make an effort to understand others' situations and motivations. Approaching situations with logic enables people to focus on finding constructive solutions instead of reacting rashly to others' words and behaviors.
Constructive solutions are a demonstration of being able to collaborate effectively with others, be it team members, employees, or clients. They possess the skill to communicate effectively without causing harm to others' sentiments, thereby fostering harmonious working relationships. As we have written about before, the ability to collaborate is an essential career skill as even individual contributors have to collaborate all the time. Therefore the ability to navigate social dynamics facilitates personal and professional growth. If you want to facilitate personal and professional growth read more about another essential career skill here.
4. Social Skills
Superior social skills constitute a vital aspect of emotional intelligence and significantly contribute to an individual's success. Emotionally intelligent individuals exhibit amiability and likability, enabling them to establish rapport and collaborate harmoniously with others. With a keen understanding of emotions, they communicate effectively while taking into consideration people's emotional states. This enables them to find common ground with individuals from diverse backgrounds.
In group settings, emotionally intelligent individuals display a heightened awareness of the emotional climate and respond appropriately. Furthermore, their adeptness in social skills allows them to emphasize the human aspect of their business, going beyond product-focused approaches. The best sales people focus on the client not the product or service and no matter what context in business you are in you can look at it from a sales perspective.
Delivering solutions that cater to the needs and desires of their target customers, emotionally intelligent professionals, such as SEO experts, align their strategies with user experience, boosting their chances of success. This customer-centric approach fosters strong interpersonal relationships, enhancing customer loyalty and ensuring long-term success.
How to Enhance Your Emotional Intelligence
While some individuals naturally possess high emotional intelligence, others can cultivate and develop it. Here are a few tips to elevate your emotional intelligence:
- Begin by practicing self-awareness and striving to understand your own emotions. Identify and reflect upon your feelings, exploring the reasons behind them and determining appropriate responses. Consider maintaining a journal to facilitate observation and assessment of your emotions.
- Pay close attention to your words and actions, discerning whether you tend to react or respond to situations. If you find yourself reacting impulsively, take a step back and learn to approach matters with a calculated and measured response.
The substantial impact of high emotional intelligence on career success should be a great motivator to practice this skill. Self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy and, social skills all help to explain how furthering your emotional intelligence can help you to succeed in your future career. As you practice and become more adept you will open more doors which unlocks greater career potential. All it takes is a little intentional effort. As you read this you may think it would be great to have someone hold you accountable in your practice. Acquired Salary is more than happy to provide this accountability through our career coaching program reach out today!
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