Building emotional intelligence is critical for business leaders and business owners. Emotional intelligence is not just one skill. It is, instead, the combination of many different competencies that combine to provide you with emotional intelligence. This post is provided to help you work on developing the skill of emotional intelligence to help you in your career and business.
These competencies can be grouped into four major categories, including self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and productive relationship management.
1. Think about your feelings- Self-awareness of your emotions, including the cause and effect of them.
2. Think before you react- Allowing time to process your feelings, so you do not make decisions solely based on them.
3. Control your reactions to emotions- Exercising control over your thoughts about your emotions as well as your response to emotional situations.
4. Accept critical feedback- Understanding that criticism is an opportunity to learn and grow.
5. Be authentic- Allowing your principles and values to guide your life, not compromising yourself for others.
6. Practice empathy- Connect with others through empathetic thoughts and actions. Suspend judgment and look for alternate perspectives.
7. Appreciate others- Provide acknowledgment and appreciation for others to help build trust and communicate praise.
8. Provide helpful feedback- Offer constructive criticism that is aimed to guide improvement while also maintaining the person’s dignity and trust.
9. Accept when you have wronged- Apologize when necessary, which shows your humility and ability to learn from your mistakes.
10. Provide forgiveness- Release resentment, which can keep wounds from healing, and move on with your life.
11. Honor your commitments- Keep your word when you make promises to others, which earns you a reputation for being trustworthy and reliable.
12. Help others- Providing assistance to others helps them as well as you. A willingness to lend a hand shows your character and inspires others.
13. Protect yourself- Awareness of others’ motives and intentions keeps you safe from emotional sabotage and other darker motives.
No matter your own emotional tendencies, personality, or current emotional state, you can learn these skills and practice them regularly, which will raise your emotional intelligence.
If you want to build success in your career and business, a great starting point is building your emotional intelligence skills. Contact me today to learn more about how our programs will help you deliver a stronger level of EQ.
