EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

Volume 2 Issue 11 November, 2012

In his best‐selling 1995 book “Emotional Intelligence” Daniel Goleman reported that, research shows that conventional measures of intelligence – IQ – only account for 20% of a person’s success in life. For example, research on IQ and education shows that high IQ predicts 10 to 25% of grades in college. Nonetheless, Goleman’s assertion begs the question: What accounts for the other 80%? Goleman and others have asserted that at least some of the missing ingredient lies in emotional intelligence –the capacity to acquire and apply emotional information. But what exactly is emotional intelligence? At the most general level, emotional intelligence (E.I.) refers to the ability to recognize and regulate emotions in ourselves and others (Goleman, 2001).

Peter Salovey and John Mayer, who originally used the term “emotional intelligence”, defined it as: The ability to perceive emotion, integrate emotion to facilitate thought, understand emotions, and to regulate emotions
to promote personal growth.

Essentially, the skills in building Emotional Intelligence are

STEP 1: Self‐Awareness

Self‐awareness is the first skill set in building Emotional Intelligence. High self‐awareness is “tuning in” to the sensations you feel and being able to name which emotion is happening at any given time. People experience an average of 27emotions every waking hour! The skill sets associated with Self‐Awareness include: Emotional Awareness: Recognizing one’s emotions and their effects, Accurate Self‐Assessment: Knowing one’s strengths and
limits.

STEP 2: Self‐Management

Self‐management is your ability to use the awareness of your emotions to stay flexible and direct behavior positively. This second step is to regulate feelings and manage them so they do more good, both to yourself and others. Our passions can be contagious and energize others, but our ranting and raving can damage work relations
beyond repair. Here are the components of Self‐Management: Self‐Control: Managing disruptive emotions and impulses, Trustworthiness: Maintaining standards of honesty and integrity Conscientiousness: Taking responsibility for personal performance, Adaptability: Flexibility in handling change

STEP 3: Social Awareness

Emotional intelligence is both tuning into your own feelings and tuning into the feelings of those around us. Empathy is being able to see from another’s perspective. Empathy begins with listening. Research has proven that, we determine whether we like someone and trust within 3–5 seconds. It’s that fast for our emotional brain to form a first impression. The rational brain has no time to get involved and deliver intellectual proof until later. Here are the components of Social Awareness: Empathy: Sensing others’ feelings and perspective and taking an active interest in their concerns. Political Awareness: Reading a group’s emotional current and power relationships

STEP 4: Relationship Management

Mastering the abilities of self‐awareness, self‐ management, and social awareness pave the way for more effective
relationships. This fourth component, relationship management, is about interacting with people and being adept at managing emotions in others. Here are the components: Influence: Using effective tactics of persuasion, Communication: Sending clear and convincing messages, Conflict Management: Negotiating and resolving disagreements” Collaboration and Cooperation: Working well with others toward shared goals. May be it is time to educate and encourage the medical fraternity about inculcating Emotional Intelligence.