The Business Corner: Emotional Intelligence, the Counter to Artificial Intelligence

Emotional intelligence (EI) is an important quality that everyone, regardless of their profession or major, should learn. Emotions have a huge impact on the way we respond to situations and the decisions we make.

What EI entails is the ability to identify, manage, understand, and empathize with emotions (whether they’re our own or someone else’s). Possessing EI is a beneficial interpersonal skill used everywhere.

For example, EI in the workplace can be used when coaching and training teams,

effectively giving feedback, collaborating, and managing stress or anxiety. In the Harvard Business School (HBS) article “10 Important Business Skills Every Professional Needs,” Matt Gavin writes, “Emotional intelligence is commonly broken down into four concepts: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management.”

Let’s dive deeper into these four concepts and what they mean.

Self-awareness and social awareness

Self-awareness relates to social awareness in the sense that in order to identify what others feel, we must be able to identify how we feel. It’s important to identify our feelings because emotions can directly impact our responses and sometimes can deter our judgment when handling situations. Being able to recognize our own emotions allows us to be proactive rather than reactive.

Moods can also affect the way you handle situations; feelings as simple as being hungry or tired can impact our judgment significantly. Sometimes it’s important to take a second and reflect on our emotions before responding to a situation.

This is an important skill to possess and learn because being able to articulate a professional and appropriate response impacts the people around you in a positive way. Not just in a work environment, but even at school or at home — it can prevent possible miscommunication.

Remember that your choice of words may have long-term consequences. It can change the way others perceive you, sever relationships (in the workplace or in your personal life), and even damage your credibility.

Self-management and relationship management

Learning how to manage your emotions will enable you to influence others’ emotions as well.

Lauren Landry, in the HBS article “Why Emotional Intelligence Is Important in Leadership,” explains, “Self-management refers to the ability to manage your emotions, particularly in stressful situations, and maintain a positive outlook despite setbacks.”

This is important for promoting inclusivity in the workplace by allowing trust and transparency to build between all employees and leaders, which consequently promotes employee motivation and productivity as well as the overall team environment and company as a whole.

Assessing and strengthening EI

Ways that we can improve our emotional intelligence are by journaling (which allows us to reflect on situations/interactions), seeking feedback from those around us to self-assess how we handle situations, gaining awareness of our own emotions, utilizing active listening (picking up on verbal/non-verbal cues), adopting strategies, seeking resources, and participating in online or in-person EI training courses.

Mastering EI is crucial for us to progress and advance our leadership abilities.