The idea of emotional intelligence is taking hold in the workplace. Yet it’s surprising how little we think of this important aspect of the human psyche when we’re on the job.
It’s becoming more clear how important it is for managers to take an active role in helping employees understand and manage that part of their lives. Emotions energize and give birth to our creative works. In fact, you could say that emotions are the real engine of industry. It’s feelings that get the wheels of commerce turning. We have a ‘passion’ for our work, we feel a ‘thrill’ when we think we could do it better than the next guy.
And consider this: Managers, teachers and professionals who want to climb the corporate ladder can avoid stress-induced medical complications through raising their emotional intelligence quotients. Learning to manage anger and negative emotions while at work protects one’s health and workers benefit from understanding how their own feelings impact their performance.
Daniel Goleman authored the New York Times bestseller ‘Emotional Intelligence and Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships’ in 1995. Since then, the theory and practice of emotional intelligence has evolved in the workplace. For example, major corporations like Johnson and Johnson realized the most promising candidates for advancement were more adept in emotionally relating to coworkers than less promising peers.
So how do you help your staff-member avoid nursing a simmering grudge against a coworker, which likely has disrupted the productivity of your entire office? On the positive side of the emotional-intelligence equation, how can you cultivate that vital inner life within your team? That’s when those energized, creative, happy people charge the workplace with cohesive excitement. It’s that sweet spot where people love their work, like their colleagues and don’t notice the time, because they’re in that creative zone.
Sounds like a manager’s dream come true, doesn’t it? This happens in a workplace where employees become cognizant of thoughts and feelings, as well as the mole hills that could lead to mountains. We all know those slights eventually turn into an entire office taking sides in a bitter dispute over who got the desk by the window. It’s not a picture-perfect view when coworkers quietly nurse grudges that later blossom into vendettas.
Considering just how important this issue of improving emotional intelligence is to a company’s long-term success, investigate the possibilities. You’ll feel a lot better and so will your employees.