Emotional intelligence is the capability of individuals to recognize their own emotions and those of others, discern between different feelings and label them appropriately, use emotional information to guide thinking and behaviour, and manage or adjust emotions to adapt to environments or achieve one's goal. Emotional intelligence is a lifestyle and should be practiced daily.

Interesting facts about Emotional Intelligence:

When we focus our attention on ourselves, we evaluate and compare our current behaviour to our internal standards and values. We become self-conscious and objective evaluators of ourselves.

Our mind is extremely skillful at storing information about how we react to a certain event to form a blueprint of our emotional life. Such information often ends up conditioning our mind to react in a certain way as we encounter a similar event in the future.

Emotional intelligence in the workplace:

Coming to think about emotional intelligence, it’s as easy, or as difficult, as making the correct decision at the correct time. For example, choosing between two pairs of safety boots. One boot is known to last for only a few weeks and certain injuries may still occur while wearing it, and the other is known to last months with no reported injuries – although of course it’s a little more expensive, which safety boot do you choose?

Being able to know that you cannot put a price on your employees’ safety and choosing the second boot shows that you have a foot in the door of being emotionally intelligent. Providing your employees with the correct safety equipment as and when needed should be something our minds are set to do automatically, never hesitating, knowing someone out there is sitting in the same position you are, picking the correct protective clothing for one of your family members.

Emotional Intelligence has a magnificent impact on an organisational climate. One should encourage all their employees to live their own life to the fullest, sticking up for what they believe in and trusting their own abilities. Once each person gets to a point in life where they have confidence in themselves, they automatically start impacting those around them. Knowing that we are a diverse country, we can use our different skill sets to achieve better business goals.

Daniel Goleman, the author of several seminal books on Emotional Intelligence, identified four elements that make up motivation & intelligence in the workplace:

Ø  Personal drive to achieve, the desire to improve or to meet certain standards

Ø  Commitment to organisational goals

Ø  Initiative, which he defined as ‘readiness to act on opportunities’

Ø  Optimism, the ability to keep going and pursue goals in the face of setbacks.

12    Rules to becoming more Emotionally Intelligent:

1.      Live by your values, whatever they are. You confuse people when you don’t, because they can’t predict how you’ll behave.

2.      Speak up! No one can “hear” what you’re thinking without you be willing to stand up for it. Mind-reading is something most people can’t do.

3.      Honour your own good word and keep the promises you make. If not, people eventually stop believing most of what you say, and your words will no longer work for you.

4.      When you ask for more responsibility, expect to be held fully accountable. This is what seizing ownership of something is all about; it’s usually an all or nothing kind of thing, and so you’ve got to treat it that way.

5.      Don’t expect people to trust you if you aren’t willing to be trustworthy for them first and foremost. Trust is an outcome of fulfilled expectations.

6.      Be more productive by creating good habits and rejecting bad ones. Good habits corral your energies into a momentum-building rhythm for you; unhealthy habits sap your energies and drain you.

7.      Have a decent work ethic, for it seems to be getting rare today. Those “old-fashioned” values like dependability, timeliness, professionalism and diligence are prized more than ever before. Be action-oriented. Seek to make things work. Be willing to do what it takes.

8.      Be interesting. Read voraciously, and listen to learn, then teach and share everything you know. No one owes you their attention; you have to earn it and keep attracting it.

9.      Be nice. Be courteous, polite and respectful. Be considerate. Manners still count for an awful lot in life.

10.   Be self-disciplined. That’s what adults are supposed to “grow up” to be.

11.   Don’t be a victim. You always have a choice, so don’t shy from it: Choose and choose without regret. Look forward and be enthusiastic.

12.   Keep healthy and take care of yourself. Exercise your mind, body and spirit so you can be someone people count on, and so you can live expansively and with abundance.