Emotions Vs Intellect: Deveshi Malhotra
The individual ability to gauge, perceive, and understand emotions effectively in the workplace is imperative. The power to leverage one’s soft skills and tweak one’s behaviour to communicate well, and form lasting professional bonds is a must. Emotional Intelligence drives a culture of human connection, and most forward-thinking firms are cultivating this skill in their employees to strengthen relationship building between employees and their customers.
The World Economic Forum has added Emotional Intelligence as one of the ‘Top 10 skills needed for success in the 2020s’. Daniel Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence model outlines five broad components: Emotional awareness, Self-regulation, Self-motivation to achieve high performance, Empathy, and Social competence as necessary skills for developing healthy interpersonal relationships.
Leaders often rely on the Emotional Quotient to lead, manage, and collaborate with their employees while making them feel inspired, empowered and highly engaged, fostering a healthy work environment. Successful leaders at Microsoft focus on combining technology with Emotional Intelligence to help their team equip themselves with imperative emotional skills enabling them to achieve business goals, and flourish in work and life. Influence, flexibility, and collaboration are necessary emotional skills needed at the workplace, and can be improved through reflection and practice.
Forbes states that 90% of top performers are also high in emotional intelligence, however setting emotions aside at work as managing them effectively will lead to improved efficiencies, high productivity, greater collaboration between colleagues and ultimately success.
Despite emotional skills being naturally and innate, one can improve their ability to become more emotionally intelligent. Being introspective and becoming more self-aware, adapting to novel situations, working on social skills, and maintaining a positive attitude are key steps to becoming an emotionally intelligent professional.
(Deveshi Malhotra is studying B.Sc. Social Science at UCL, London)
