Business Leadership
Emotional Intelligence At Work
Written by Nidhi Ann Raj for Gaebler Ventures
To be a successful employer or employee, it is not only important that you have the right set of technical skills needed for your job. Attitude and other soft skills are equally important.
People managing their own business should have very high levels of emotional intelligence (often measured in terms of emotional quotient or EQ).
Emotional intelligence is described as the ability to monitor and manage the emotions of one's self and others. Business owners, especially during the initial stages of development, are prone to immense emotional stress and pressure. Each day may bring along with it new and unforeseen problems. Under such situations, it is extremely important that one does not lose his cool.
Equally important is the way one deals with such situations and finds solutions to them. They are not only responsible for their own actions but also for the actions of their employees. It is their duty to have a positive influence on co-workers and employees to ensure maximum productivity.
The first step to improve your EQ is to stop complaining about things. Accept failures with a positive attitude. Become aware of your emotions and consciously try to gain control over them. Humor is a well known therapy to relieve stress. Business people require a steady and constant supply of humor, to keep them from turning into cynics. Be it in the form of being surrounded by witty people, cracking jokes or reading funny cartoons, humor plays an important role in anger management and energizes one's self.
Other ways of improving the EQ level are to develop the right set of social skills like effective communication, team building skills, conflict management, motivation etc. As a boss, you should also ensure that your employees are happy and satisfied with the company and their work. Listen to their problems with genuine concern and try to validate their emotional experiences. Create an emotionally intelligent culture in the firm through training and development.
Even while hiring, give equal importance to skill and attitude. Remember that skill can be taught but attitude can only be developed.
An emotionally intelligent entrepreneur can develop a healthy and profitable relationship with clients too. It is crucial to understand the psychology of target customers and what is important to them before marketing any product or service.
A high level of patience is needed to deal with customers just as to deal with employees. A great way to improve patience is to think realistically. Simplify expectations and think from others' point of view as well. The age old techniques of yoga and meditations will also work wonders here.
Irrespective of the endless ways to improve one's EQ, the need to improve, lies within one's self. But remember that it can definitely create a tremendous difference for both the individual's and firm's effectiveness. It is a well known fact that people who rise to the top of their fields are not simply good at their work- they also possess huge levels of emotional intelligence and are people driven. The choice is yours!
Nidhi Ann Raj is a gifted writer who is currently pursuing post-graduate studies at George Brown College in Toronto Canada, where she is specializing in Marketing and Finance.
Share this article
Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs
Conversation Board
What's your perspective on this entrepreneurial story? Has reading it inspired you to become an entrepreneur? We welcome all comments, questions and suggestions.