Emotional Intelligence

Running head: EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
Emotional Intelligence
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EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE 2
Emotional Intelligence
Introduction
Emotional of is the ability of an individual to manage both their own emotions and
those of others. It is vital for people in leadership positions to have emotional intelligence.
Extensive evidence reveals that leaders who are emotionally intelligent are likely to achieve
more results and to keep the employees/workers more motivated when compared to their
counterparts who are not emotionally intelligent (Carson, Carson and Birkenmeier, 2016). A
person who is emotionally intelligent exhibits such traits as self-awareness, effective
communication skills, being empathetic, relationship management and self-management. It is
possible for an individual who is not emotionally intelligent to be so via learning.
Factors for Emotional Intelligence.
The main factors for emotional intelligence are going go be discussed in this section.
One of these factors is self-awareness. For an individual to become aware of themselves, it is
necessary for them to carry out a self-assessment. Self-awareness refers to the quality of
being aware of the self, including character traits, feelings and behaviours. Self-assessment
can be done through reflection where one aims to identify their thoughts, their strengths, what
they are good at etc. The second factor is that of self-management which is also referred to as
self-regulation. This is the ability to maintain a high level of discipline even when the
environment is favouring the opposite. An emotionally intelligent person would air their
dissatisfaction without raising their voice.
The other factor is empathy. This is the ability of an individual to put themselves in to
the shoes of others. A person who is empathetic imagines the how the other person feels like
in the situation that they are. Empathy will help a person offer help in a way that is

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE 3
reasonable and effective. This is likely to make the other person happy and feel that they are
cared for. The other important factor of emotional intelligence is the ability to manage
relationships. A person who is emotionally intelligent knows how to create a perfect balance
between the relationships that they have without getting distracted (Martin, Kell and
Motowidlo, 2015). For instance, the person maintains healthy relationships at work, at school
and at work. This is a very important factor as it is almost impossible to avoid interacting
with people. The final actor to be discussed is that of effective communication. Effective
communication is a very important factor in life. With the skill, one can effectively put across
what they want to say without misunderstandings. One also possesses listening skills and
gives their ears to other people making them feel appreciated knowing that their opinions or
inputs are being taken in to consideration.
Link between the Factors and Effective Leadership
When a person is aware of who they are, they are likely to behave in a manner likely
to accentuate their strengths and deal with their weaknesses. For instance, if a leader notices
that they are not effective in communicating to employees/ followers, they could seek to
improve their communication skills. Such a move will likely lead to better relationships.
Without being self-aware, the individua may never recognise that they have a weakness and
there may exist unending misunderstandings. The other factor, that is self-management, is
very important to a leader. Extensive research has shown that the best way a leader can direct
their followers is through providing an example for them. For instance, if a leader is always
on time for work, then the workers are likely to learn the trait and maintain punctuality. The
opposite would also be true.