Individual Reflective Essay on Emotional Intelligence and Diversity

This reflective essay analyzes emotional intelligence and cultural diversity, focusing on self-awareness, interpersonal skills, and the impact of emotions in a globalized world. The author conducted self-assessments using the Global Leadership Foundation’s Global Emotional Intelligence Test (GEIT) and Daniel Goleman’s EQ test, and also collected feedback from two peers. The essay utilizes the Johari Window to compare self-perception with how others perceive the author, highlighting strengths (e.g., empathy) and weaknesses (e.g., communication skills). It explores how these insights relate to workplace dynamics and cultural differences. The author identifies areas for improvement, such as enhancing communication skills and conflict resolution, to foster effective interactions within a diverse professional setting. The essay concludes by emphasizing the importance of understanding one's emotions for personal and professional growth.

Running head: EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY
Emotional Intelligence and cultural diversity
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Introduction
The emotions and feelings that are experienced by the people of the community are
important to be understood not only by the individuals themselves but also by the student. This is
due to the fact that the activities of an individual is heavily guided by the emotions that they are
feeling at that moment. In this respect, this essay tries to understand the element of emotional
intelligence by undertaking two tests that is the Global Leadership Foundation’s Global
Emotional Intelligence Test (GEIT) and the Daniel Goleman’s EQ test. They have enabled me to
understand my own strengths and weaknesses.
Part 1
The emotions that are experienced by the individuals are quite unpredictive in nature
(Berland 2017). In spite of such a dilemma, every person understands the basic frame of mind
which they have while dealing with other people. In other words, we often tend to think that we
know ourselves and therefore, we can judge how we would react under a particular circumstance
(Hamzah et al. 2016).
However, this is not true always. The way we perceive ourselves is quite different from
the ay other individuals perceive us. For instance, we may think we would behave in a particular
way under a prevailing circumstance, but our colleagues may have a different set of opinion on
our potential behavior. Thus, there often exists a difference in how we and others perceive our
behavior.
The use of the Johari window enables one to understand their behavior. The mechanism
of Johari Window was established the relationship that they experience with themselves and that
of others. This mechanism was invented by Harrington Ingham and Joseph Luft in the year 1955

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(Saxena 2015). The four quadrants of the Johari Window show the way we perceive ourselves
and how others perceive us.
The first quadrant is known as “Open” (Oliver and Duncan 2019). In this, traits that we
think we possess and others think so to, goes here. For instance, in the two emotional intelligence
quizzes held, it can be seen that I think of myself an emotionally intelligent person. This is
further reiterated by my two colleagues.
The second quadrant is known as the “Blind” (Khatoon 2018). In this quadrant, the traits
we think we do not possess but others think we do, are written here. For instance, according to
the results received it can be seen that I think that I am extremely self-aware. However, from the
interpretation of the two results that I received from my colleagues, it can be seen that I am
moderately self-aware.
The third quadrant is known as the “Hidden” (Serrat 2017). This quadrant shows the
traits that we think we possess but that which is hidden from the others. For instance, I know that
I am quite an empathetic person. However, often times it is not shown in front of people in an
explicit manner and therefore, they think of me as somewhat less empathetic.
The forth quadrant is known as the “unknown” (Ju et al. 2015). This quadrant consist of
all those traits which is not known to either me or to the people who know me. This occurs as a
sign of ignorance to the traits we think we possess. For instance, in all the tests taken, it was
observed that I am not a ‘people person’. Thus, it can be seen that I do not possess the necessary
social skills.

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Part 2
The quizzes taken have revealed a certain character analysis with respect to me. It has
shown me in a detailed manner what are the various strengths and weaknesses of mine. The
knowledge of such strengths and weaknesses is important because it helps me to understand my
character in a better manner and the flaws where I need to work upon.
According to the results received, it can be observed that I am a highly emotional person.
This is significant to understand because I can be heavily influenced by the kind of emotions I
possess. For instance, my emotions get influenced by the prevailing situations (Khalili 2017).
Another strength of mine is that I am empathetic to the needs of people. This is an essential
quality to possess as I have the ability to understand the various tribulations that an individual is
going through and give the proper emotional cues as situation demands.
The results of the quizzes have also revealed my weaknesses. One of the most important
weakness that is inherent to me is that I am not a ‘people person’. In other words, I lack the
necessary communication skills in order to communicate effectively with the people. As a
consequence of this, most often people fail to understand my needs and desires and
miscommunication is a very frequent occurrence with me (Serazio 2017). Another weakness
which can be observed to be inherent to me is that I shy away from any kind of negative
situation. I usually tend to avoid conflicts which places me in a difficult position. As a result of
this, I often face a lot of pressure from others as they know I am not too keen to argue and will
find a way to prevent the continuation of any conflict. This leads people to take undue advantage
of my feelings.

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Part 3
The understanding of one’s own feelings and emotions is an essential part of the growth
and development of the concerned individual (Mencl, Wefald and van Ittersum 2016). In the
globalized world of today, we are required to play an active part within the functioning of the
economy. In this sense, it can be observed that people are usually employed within the
functioning of one business organization or another.
This is important to understand because a formal work place is occupied by a host of
people who belong to different cultural background. In this regard, the understanding of one’s
strengths and weaknesses is vital. It helps the individual to behave in an appropriate manner in
the organization they are employed in.
In this regard, it can be observed that I need to focus on developing my communication
skills. To work efficiently within any business firm, it is important to be cordial with the other
employees. As a result, it is the first and foremost requirement among the employees to be
understanding of the differences in the culture of the people. According to the results of the tests
received, it can be seen that this is one of strengths. I am quite empathetic to the difficulties of
others and therefore, understand their situations. Thus, the cultural differences of the people
would not pose a problem to me as I known how to tackle such differences in a humane and
understanding manner.
The area of competency where I need to develop myself is that of communication. I need
to be able to communicate my feelings in a clear and concise manner to the other employees so
that they do not take undue advantage of me. It is seen that I usually try to avoid conflicts and
any kind of confrontations. This is significant because in the event that any miscommunication

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occurs within my culturally diverse work place, there is a likelihood that I would not be able to
stand up for myself. I would rather try to avoid any confrontations than try to clear up the
misunderstanding. Thus, this is one of the significant areas where I need to work upon and
develop myself.
To conclude, it can be observed that the understanding of one’s emotions is the most
important requirement of any individual. He or she needs to be made aware of how they would
react under different circumstances. Such an understanding becomes more effective when there
are other people who provides them important feedback regarding their emotions and this can be
judged against each other and a comprehensive and detailed analysis can be derived thereon. The
analysis of such personality would aid me to behave in an appropriate manner within my work
place.

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References:
Berland, A., 2017. Using the Johari Window to explore patient and provider
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Hamzah, M.I., Othman, A.K., Hassan, F., Razak, N.A. and Yunus, N.A.M., 2016.
Conceptualizing a Schematic Grid View of Customer Knowledge from the Johari Window's
Perspective. Procedia Economics and Finance, 37, pp.471-479.
Ju, C., Lan, J., Li, Y., Feng, W. and You, X., 2015. The mediating role of workplace social
support on the relationship between trait emotional intelligence and teacher burnout. Teaching
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Khalili, A., 2017. Transformational leadership and organizational citizenship behavior: The
moderating role of emotional intelligence. Leadership & Organization Development
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Khatoon, S., 2018. Developing life skills approach in the teaching-learning process based on
Johari window model: Dealing with change. Research Journal of Social Sciences, 9(6), pp.135-
144.
Mencl, J., Wefald, A.J. and van Ittersum, K.W., 2016. Transformational leader attributes:
interpersonal skills, engagement, and well-being. Leadership & Organization Development
Journal, 37(5), pp.635-657.
Oliver, S. and Duncan, S., 2019. Looking through the Johari window. Research for All, 3(1),
pp.1-6.

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Saxena, P., 2015. Johari Window: An effective model for improving interpersonal
communication and managerial effectiveness. SIT Journal of Management, 5(2), pp.134-146.
Serazio, M., 2017. Branding politics: Emotion, authenticity, and the marketing culture of
American political communication. Journal of Consumer Culture, 17(2), pp.225-241.
Serrat, O., 2017. Understanding and developing emotional intelligence. In Knowledge
solutions (pp. 329-339). Springer, Singapore.

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Appendix
Own Self evaluation

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Friend 1

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