The Foundations of Emotional Intelligence
Originally published November 28, 2023
What is Emotional Intelligence?
Emotional intelligence (EQ) encompasses the ability to understand, express and regulate both your own feelings and those of people around you. It fuels our self-awareness, empathy, communication finesse, resilience and overall people skills.
There are 4 Key EQ Capacities:
- Self Awareness — Accurately recognizing your own emotions and tendencies.
- Self Management — Handling emotions thoughtfully and with composure even amidst stress or triggers. Regulate anxiety, restrain impulsive reactions, cultivate healthy self-care routines and attention to inner needs.
- Social Awareness — Reading people and groups accurately. Understanding what others feel and need even when unspoken. Hearing beyond just words through deep, compassionate listening.
- Relationship Management — Applying the above capacities to enrich connections and interactions. Exhibit clear communication and handling conflict in an emotionally mature manner. Collaborating well within diverse groups. Providing supportive, empathic leadership to foster trust and bring out the best in people.
This EQ Matters
Studies show 90% of high performers have equally high emotional intelligence. The foundational capacities fuel outward success via meaningful relationships, leadership gravitas, self-confidence and more.
Just as a rising tide lifts all ships, developing our EQ strengths creates a wave of human benefit — at home, at work and for the world.
Launch Your EQ Development Journey
Self-Assessment
Free quiz resources like the UC Berkeley Greater Good Science Center test with research-backed questions identifying EQ strengths and growth areas across skill dimensions. Understanding your starting point allows measurable progress tracking.
Progress Over Perfection
Journal non-judgmentally to increase self awareness — record social interactions, communication breakdowns and trigger reactions then review patterns while suspending self criticism. Use insights constructively.
Allow Time
Emotional intelligence develops through concerted practice like learning any instrument — expect awkwardness and discomfort early on. Small consistent steps compound granting grace around what 7 year old vs. 17 year old mastery entails.
Modeling
Notice exemplars demonstrating patience, empathy and self assurance. Analyze what specifically makes their demeanor, language and actions emotionally effective then experiment applying observations in exposures of graduated intensity.
Seek Community
Discussion groups provide solidarity plus concrete strategies. Local meetups, online forums and podcasts interviewing EQ experts offer camaraderie in the shared human journey of nurturing emotional skills.
In Summary — Why EQ Matters
Emotional intelligence encompasses skill sets including self and social awareness, managed reactions, empathy and communication finesse. Your EQ and your impact can improve over time, but it takes effort.
Developing capacities to handle anxiety, resolve interpersonal conflict, read group dynamics and relate well across differences promises vast upside for careers, relationships and wellbeing. An investment well worth making.
Now that foundational terminology and contexts around emotional intelligence are clarified, further entries in this series will cover measurement, common challenges at work and home, improvement strategies and more.
Join us on the journey toward emotional skill building. The path promises insight into both self and others — ultimately connecting us more meaningfully to the human experiences and needs all around us.
Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.
