In the
YouTube video “Daniel Goleman explains Emotional Intelligence”, it is explained
with more detail what emotional intelligence is and what it entails. Emotional
Intelligence (EI) refers to how we manage ourselves, how we manage our relationships,
how self-aware we are, how motivated we are, whether we can handle distressing
feelings effectively, how empathic we are, how well we can tune in to other
people, how socially skilled and able we are (Daniel Goleman Explains Emotional
Intelligence, 2012). In the article “Leadership that gets results”, 4
dimensions of EI are discussed: self-awareness, self-management, social
awareness, and social skill (Goleman, 2000). Self-awareness is about “having a
clear perception of your personality, including your strengths, weaknesses,
thoughts, beliefs, motivation, and emotions” (Self awareness, n.d.). It entails
using your feelings as a guide to understand other people, and understanding your
own attitude and responses in order to understand how others perceive this from
you at the moment. It is also about using your intuition and following that gut
feeling you may have in order to make conscious decisions.
Self-management,
in my opinion, is about taking responsibility for our own actions and
well-being. Goleman describes self-management as managing our own emotions;
whether you fall apart under stress, do you say things to people you wish you
hadn’t said, and so on (Daniel Goleman Explains Emotional Intelligence, 2012).
In other words, self-management is about controlling impulsive feelings and
behaviors and managing our own emotions in a healthy manner by adapting to
changing conditions. Social awareness is about understanding the emotions,
needs, and concerns of other people, pick up emotional cues, feel comfortable
socially, and recognize the power dynamics in a group or organization (Segal
& Smith, n.d.). In my opinion, social awareness is about how you emotionally
manage social interactions, whether you understand the emotions of those around
you, and how you interact and respond with the different types of emotions.
Lastly, Goleman describes social skill as how well you can handle
relationships, can you deal with conflict, be the type of person people like to
work with or even enjoy being with (Daniel Goleman Explains Emotional
Intelligence, 2012). In my opinion, good social skills is about an being an
easy person to talk to; whether you are a team player; can you handle stressful
situations; it’s about focusing on the development of skills of others rather
than focusing on your own success; about communicating and managing disputes
between employees; and also about maintaining good working relationships.
After
reflecting on the information above, I can say that I now understand with more
depth the importance of EI, how it can affect and even help develop my
leadership skills. Self-awareness applies to me in the form of being able to
understand my own emotions, my reaction, and responses to different situations
that may occur during my professional career. My strength under self-awareness
is being able to be in tuned with my own feelings, emotions, and actions as
well how others perceive me. The area that needs development under
self-awareness would be to be more in tune with my values and beliefs. Overall,
I have the general knowledge of what makes me be my own person, what drives me,
and what motivates me. But, I believe I need to further explore myself, as in
my beliefs and values, in order to truly become aware of my own self. Generally,
the dimensions of self-awareness have helped me in the performance. Through
experience I have learned how to read my own emotions and feelings as well have
been able to read the emotions and the reactions of others around me.
Under
self-management, this dimension applies to me in the part of being able to
manage my own emotions even under stress. Actually, one of my strengths has
been able to understand and control situations when under stress by providing
clear rules, expectations, and decision-making, among other things. From the
definitions mentioned above, I do not believe that there are areas in which I
need to develop in order to be more effective. This dimension has actually
helped my performance because I have been able to adapt my emotions and
behavior to the situation in order to remain effective. I have also been able
to manage my emotions in the form of controlling impulsive feelings and
emotions in front of confrontation. In the aspect of social awareness, my
strength is being able to understand the emotions, needs, and concerns of
others. Unfortunately, one of the main areas that I need to develop is to feel
more comfortable socially. I now know that social interactions are important in
the business sector. It is therefore important for me to understand and develop
the skills of social interaction so I can remain comfortable on business social
gatherings with employees or partners. Fortunately, this has not necessarily
hindered my performance or career, as I have not had the opportunity to be in
that type of setting where I need to be sociable with company partners.
Lastly,
under the dimension of social skills this applies to be in the aspect of
managing relationships and being able to be the type of person that is liked in
the workplace. My strength thus far has been able to be an easy person to speak
to. Because of my personality, employees have always felt more comfortable
speaking to me about personal and professional matters, either seeking advice
or wondering whom they should speak to about the matter, before speaking to a
supervisor or manager. Unfortunately, this has its drawbacks because under a
leadership position if an employee has a professional matter that should be
attended by a supervisor, even after advising them to speak to a supervisor,
some employees choose not to bring up such situation or matter to a supervisor.
Therefore, in order for me to remain professional and avoid any
misunderstandings and/or mistakes at times I need to bring up such situations
to the supervisor so he or she can remain aware of what is happening in the
workplace. Sadly, at times this breaks the trust between the employee and me as
the employee feels that I have betrayed him or her. Sometimes, a true
clarification and explanation helps keep that trust between the employee and
myself but this is not always the case. This dimension has both helped and
hindered me in my performance. It has helped me in the form of being able to be
an easy person to speak to, have that trust and bond with employees, managed
good working relationships, and focus on the success of others before my own. Overall,
the example that was mentioned above is one of the areas in need of development
as well as has been one of the areas that has hindered my performance, and effectiveness
in leadership.
References:
Daniel Goleman Explains
Emotional Intelligence. (2012, March 13). YouTube. Retrieved April 13,
2014, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeJ3FF1yFyc
Goleman, Daniel. "Leadership
that gets results." Harvard Business Review 78.2 (2000): 78. Business
Insights: Essentials. Web. Retrieved April 11, 2014, from http://bi.galegroup.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/essentials/article/GALE%7CA60471886/2f8d8eb8604f45af92933595d2659871?u=embry
Segal, J., &
Smith, M. (n.d.). Emotional Intelligence (EQ). : Five Key Skills for Raising
Emotional Intelligence. Retrieved April 11, 2014, from http://www.helpguide.org/mental/eq5_raising_emotional_intelligence.htm
Self Awareness. (n.d.). Self
Awareness. Retrieved April 11, 2014, from http://www.pathwaytohappiness.com/self-awareness.htm
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