Emotional intelligence? What is that? And why do I need to manage it?
Per Wikipedia, Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to identify, assess, and control the emotions of oneself, of others, and of groups. Why does this matter to you? In the workplace, if you don't know how to control your emotions, you can plainly, be fired! If you are offensive in tone, language, and expression concerning negative emotions, you could be creating a hostile work environment and definitely be seen as rude and unprofessional. Now do things anger us at work? Yes! Do you have the right to express how we feel? Maybe, maybe not. It depends on the organization's take on emotional intelligence.
Bosses, coworkers, clients, partners, suppliers etc. all can put us in a bad space but if you know how to be in tune with your emotions and channel them properly, you will save your self a lot of heartache and keep your job. It is about being smart and not a hot head. It is about understanding yourself well enough to act accordingly to the unwritten rules of the workplace, any and every workplace. If you are great at this, you can assist others who are not and save them the embarrassment and/or permanent dismal they will face from lashing out to others at work because their feelings are hurt or if they are being ignored or treated poorly. Yes, it is natural for us to want to express how we feel and put people in their place so they no longer treats us inappropriately but at what cost? How do you explain you were fired because you couldn't keep your cool?
Being more emotionally intelligent and you will prosper at work. So managing your emotional intelligence is paramount to your consistent financial survival or it can force you to quickly start your own business even if you never thought you wanted to do this. :-)
