EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
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REASONS EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
IS MORE CRITICAL NOW THAN EVER
Emotional intelligence ( EQ ) is more in-demand than ever . In 2020 alone , EQ made the top 10 job skills on the World Economic Forum ’ s report , the top five on the LinkedIn skills report , and the top four training priorities on Udemy ’ s Workplace Learning Trends .
Emotional intelligence ( EQ ) is your ability to recognize and understand emotions in yourself and others , and your ability to use this awareness to manage your behavior and relationships . One of the main reasons EQ is growing so quickly is that it ’ s foundational to developing a whole set of other critical skills . Here are three relevant skills fueled by emotional intelligence that are particularly helpful during challenging and uncertain times .
1 . CHANGE MANAGEMENT
The effects of big changes at work are so extreme that experts frequently compare it to the five stages of grief . Change is uncomfortable , emotionally draining , stressful , and can cause burnout . Worst of all , change begins a wicked cycle where exhaustion from change makes people more resistant to change . People skilled in EQ are better prepared to break this cycle and manage change by recognizing and understanding how change affects them and then managing their feelings and reactions .
EQ Skills Help You Navigate Change : In-person marketing meetings on Guy ’ s team were always full of energized brainstorming and chatter . But , in the shift to remote meetings , they ’ ve lost their energy , and their usual surplus of ideas is running dry . Aside from going remote , Guy hasn ’ t changed anything . Each subgroup ’ s leader summarizes the work they ’ re doing ( i . e ., articles , videos , and podcasts ), but people tune out instead of engaging with questions , challenges , thoughts , or ideas .
Guy is worried about his team but feels paralyzed . He needs to get people engaged , or the whole team is going to suffer . After talking with his wife at dinner , he begins to recognize two key things : 1 ) this change to remote work isn ’ t going away anytime soon , and 2 ) he ’ s paralyzed because he ’ s afraid of making a big change to something they ’ ve done successfully for years . Once he recognizes this , he ’ s quick to change their format . He leverages the breakout room feature , mixing the breakouts intentionally for interaction . When they regroup from breakouts , each group shares highlights . Energy and engagement spikes right away . Now more information is synthesized than ever . Guy succeeded because he recognized his team ’ s disengagement ( social awareness ) and his own fear of change ( self-awareness ), and then he was able to move forward with a plan ( self-management ) and introduce a format encouraging interaction ( relationship management ).
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