Navigating the C-Suite: Emotional Intelligence as a Key to Success
In today’s professional landscape, women must possess the ability to communicate confidently about their accomplishments. Despite having the necessary skills and potential to add significant value, it’s essential for women to effectively articulate their contributions in significant settings.
The Power of Emotional Intelligence in Navigating Workplace Relationships.
Almost every career professional can at least tell a tale of a workplace conflict or at least one awkward exchange with a colleague we wish could have been handled better. This is because conflicts are inevitable.
Nevertheless, as much as conflicts are inevitable, effective ways to handle and navigate them are also abundant. One of these ways is to have a high level of emotional intelligence.
Emotional intelligence (EI) is very effective in managing workplace conflicts leading to more positive resolutions.
In Simple terms, EI is the ability to understand and manage emotions. This begins with understanding and managing your emotions first.
As aspiring boardroom baddies, a high level of Emotional Intelligence is essential to navigate the C-suite and every baggage that comes with it.
5 Components of EQ and its connection to the workplace.
Daniel Goleman, a renowned psychologist developed 5 Components of emotional intelligence at work. Using these 5 components, you get to learn how to manage workplace relationships and conflicts.
Let’s dive in 👇
1. Self-Awareness: Taking a cue from the name, Self-Awareness is being aware of yourself with respect to your emotions. It is being aware of your feelings as well as being able to identify your emotions and emotional triggers.
Having a high EI begins with you. It’s an inside-out thing. For example, knowing your emotional triggers can help you set healthy boundaries to protect yourself, avoid conflicts and manage them well whenever they come up.
2. Self-Regulation: This is the ability to take control of your emotions. It’s the ability to adjust and control your emotions to create a more positive energy. Your emotions are powerful and they strongly affect you and people connected to you.
Your emotions affect every of your output (your words, mannerisms e.t.c) and these outputs affect your colleagues.
Just like you won’t like being shouted at for no reason, your colleagues won’t like it from you too.
3. Motivation: This is the urge and desire to do something. This relates to EI because the level of your desire and urge is a strong determiner of your feelings towards tasks or activities.
On the days you’re highly motivated, the zeal, inclusiveness and happiness is evident.
On days your motivation is not 100% , it’s important that you are able to intelligently manage it especially when you’re working with a team.
4. Empathy: This is the ability to identify, understand and acknowledge the feelings of another person and react effectively and positively.
For instance, when you realize a colleague feels stressed out, empathy is as simple as reaching out with encouraging words, helping the person with whatever you can to ease the stress.
5. Social Skills: These are the tools you use to communicate and interact with people. Having strong social skills like effective communication, and effective listening, allows you to relate with your colleagues better, collaborate effectively, and contribute to creating a positive working environment.
As a female career professional, EI helps you set boundaries, read the room, and act accordingly.
If this piece resonated with you and you found it valuable, ensure you share and extend it to your colleagues or friends.
Your growth buddy,
Oyindamola Ossi, MBA, SPHRI, Chartered MCIPD
