From the course: Administrative Professional Tips

Emotional intelligence

From the course: Administrative Professional Tips

Emotional intelligence

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- Emotional intelligence came to the professional development forefront in the 1990s as a skill to embrace in the workplace. Having emotional intelligence or EI means that we are aware that emotions strongly influence our behavior and as a result, can either have a positive or a negative impact on others. This is especially critical when we are under pressure to meet deadlines and are juggling multiple tasks at once. As administrative support professionals, we deal with a number of people each day. While dealing with each one of them, they all bring their emotions and feelings to the interactions as well as us bringing our own. Depending on the type of mood each of us are in, the interaction can go positively or negatively. That all depends on the type of EI skills we are both utilizing. Since we can't control the behavior of others, we need to always shift our focus to how we can have a favorable impact on the interaction regardless of the circumstances. There are many ways to practice high levels of EI as shared in the book Emotional Intelligence 2.0 written by Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves. Here are two of the foundational principles. First, we must have a good sense of self-awareness. This means understanding why we feel the way we feel, what motivates us, and what draws out negative emotions in us. Being self-aware is a lifelong process, as there are something new to discover about ourselves all the time. Taking the time to reflect on this regularly helps us to have better job performance, operate in our strengths, and achieve our full potential. Consider the type of person you want to be and who you want to be around. Consider the kind of energy you want to bring to your office every day. The second is social awareness. Practicing this skill allows us to pick up on the emotions and feelings of others and understand what is going on with them. The primary ways we can do that are by listening and observing what others say and do. This is very helpful when dealing with irate callers, or people who come across strongly in their initial interactions in business. Oftentimes, there is much more going on beneath the surface than the conversation at hand. And normally it just takes listening and empathy to get to the heart of the matter. Also, by being socially aware, I am less susceptible to taking things personally. Many of us have been practicing emotional intelligence in our daily work without even realizing it. In the roles we play as counselor, confidant, and right hand to our executive, we need to be constantly available to other people on an emotional level. By recognizing this important trait, we can then be deliberate about owning our skills in this area and growing ourselves in greater ways.

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