Welcome to our guest blogger, Pamela Jett. She’ll be joining me and Scott Halford for a virtual panel/webinar on Building an Emotionally Intelligent Team on March 24th.
It’s no secret. Emotional intelligence, EI, is a necessary skill set for a leader who wants to be effective. Emotional intelligence is the ability to identify, understand, manage, and use emotions in positive and constructive ways.
Leaders who are able to leverage their emotional intelligence, their EI, are able to be the master of their emotions and not let their emotions be the master of them. This ability can be vital when trying to communicate effectively. EI can assist in a leader’s ability to choose the words to use and the words to lose.
One effective way to increase your EI is to build your emotional vocabulary. All too often when we experience emotions we tend to label them with the easiest or most frequently used label. For example, when something bothers us we are often quick to tell ourselves that we are “angry.” And, it stands to reason that if we say we label the emotion we are experiencing as “anger” it might be difficult to stay calm. It might be difficult to communicate in a respectful and professional manner.
What if instead of labeling the emotion “anger,” we do a quick self-check and determine if another word would be more accurate? For example, what if “irritated” or “annoyed” or “frustrated” is a more accurate label? It is often much easier to stay calm and to make wise communication choices when we are only “annoyed” rather than “angry.”
Professionals who consciously work to build their emotional vocabularies and who strive to label their emotions more accurately are putting EI into action. A leader who more accurately identifies their emotions is better equipped to manage and use those emotions in positive and constructive ways. Build your emotional vocabulary and build your EI.
If you want more information on emotional intelligence and what Pamela has to say, register for this complimentary webinar on Building an Emotionally Intelligent Team, Thursday, March 24th.
Recent Articles:
The Best Environment for Learning and The Law of Effect
Stretch your Leadership Team’s Ability to Think Strategically
