I am ecstatic to be here and presenting on Unleashing the Power of Emotional Intelligence. This is truly an under-recognized skill and critical for successful leadership. These are my disclosures. So what is emotional intelligence? Daniel Goleman, who is author of the famous book Emotional Intelligence, Why It Can Matter More Than IQ, describes this as recognizing our own feelings and those of others, motivating ourselves, managing emotions well in ourselves and in our relationships. So it is really the ability to understand and manage your emotions and express them in ways that are respectful and helpful to those around you. This process involves the ability to understand the emotions of people around you and respond with supportive and encouraging feedback. Understanding your emotions and those of others can help you better relate to others in a personal or professional setting. Emotional intelligence is truly recognized as a key component of successful leadership. Goleman goes on to say that emotional intelligence emerges as a much stronger predictor of who will be most successful because it is how we handle ourselves in our relationships that determines how well we do once we are in a given job. Emotional intelligence and communication skills are critical to building professionalism, establishing patient trust, and providing optimal care in the healthcare setting. Effective leaders have a high degree of emotional intelligence and excel in communication skills. These skills are among the most important for leading interprofessional healthcare teams. Emotional intelligence contributes to 80% of a leader's success, and 90% of top performers are high in emotional intelligence. In fact, Travis Bradbury, who was interviewed by the Harvard Business School, said leaders prime the emotional state of the organization. When they are ineffective, when they set poor examples of how to treat other people, that trickles down throughout. So what are the five critical elements of emotional intelligence? These include self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills. And we will tackle each of these individually. We're going to start with self-awareness. Self-awareness is the ability to recognize and understand your moods, emotions, and drives, and their effect on others. The hallmark of self-awareness is self-confidence, realistic self-assessment, and a self-deprecating sense of humor. Suggestion that self-awareness occurs is when I can recognize my emotions as I experience them. I know my strengths and weaknesses. I ask people for feedback on what I do well. I am aware of the values and beliefs guiding my daily actions. I am comfortable describing my feelings to others. I use my intuition when making decisions. I spot signs of heightened emotional states in myself before others point them out to me. I am also conscious of the impact of my emotions on my performance. Self-regulation is the second critical element of emotional intelligence. Self-regulation is the ability to control or redirect disruptive impulses and moods, and the propensity to suspend judgment, to think before acting. The hallmark of self-regulation is trustworthiness and integrity, comfort with ambiguity, and openness to change. The suggestion that you have self-regulation is when I rarely lose my temper when I feel frustrated. I know how to calm myself down when I feel anxious or upset. I find it easy to move on when I feel frustrated or unhappy. I am able to calm myself down when I am angry. I use humor appropriately to help others release tension. I stay composed under pressure, and I express myself in consistent moods that puts others at ease. I model how to remain engaged in the face of uncertainty. The third critical tenet is motivation. Motivation is exemplified by a passion to work for reasons that go beyond money or status, and a propensity to pursue goals with energy and persistence. The hallmark of motivation is strong drive to achieve, optimism even in the face of failure, and organizational commitment. Someone who exemplifies motivation will find it easy to focus on something over the long term. I feel that I enjoy my work. I set long-term goals and review my progress regularly. I respond to setbacks with renewed determination. I believe I am capable of making a real difference in my organization, and I am confident that I can overcome the obstacles to the achievement of my goals. I also pursue ambitious goals rather than settling for the safety of clearly achievable results. I act from an expectation of success rather than from a fear of failure. The fourth critical tenet of emotional intelligence is empathy. Empathy is really the ability to understand the emotional makeup of other people. It's a skill in treating people according to their emotional reactions. The hallmark of empathy is expertise in building and retaining talent, cross-cultural sensitivity, and service to clients and customers. People with empathy are often told that they are a good listener. I find it easy to read other people's emotions. I use active listening skills when people speak to me. I read the feelings underneath people's words and actions, especially feelings of unease or distress. I have satisfying work relationships that are characterized by candid talk. I imagine myself in other people's situations to understand their feelings. I listen attentively to others. And I also understand and express the unspoken feelings of group members. The final critical tenet of emotional intelligence is social skills. The definition of social skills is really a proficiency in managing relationships and building networks, and an ability to find common ground and build rapport. So the hallmark of social skills is effectiveness in leading change, persuasiveness, and expertise in building and leading teams. So those who have strong social skills enjoy organizing groups, tend to avoid conflict and negotiations. I find it easy to build rapport with others. I consider the feelings of others when and before taking action. I work comfortably with diverse groups regardless of my role. I demonstrate responsiveness to the varying needs of those whom I lead. I accurately read situations and adapt my responses accordingly. And I use inclusive practices, diplomacy, and tact to minimize hurt feelings when dealing with difficult interpersonal issues. So the critical question is, can you improve emotional intelligence? So as I showed in my last talk on leadership essentials, a common misconception is that you were born as a leader. And really, this is not true. Leadership can be developed. Emotional intelligence and communication skills can be measured, taught, learned, enhanced, and clearly incorporated into leadership. One author who's expert in this field described nine different steps to improve emotional intelligence. First, you should be more self-aware. You should recognize how others feel. You should practice active listening. You should communicate very clearly, stay positive, empathize with others, be open-minded, listen to feedback, and stay calm under pressure. The Harvard Business School published a wonderful review on how to strengthen your emotional intelligence skills. The first step is to try journaling. The suggestion is at the end of a workday, reflect on how meetings, projects, and other interactions went, whether positive or negative. And by writing the thoughts down, you could potentially spot specific patterns about your behaviors and reactions, as well as others. Where did you excel? Are there certain people or situations that frustrated you? And if so, why? The more introspective you are, the better. For example, you'll become more aware of what upsets you so that you can avoid future outbursts or mimic actions that have proven to boost employee morale. The second step is to consider undergoing a 360-degree assessment tool. And in these 360-degree assessments, feedback can be solicited from your manager or colleagues and peers, while also undergoing an individual self-assessment. So through this process, it's felt that valuable insights can be gained into what your coworkers perceive as your strengths and weaknesses, as well as uncovering any blind spots that you may have. Third would be to practice active listening. So according to Psychology Today, only about 10% of people listen effectively. So it's very easy to get distracted by technology, background noise, your own thoughts. But to be an effective communicator and emotionally intelligent leader, you really need to be a good listener. So to become more emotionally intelligent, you should practice active listening. Try to focus on what the speaker is saying and show that you're engaged by paraphrasing and using other nonverbal cues like nodding. By actively listening at work, it'll be easier to connect with others and truly understand their thoughts and feelings. Number four is to really pay attention to your emotions. To understand the emotions of others, you need to really understand your own emotions first. So the Harvard Business Review says that when you catch yourself feeling a particularly strong emotion, whether it's positive or negative, make a conscious effort to think about what you're feeling. So take a second and consider why you're feeling this way and what might have triggered such a strong emotional response. And this will help you to become more aware of your own emotions and also better understand your colleagues. So as an empathetic leader, you'll be able to cultivate a high-performing team. And then finally, you could consider taking an online course or training. So if you're interested in diving deeper into emotional intelligence and really enhancing your leadership capabilities, take an online leadership course or training, and that could be perhaps the next best step. Online courses really offer working professionals the flexibility to complete coursework on their schedule and also connect with a global community of like-minded peers while also gaining new skills and knowledge. So in conclusion, I hope I have shown you that emotional intelligence is really a crucial component of leadership. Your ability to manage your emotions and also recognize and influence others is one of the strongest indicators of workplace performance. Building your emotional intelligence skills can not only help you grow as a leader, but also enable you to motivate and coach teams more effectively. You can make a greater impact on your organization by boosting morale, productivity, and communication. And all of this really enables you to advance your business or career and leadership abilities very much simultaneously. Thank you so much.

emotional intelligence

leadership

self-awareness

relationship-building

organizational success