Emotional intelligence - what does it consist of? Components of emotional intelligence, self-test Know your emotions

- from the Erickson International Coaching University newsletter, August 8, 2016

In his works “Emotional Intelligence: Why Can It Mean More Than IQ?” and Emotional Intelligence at Work, Daniel Goleman described five different categories or components of emotional intelligence:

1 Self-awareness
An emotionally mature person understands both his strengths and areas for development, and how to act accordingly. This quality reveals confidence, which is different from overconfidence or low self-esteem, which is at the other end of the spectrum. People with high levels of emotional intelligence tend to cope better with criticism and can also use it to better understand and improve their lives.

2 Self-regulation
Living without feelings is the same as dying. To be absorbed in feelings is to fall into childhood. An emotionally mature person can contain and control his feelings and emotions appropriately in the appropriate situation. But this is not the same as hiding your feelings or extinguishing your emotions inside. A person with a high level of emotional intelligence can express their emotions sensibly, controlling and restraining them.

3 Motivation
Motivation has the most significant impact on both your career and life in general. Healthy self-motivation can help you respond better to life's setbacks and disappointments and help you face them with optimism and resilience.

4 Empathy
A healthy dose of empathy can greatly improve your quality of life and connection with people on an emotional level. The most recent business research also suggests that people who are naturally more empathic demonstrate more resilient leadership.

5 Social skills
A person with well-developed social skills enjoys being around people. Other people also enjoy being with him. Building relationships and communicating with people is the key to happiness.

How then can these five qualities improve our lives, and how can emotional intelligence make our lives more enjoyable? Developing the five components of emotional intelligence can significantly improve:

Family and interpersonal relationships
Increasing your self-awareness helps you develop better thoughts, behaviors, and feelings toward others. This leads to increased levels of social acceptance, improved quality of family life, friendships and romantic relationships. By better understanding ourselves, we can better understand other people. By restraining ourselves, we better control our emotions, which, in turn, helps improve personal and interpersonal relationships. It has been proven to not only increase happiness levels, but also increase the likelihood of success. Relationship problems are a major source of stress. Better relationships lead to a better quality of life.

Physical and emotional health
Various studies show that most physical illnesses are related to stress. Depression is a phenomenon that is becoming more dangerous every year and is a cause of divorce, has a detrimental effect on children and can even lead to suicide. As mentioned, developing our emotional intelligence helps reduce the likelihood of stress and depression, leading to a healthier physical and emotional life.

The best definition of life purpose
Doubts about your life's purpose are the main, if not the only, cause of depression or stress. People are scared by the unknown. For some people, striking a healthy balance between ambition and realistic expectations is a surprisingly difficult task. Increasing your level of self-awareness leads to a clearer understanding of your strengths and can help you realistically define your life purpose.

Success
Although this article is dedicated to discussing the benefits of emotional intelligence, we cannot deny the fact that success is the key to happiness and quality of life. Emotional intelligence has been shown to increase the chances of success in both academic, professional and personal areas and is perhaps a more important factor in success than intelligence.
Maintaining a successful and healthy lifestyle with a clear life purpose certainly makes emotional intelligence worth pursuing.

Emotional intelligence includes 5 main characteristics:

1. Emotional awareness or knowing your emotions. Recognizing a feeling when it arises is the cornerstone of emotional intelligence. The inability to notice our true feelings leaves us at their mercy. People who are more confident in their feelings turn out to be better pilots of their lives, less doubtful about the correctness of personal decisions, from who to marry to what business to take on.

– The ability to distinguish and interpret one’s own moods, emotions, impulses, currently experienced feelings, their differentiation, as well as their impact on other people

It seems so simple and happens by itself. But a common phenomenon in psychotherapy that surprises all new psychotherapists is that a client can non-verbally demonstrate feelings very vividly and be completely unaware of these emotions. There is an old joke about a choleric person who, all red, clenching his fists, angrily shouts: “Who cares? I? No, damn me!

If something that is clearly expressed by the client, but has not yet been verbalized by him, is spoken in a neutral form to the client at the appropriate moment, then this can become a very powerful psychotherapeutic tool.

Diagnostic indicators are the ability to identify emotions by physical condition, speech, sounds, appearance and behavior,

differentiate correct (true, corresponding to reality) and inaccurate (false) expressions of feelings.

Emotion understanding is the ability to categorize emotions and recognize connections between words and emotions; interpret meanings of emotions related to relationships; understand complex (ambivalent) feelings; be aware of the transitions from one emotion to another.

THAT. timely recognition and understanding of one’s own emotions is a basic competence for situational management of feelings. This ability is the basic prerequisite for the remaining elements of emotional intelligence.

In the course of research (P. Salovey) found that people with greater emotional clarity cope with stressful situations easier than others, they show better results and quickly gain emotional balance. Thus, to improve EC, the perception and understanding of one’s own feelings is essential. This helps to overcome difficult situations and has a positive effect on social success and health.

2. Managing your emotions (self-regulation)– the ability to cope with feelings so that they do not go beyond the appropriate limits is the ability to calm oneself, get rid of uncontrollable anxiety, restlessness, despondency or irritability. The ability to bounce back faster after life’s failures and disappointments.



The ability to control and direct one’s own impulses and impulses, managing feelings so that they correspond to the present situation, for an adequate response.

This is reflexive emotion regulation that helps include emotions or distance themselves from them depending on their benefits; manage your emotions by restraining negative feelings and increasing positive ones, without distorting the information they contain.

The plane story is taken from a psychological test developed by Suzanne Miller to find out what people are more inclined to do: vigilantly monitor the smallest details of what is happening in an emergency situation or, on the contrary, cope with anxious periods by trying to distract themselves. These two distress attitudes have very different consequences for how people experience their own emotional reactions. Those who succumb to the pressure of circumstances and tune in to them, may, by paying too close attention to them, involuntarily increase your reactions, especially if their “attunement” lacks the composure inherent in self-awareness. As a result, their emotions run wild. Those who are not tuned in to what is happening are distracted from it, pay less attention to their own reactions and thereby minimize the experience of their emotional response, and even the scale of this response.

3. Self-motivation– composure of feelings, striving for a goal, despite doubts, inertia and impulsiveness, a powerful passion for work coming from within, drive

Regulating your emotions to achieve a goal is essential to focus, self-control, and creativity. This is exactly what applies delaying gratification and suppressing impulsivity- lies at the basis of all achievements. The ability to bring oneself into a state of “inspiration” ensures the achievement of outstanding quality in any action. People who master this art tend to be more productive and successful in whatever they undertake.

The choice made by a child will be a very indicative criterion that will quickly reveal not only his character, but will also say a lot about the path of life that he has to go through.

There is probably no skill more psychologically important than the ability to resist urges. This is the essence of complete emotional self-control, since all emotions, by their very nature, result in one or another impulse to action.

One way or another, an unusual experiment with marshmallows, which were treated to four-year-old children, showed how important the ability to curb emotions and restrain impulses is. In the 1960s, psychologist Walter Michel conducted a study at a preschool on the campus of Stanford University with the participation of children of faculty, graduate students and other university employees, and the research program included monitoring the children's behavior from the moment they were born. from when they were 4 years old until they graduated from high school.

So, as for the experience with marshmallows. Some children were able to wait those fifteen to twenty minutes before the experimenter returned. These brave preschoolers received a reward of two marshmallows. Others, more impulsive, grabbed one marshmallow, almost always a few seconds after the experimenter left the room, supposedly to carry out the “assignment” given to him.

The opportunity to understand what this momentary impulse would result in presented itself only 12-14 years later, when these children reached adolescence. It's hard to believe how stark the emotional and social differences were between former preschoolers who grabbed one marshmallow and their peers who delayed gratification. Children who resisted temptation at age four grew up to become more socially competent, that is, more personally successful, self-confident, and better able to cope with life's challenges.

In contrast, about a third of those who grabbed the marshmallows showed fewer of these qualities, and in addition they had a more disturbing psychological profile. In their youth, they were more likely to avoid social contacts, to be stubborn and indecisive, to be easily upset by disappointment, to consider themselves “bad” or unworthy, to become stiff from stress, to be distrustful and resentful of being “outsold” , jealous and envious, reacted too sharply to irritation with harsh antics, thus provoking disputes and fights. And to top it all off, at this age they still couldn't delay gratification.

What reveals itself as modest inclinations in childhood blossoms into all sorts of social and emotional competencies in later life. The ability to control urges is at the core of many aspirations, from dieting to obtaining a medical degree.

4. Empathy– The ability to understand the emotional state of others (tuning into verbal and non-verbal signals) and interact with them taking into account their emotional reactions.

Empathy has been called the basic “human gift.” Empathetic people are more attuned to subtle social cues that indicate what other people want or need.

5. Social skills for maintaining and regulating relationships– management of interpersonal relationships, conflict resolution, negotiations. The ability to find a common language and maintain relationships with people, regardless of their predisposition. The ability to evoke or weaken a certain emotion in other people. The ability to calm an excited or angry person or cheer up a fearful one, help people become aware of their feelings, arouse interest and lift people's spirits!

In general, the art of maintaining relationships largely lies in skillfully handling other people's emotions. Emotionally intelligent people are able to realistically assess what emotions their actions may cause and use this knowledge to come up with a reasonable solution. These are the abilities that enhance popularity, leadership, and interpersonal effectiveness.

According to Goleman, emotional intelligence can be determined by “as the ability to hear one’s own feelings, to control outbursts of emotions, as the ability to make the right decision and remain calm and optimistic about a difficult situation.”

THAT. By definition, EI includes:

· Ability to perceive one's own emotions

· The ability to deal with them, subordinate them to your goal

· Motivate yourself

· The ability to sympathize with other people (empathy) and

· Competently build relationships.

The practical definition of EI is the ability to realize one’s emotions and the emotions of another, the ability to manage one’s emotions and the emotions of another and build our interaction on this basis.

Jack Block, a psychologist at the University of California at Berkeley, compared two theoretically pure types: people with high IQ and people with pronounced emotional abilities. The differences are impressive. The personality graphs of men and women are slightly different.

D/s: make 4 psychological portraits:

a man with high general intelligence,

a man with high emotional intelligence,

a woman with high general intelligence,

woman with high emotional intelligence

everyone - based on the results, make a table:

A typical male representative with a high IQ is distinguished by a wide range of intellectual needs and abilities. He is ambitious and productive, predictable and persistent and not burdened with self-care. He is also prone to criticism, behaves patronizingly, is demanding and reserved, feels awkward from manifestations of sexuality and sensual experiences, is inexpressive, keeps to himself, and is emotionally balanced.

In contrast, people with high emotional intelligence are socially balanced, friendly and in good spirits, not prone to fear or anxious rumination. They are obligatory towards people and undertakings, willingly take responsibility and adhere to ethical principles, and in communicating with others they are friendly and caring. Their emotional life is eventful, but within proper limits. They are at peace with themselves, with others and with the society in which they live.

Women with high IQ, naturally confident in their intellect, they freely express their thoughts, are well versed in intellectual problems and are distinguished by a wide range of intellectual and aesthetic needs. It is clearly visible in them desire for introspection, they often become anxious, tormented by guilt, prone to long thoughts and usually do not dare to openly express their anger (but express irritation indirectly).

Women with emotional intelligence On the contrary, they are overly assertive, frank in expressing their feelings and always satisfied with themselves. Life is full of meaning for them. Like men, they are friendly and outgoing and express their feelings appropriately (and not in violent outbursts that they later regret), and they also cope well with stress. Their ability to behave in society allows them to easily meet new people; they are satisfied with themselves, and therefore are more spontaneous and easily amenable to sensory experiences. Unlike women with high IQs, they do not suffer from anxiety and guilt and are not prone to deep thought.

In psychological practice, emotions are like blood in surgery: neither one nor the other can be avoided in work; both serve to restore function and treat; a professional works with both, and treats both with respect, but neither is the main goal of the process.

For most people, emotional release is relatively easy to achieve. Many, if not all, adults have some reserve of pain, disappointment, loneliness, and guilt that can be reached with a little kindness and persistence. But at the same time, the question is very rarely asked: “What to do next when all these emotions have already come to the surface?”

I have already said that emotions are an important part of the process, but not its goal. I suppose that this goal is to increase the level of awareness of life, namely: to increase a person’s level of awareness of his being, his strength, his options for choice and his boundaries. Raising this level, we must help the client understand how he builds his life and his awareness, what possibilities are hidden within himself. The process of awareness is inevitably guided and accompanied by strong feelings of fear, pain, guilt, remorse, hope, understanding and fulfillment.

A psychotherapist who pays some attention to affective aspects does a lot to influence the emotional flow - to maintain an optimal level of motivation, to help the client not get bogged down in emotions for the sake of emotions.

The psychotherapist's job is to help your partner express genuine feelings as they correspond to the vital concerns motivating psychotherapy.

Feedback example

K-A. Who's worried? (Angrily, red face, tense body?) Me? No, damn me!

P-A. You want me to believe that you're not worried.

K-B (hotly). Of course yes. Useless...

P-B (gently interrupting). And you shout this to me so that I don’t even think that you’re worried.

K-V (scared). Oof! Yes (pause), yes, probably yes. Hmm, maybe I was more upset than I realized.

P-V. Sometimes this happens to us.

Ways to regulate emotions

(Data from modern science of psychology)

Emotion regulation is a person’s awareness of his emotional experiences, biologically and socially appropriate use of them to achieve a goal and satisfy a need. Emotion regulation involves using knowledge about your emotions to solve the problem they signal. Emotion regulation involves the maximum possible external expression, the discharge of emotional states in constructive ways that do not violate the interests, rights and freedoms of other people.

Emotion regulation is the transformation of destructive emotions into constructive ones, i.e. facilitating the productive implementation of current or upcoming activities and communications.

Izard (2000) identifies three methods for eliminating an unwanted emotional state: 1) regulation through another emotion; 2) cognitive regulation; 3) motor regulation.

The first method of regulation involves conscious efforts aimed at activating another emotion opposite to the one that the person is experiencing and wants to eliminate. The second method involves using attention and thinking to suppress or gain control over an unwanted emotion. This is a switching of consciousness to events and activities that arouse a person’s interest and positive emotional experiences. The third method involves the use of physical activity as a channel for relieving emotional stress.

Emotion regulation is by no means the suppression and repression of emotions or their elimination without initiating activities aimed at resolving the problem.

Using the energy of emotional experiences to organize constructive, goal-directed behavior is called matching behavior, or coping. The ability of an individual to overcome negative emotional situations and threatening influences (stressors) contribute to maintaining emotional balance.

There are two types of coping:

1) coping aimed at changing the external world, or problem-oriented

2) coping aimed at changing the inner world or focused on emotions, thoughts, intentions. The attitude towards the problem changes, and is effective if the problem is actually unsolvable, or is not subject to control and transformation.

There is the following classification of ways to regulate emotions:

1) Emotional response. Emotion is recognized and discharged in activities aimed at solving the problem, or in indirect types of activity (communication), after which the subject moves on to solving the problem. The emotion is discharged physically or verbally. (verbalization of feelings, awareness of emotions, music therapy, crying, etc.) In any case, the problem that gave rise to the emotion is solved.

2) Emotional transformation. The inner world changes due to the constructive restructuring of emotions. It is a less optimal method compared to emotional response. An unwanted emotion changes to a desirable one, the attitude towards the problem changes - but the problem itself is not solved, the need remains unsatisfied and the release of emotional tension does not occur. ET is carried out in situations where the solution to the problem does not depend on the subject.

3) Emotional suppression. The inner world changes due to the unconstructive repression of emotions. Suboptimal way to regulate emotions. The emotion is not reacted, but is forced out of consciousness into the unconscious. There is an avoidance of solving the problem, the problem is not resolved. As a result, suppressed emotions accumulate, which threatens with destructive forms of discharge, directed either at oneself or at other people (aggressive affects).

Examples are sports, switching to another type of activity (including humor), relaxation and meditation, etc. – this distracts from the problem and its solution.

Nevertheless, these methods of emotional suppression can improve well-being and increase adaptive abilities, which are necessary for subsequent change of attitudes and problem solving.

If a person knows that he can at least partially control his feelings, this in itself can provide a sense of self-control, which increases the feeling of security and well-being. You need to start changing by observing yourself. About my body - what happens to it, when I’m tired, what kind of rest I need, where it hurts. Behind your feelings - when they appear, they are just born so small, how they transform, how they splash out or how they hide and accumulate somewhere in the corner of the soul.

We believe it is necessary in our course of differential psychology to establish the now well-known concept emotional intellect, for its role is noticeable not only in understanding our differences from each other, but also in the general awareness of our own emotions.

Emotional intelligence Emotionalintelligence) - a psychological concept that arose in 1990 and was introduced into scientific use by American scientists P. Salouway and J. Mayer. At the moment, there are several concepts of emotional intelligence and there is no single point of view on the content of this concept.

- as defined by Mayer and Salovey - a group of mental abilities that stimulate awareness and understanding of one’s own emotions and the emotions of others. This approach, considered the most orthodox, is called the capabilities model.

Within the framework of the ability model, the following hierarchically organized abilities are distinguished: components of emotional intelligence:

  • perception and expression of emotions;
  • increasing the efficiency of thinking using emotions;
  • understanding one's own and others' emotions;
  • managing emotions.

This hierarchy is based on the following principles.

The ability to recognize and express emotions is the basis for generating emotions of the day in solving specific problems of a procedural nature. These two classes of abilities (recognizing and expressing emotions and using them in solving problems) are the basis for the externally manifested ability to understand the events that precede and follow emotions. All of the abilities described above are necessary for the internal regulation of one’s own emotional states and successful influences on the external environment, leading to the regulation of not only one’s own, but also those of others.

It should be noted that emotional intelligence in this concept is considered a subsystem of social intelligence.

Proponents of the ability model examine emotional intelligence using a variety of problem-solving test techniques. The most developed and complex technique is MSCEIT. In each task, the solution of which reflects the development of one of the four above-mentioned components of emotional intelligence, there are several answer options, and the subject must choose one of them. Scoring can be done in several ways - based on consensus (the score for a particular answer option is correlated with the percentage of a representative sample who chose the same option) or based on expert judgment (the score is correlated with the proportion of a relatively small sample of experts who chose the same answer).

Now about the mixed model of emotional intelligence.

According to the American psychologist D. Goleman, emotional intellect- this is a person’s ability to interpret his own emotions and the emotions of others in order to use the information received to achieve his own goals. There are four main components of emotional intelligence (EQ):

  • self-awareness;
  • self-control;
  • empathy;
  • relationship skills.

In fact, one of the most significant advances in the study of emotional culture occurred in 1980, when psychologists Raven and Bar-On began their work in this area.

The concept of emotional intelligence is often found in the literature devoted to the problem of effective leadership. The aforementioned D. Goleman identifies a fifth component: motivation.

All emotional intelligence experts, speaking about our differences in this aspect, highlight and biological its prerequisites:

  • parents' EQ level;
  • right-hemisphere type of thinking:
  • properties of temperament.

AND social development prerequisites:

  • syntony (emotional reaction of the environment to the child’s actions);
  • degree of development of self-awareness;
  • confidence in emotional competence;
  • parental education level and family income;
  • emotionally healthy relationship between parents;
  • androgyny (self-control and restraint in girls, empathy and tender feelings in boys);
  • external locus of control;
  • religiosity.

Thus, the structure of emotional intelligence looks like this:

  • conscious regulation of emotions;
  • understanding (comprehension) of emotions;
  • recognizing and expressing emotions;
  • the use of emotions in mental activity.

Esther leads a small, close-knit team. Being a kind and sympathetic person, she always takes into account the needs of others. She is a problem solver and sees opportunities in failure. She works with passion and is a model of equanimity for her colleagues. Esther's manager is lucky to have a subordinate and often praises her for her high level of emotional intelligence (EI). Esther is proud of her emotional intelligence and is glad that she does not have to work on it as part of a leadership development program. Despite her positive attitude, Esther seems to be stuck in her career. Her performance simply does not meet the criteria for promotion. “So much for emotional intelligence,” she thinks.

Esther and her leader fell into the same trap. They define the term too narrowly. They focus on Esther's ability to communicate, express emotion, and please others, but they forget about other important components of emotional intelligence that are required to be a strong and effective leader. A recent HBR article notes that a kind and positive leader like Esther may lack the skills to deliver bad news to employees, challenge them when necessary, implement change, and think outside the box. This does not indicate that Esther's level of emotional intelligence is too high, but that her skills are unevenly developed. Over the past 30 years, we have studied the strengths of great leaders and developed an optimal model of emotional intelligence and leadership skills. We have outlined a harmonious circle of abilities, thanks to which a leader can cope with the above-mentioned difficulties.

There are many models of emotional intelligence with different sets of abilities. Emotional intelligence is sometimes called EQ, by analogy with intelligence quotient. We prefer to call it EI. Emotional intelligence has four main components: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management. Directly related to these four components are 12 acquired competencies that determine manager performance (see table). Esther has several competencies - for example, the ability to empathize, control herself and have a positive outlook on the world. However, some competencies are not available to her - for example, the desire to achieve, influence, the ability to resolve conflicts, work in a team and inspire others. Competencies from the first and second groups require equal emotional impact and have equal priority for a manager who wants to develop in the right direction.

Components and competencies of emotional intelligence

Introspection Self management Social awareness Relationship management
Analyzing your own emotions Managing your emotions The ability to empathize Influence
Ability to adapt Training and mentoring
Striving for achievement Organizational awareness Conflict Management
Positive outlook on the world Teamwork
Inspirational Guidance

For example, if Esther had been able to manage conflict, she would not have had any difficulty giving negative feedback about the performance of her subordinates. If she were looking to expand her reach, she would want to give feedback like this because it helps people grow professionally. Let's say that Esther has a bossy and tough co-worker. If she had a balanced set of emotional intelligence competencies, she would have discussed problems with her colleague directly, instead of trying to smooth over the edges with every interaction. At the same time, the ability to control her emotions would help her constructively tell her interlocutor what exactly is not going as she would like. The whole point of conflict management is to raise problematic issues. In addition, Esther could work on a strategy for spreading influence and explain to her colleague that she wants him to succeed and that if he observed how his management style affects others, he would understand how the change would benefit him.

Likewise, if Esther had developed her capacity for inspirational leadership, she would have implemented these changes with greater success. A leader with this competence knows how to select arguments that appeal not only to those with whom he speaks, but also to himself, which gives everyone motivation to move in the right direction. Indeed, some studies have found a strong link between emotional intelligence and the ability to implement change and lead strategically.

Thus, to achieve success, a leader must develop competencies related to the level of emotional intelligence and maintain a balance between them. Only in this case can one expect excellent results from him.

How do you know which competency to develop, especially if you feel like you're doing just fine in some areas?

Go back to the table and read the list again. As noted above, there are several formal models of emotional intelligence. Some of them include assessment tools. When choosing a tool, always consider how well it predicts management outcomes. Some tools help explore self-esteem. They are more like personality tests that build a self-schema. Other instruments (such as the commercial product MSCEIT, developed by Yale University President Peter Salovey and his colleagues) correlate more closely with IQ.

We recommend a comprehensive assessment based not only on self-analysis, but also on the views of those who know you well. External information will allow you to assess all components of emotional intelligence, including the ability to introspect (if you did not analyze your actions, how would you know about your inability to introspect?). An accurate assessment of your strengths and weaknesses can only come from those with whom you work directly. The more people you interview, the more complete the overall picture will be.

Research has shown that formal 360-degree assessments, which involve systematic, anonymous surveys of subordinates, have no correlation with a manager's personality or IQ, but are the best predictors of performance, actual results, job engagement, and life satisfaction. Our ESCI 360 (Emotional and Social Competency Inventory), developed in collaboration with the Korn Ferry Hay Group, falls into this category. It allows you to evaluate 12 competencies based on observations of a leader’s activities from the outside. The greater the differences between how he evaluates himself and how others evaluate him, the lower his level of emotional intelligence and the worse his performance results.

Emotional intellect (EI)(English) Emotional intelligence, EI) is a person’s ability to perceive, evaluate and understand their own and others’ emotions and the ability to manage emotions. Emotionally intelligent people can have good self-control and interact effectively with others. Psychologists and representatives of other scientific disciplines, as well as leaders of many organizations, recognize that emotional intelligence is vitally important. Some even believe that emotions, more than intellectual abilities, determine people's thinking and human relationships.

Success at work and happiness in your personal life largely depend on understanding emotions and the ability to manage them. Leaders can focus and direct the power of emotions to improve team morale and increase employee motivation, which benefits the entire organization. According to a study conducted by the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, entrepreneurs who are more expressive and more empathetic to others' emotions earn more money.

What are emotions?

There are hundreds of emotions and even more emotional shades. It is very important for a leader to understand not only the various emotions of people, but also how these emotions are expressed . Researchers identify eight main groups of emotions:

  • Love;
  • fear;
  • anger;
  • sadness;
  • pleasure
  • astonishment;
  • shame;
  • disgust.

In a series of studies, representatives of different cultures accurately recognized these emotions when they were shown photographs of faces with corresponding facial expressions. A list of basic emotions and some of their shades is given below.

  • Anger: rage, rudeness, indignation, irritation, indignation, embitterment, annoyance, hostility, bitterness.
  • Sadness: sadness, regret, despondency, melancholy, self-pity, loneliness, depression, despair, depression.
  • Fear: anxiety, apprehension, nervousness, concern, excitement, fright, horror, panic.
  • Pleasure: happiness, joy, relief, satisfaction, fun, pride, sensual pleasure, admiration, delight, awe, euphoria.
  • Love: appreciation, respect, friendliness, trust, kindness, sympathy, devotion, adoration, passion.
  • Astonishment: shock, amazement, shock, bewilderment.
  • Disgust: contempt, disdain, arrogance, disgust, antipathy, hostility, rejection.
  • Shame: guilt, embarrassment, confusion, repentance, humiliation, embarrassment, humility.

Leaders who are sensitive to their own emotions and those of others create a positive work environment that benefits the entire organization.

The components of emotional intelligence are broken down into four main categories given in table 1. It is important to remember that emotional intelligence is learned and developed. Anyone can enhance the qualities that make up these four categories.

Table 1. Components of emotional intelligence

Self-awareness can be considered as the basis of all other components of emotional intelligence. It involves a person's ability to evaluate their own emotions and understand how they affect their work and personal life. People who know their emotional characteristics well find it easier to be masters of their own lives. Leaders with a high level of self-awareness are able to trust their feelings, which help them make difficult decisions in difficult times. Sometimes it is unclear whether it is necessary to make a major transaction, fire an employee, reorganize the business, or redistribute work responsibilities. When information from external sources is insufficient, leaders must rely on their own feelings. Self-awareness also includes an adequate assessment of one's strengths and weaknesses and a sense of self-confidence.

Self-control is the second key component of emotional intelligence, which can be defined as the ability to control destructive or harmful emotions. Leaders learn to maintain emotional balance so that worry, worry, fear, or anger do not interfere with clarity of thinking. Owning emotions means not suppressing or hiding them, but understanding them, using this understanding in various situations.

This category includes qualities such as desire to inspire the trust of others(demonstrating honesty and integrity) consciousness(responsible attitude towards one’s responsibilities), ability to adaptation(ability to adapt to changes); initiative, expanding human capabilities; optimism, manifested despite all difficulties and failures.

Martin Seligman, a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, advised the management of the insurance company MetLife to hire a group of employees who showed high results on tests of optimism, but could not pass ordinary tests of sales skills. Compared to a group whose members performed well on sales tests but were also pessimistic, the optimist group made 21% more sales in their first year and 57% more in their second year.

Social consciousness is the ability to understand others. Socially conscious leaders demonstrate empathy—the ability to put oneself in another person's shoes and understand their thoughts and feelings. Such leaders can view a situation from multiple perspectives and interact with different types of people. The characteristic of corporate consciousness means the ability to establish organizational activities and create a network of contacts, as well as choose the most appropriate forms of behavior to achieve positive results. In addition, social awareness implies a service orientation, i.e., the ability to identify and satisfy the needs of employees, consumers, or clients.

Relationship management is the ability to network and interact with other people. Leaders with high emotional intelligence are sensitive and kind to others. They develop staff, inspire employees with their concept of the future, establish normal communication, and are sensitive to the feelings of other people, exerting a positive influence on them. Leaders' emotional understanding of their subordinates helps to implement positive changes, establish cooperation and work in teams, and eliminate conflicts. Such leaders create a network of relationships within and outside the organization.

Taken together, these four components provide the foundation for emotional intelligence that leaders can use to more effectively lead teams and organizations.

Practical implications for leaders

To what extent does emotional intelligence influence a leader's effectiveness? Undoubtedly, it plays a key role in the success of transformational and charismatic leaders. Charismatic leaders tend to use persuasion through emotion and appeal to the feelings of their subordinates. Transformational leaders create a vision of the future and motivate employees to make dreams come true, which requires the use of emotional intelligence components. In a wide variety of situations, charismatic and transformational leaders exhibit self-confidence, determination, and persistence.

A high level of self-awareness, coupled with the ability to manage one's emotions, allows a leader to demonstrate self-confidence and earn the trust and respect of subordinates. In addition, the ability to manage or contain the emotions of others helps the leader to objectively assess the needs of subordinates that may be hidden behind the immediate expression of feelings. Severe anger or depression, for example, can increase a leader's self-centeredness and prevent him from understanding the needs of others. Such a person cannot consider the situation from different points of view.

The emotional state of a leader affects the environment in the group, department or organization. Emotions are transmitted from person to person. If we are in the company of cheerful and energetic people, their emotions are transmitted to us. On the contrary, a sad person can instill despondency in us. This leader's emotional contagion maintains balance and internal motivation, serves as an example for subordinates, inspires them and conveys his feelings to them. An optimistic and energetic leader can increase the activity of the entire organization. Empathy and communication skills help motivate, inspire and unite employees.

Perhaps the most important thing that emotional intelligence allows a leader is the ability to treat a subordinate as a whole person with his own feelings, opinions, ideas, needs, abilities and dreams. It is emotional intelligence that helps a manager develop staff and maintain high self-esteem of each employee.

An emotionally intelligent leader creates an atmosphere of trust and respect and imbues the work of subordinates with meaning, so that they strive not only to satisfy personal needs, but also to bring maximum benefit to the organization.

  • 1 - absent;
  • 2 - manifests itself to a minor extent;
  • 3 - manifests itself to a moderate degree;
  • 4 - manifests itself to a significant extent;
  • 5 - constantly present.

Table 2. Self-assessment of emotional intelligence

1. I associate internal psychological states with various emotions.
2. I know how to relieve internal tension when in difficult situations.
3. I am aware of how my behavior affects other people.
4. When a conflict arises, I strive to be the first to resolve it.
5. When I get angry, I can quickly pull myself together.
6. I notice when the other person starts to get angry.
7. I can see when a person is stressed.
8. I reach consensus with other people.
9. I recognize the emotions of others.
10. I can find motivation when doing uninteresting work.
11. I help others master their feelings.
12. I help others feel comfortable.
13. I notice when the other person’s mood changes.
14. I remain calm when the other person gets angry.
15. I can put myself in another person's shoes.
16. If necessary, I can give advice and provide emotional support to other people.
17. I notice when the interlocutor begins to take a defensive position.
18. I can evaluate how well a person’s actions correspond to his words.
19. I have confidential conversations with other people.
20. I respond to a person with exactly the same feelings that he shows towards me.

Scoring

Total the scores for all twenty items to determine your overall level of emotional intelligence. Self-awareness is assessed by items 1, 6, 9, 13, and 17; self-control - points 2, 5, 10, 14 and 18; social consciousness - points 3, 7, 11, 15 and 19; relationship management - points 4, 8, 12, 16 and 20.

Interpretation of results

This questionnaire allows you to determine your level of emotional intelligence.

  • If you score above 80, you have a high level of emotional intelligence.
  • If you score 50-80 points, you have a solid foundation for developing emotional intelligence and leadership abilities.
  • A score below 50 indicates that you believe you have below average emotional intelligence.
  • For each component, a score greater than 20 is high, and less than 10 is low. What will you do to improve your results?

The material is published in an abbreviated translation from English.

Richard Daft

      (Richard l. Daft), professor at the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University. Author of the textbook
      , books