What Is Emotional Intelligence & Why Is It Important to Your Career?

In the decades since the concept of emotional intelligence (EI) was introduced by psychologists John Mayer and Peter Salovey, EI has become ubiquitous across fields, including psychology, education, and business. It’s led to everything from the proliferation of social and emotional learning (SEL) education in elementary schools to the development of EI-based leadership programs.

In this article, we’ll discuss what EI means, how you can improve it for yourself, and why it’s important to your career.

The Four Components of Emotional Intelligence (and How to Improve Them)

According to Mental Health America, “emotional intelligence is the ability to manage both your own emotions and understand the emotions of people around you.”

Daniel Goleman, an author who has written extensively about EI, has narrowed down EI to four key components: self-awareness, self-management, relationship management, and social awareness. When these components are all working together, “[EI] can help people make better decisions,” he said in an interview.

But you don’t have to be a natural at EI to apply it to your life and work. In his book Leadership: The Power of Emotional Intelligence, Goleman wrote that research shows people can actually develop their emotional intelligence.

Let’s take a look at each component and how you can begin improving it for yourself.

Self-Awareness

Self-awareness is being conscious of your own feelings and your thoughts about them as well as how those feelings affect others. For example, if an emotionally intelligent person were faced with a crisis at work, they may get upset but will be aware of that feeling. With that awareness, they can allow themselves to feel angry while still acting in a way that is constructive and helps solve the problem instead of shutting down or lashing out.

According to Goleman, the competencies that fall under this component are:

• Self-awareness
• Focus

One way to help you improve your self-awareness is to begin journaling. Writing down your feelings and actions each day not only forces you to reflect on how you let your emotions affect you, but it can also help you see bigger patterns that may exist. For example, if you notice that you get more frustrated with small issues on days you’ve had little sleep, you can try harder to get a good night’s rest during the workweek.

Self-Management

In emotional intelligence, self-management is the ability to have control over unhelpful or negative thoughts and emotions. In his book The Brain and Emotional Intelligence, Goleman explains that you want the prefrontal cortex area of the brain (responsible for strategy and planning) to have control over the amygdala area (responsible for one’s fight-or-flight response).

According to Goleman, the competencies that fall under this component are:

• Emotional balance
• Adaptability
• Achievement orientation
• Positive outlook

To start getting better at self-management, try setting — and writing down — a daily intention, such as “I need to think about my words before replying to messages today.” Having the phrase written down and posted somewhere you’ll always see it can help you be more intentional with how you act and react.

Relationship Management

Relationship management is the ability to influence and inspire others. In an article for consulting firm Korn Ferry, Goleman calls this “friendliness with a purpose.”

According to Goleman, the competencies that fall under this component are:

• Influence
• Coach and mentor
• Conflict management
• Teamwork
• Inspirational leadership

To work on relationship management at the office, try ensuring you explain your decisions not only to your peers but also to your employees. You’ll also want to listen when others do the same. This will help you build trust and can help others feel heard and appreciated.

Social Awareness

To be socially aware is to have the ability to empathize with the emotional experiences of individuals as well as to read and understand the emotional drivers behind group dynamics. Regarding the latter, this could be understanding the office politics of a particular organization — individual influencers, intraoffice networks, unspoken rules, etc.

According to Goleman, the competencies that fall under this component are:

• Empathy
• Organizational awareness

You can work on your social awareness by ensuring you’re present in social interactions, listening to what others have to say as well as watching how people act and react. Additionally, try having a conversation-starter question on hand. This can help you break the ice when meeting others for the first time or diffuse awkwardness when a conversation begins to wane.

>> Read More: The Top Soft Skills Employers Want

How Emotional Intelligence Affects Your Career

According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), there are eight career readiness competencies: career and self-development, communication, critical thinking, equity and inclusion, leadership, professionalism, teamwork, and technology. While EI may not tie into the technology competency, it does connect to the other seven.

Career and Self-Development

According to NACE, some of the sample behaviors in this competency include establishing and maintaining relationships as well as being aware of both your strengths and where you need development.

Understanding and being aware of your and other people’s emotions can help you better connect with others. It can also help you be more empathetic and recognize how others want to be treated, which helps with establishing better working relationships, according to leadership development firm EWF International.

Additionally, research shows that emotional intelligence is positively associated with taking ownership of your career goals, according to an article in Human Resource Management Review. Being able and willing not only to set career goals but also to recognize what you need to work on to reach those goals can help with long-term success.

Communication

When it comes to professional communication, you should be able to be a good active listener and communicate with others in a way that respects their learning style, abilities, and cultural differences, according to NACE.

By applying the tenets of good emotional intelligence, you can be a stronger communicator. It can help you be more respectful of how each person wants to be communicated with as well as better understand the meaning behind their communication. In the world of instant messaging and emails, this can help you avoid misinterpreting intent in the absence of facial expressions and body language.

Critical Thinking

One of the sample behaviors for critical thinking, according to NACE, is the ability to “make decisions and solve problems using sound, inclusive reasoning and judgment.” Being aware and in control of your emotions — self-management — is linked to critical thinking, according to an article in Psychology Today.

Your emotions can affect how you read and interpret data and vice versa. Knowing when and how to set emotion aside and be objective about a task or findings can help you make better decisions in the long run.

Equity and Inclusion

NACE defines equity and inclusion as the ability to “demonstrate the awareness, attitude, knowledge, and skills required to equitably engage and include people from different local and global cultures.”

This ties into all four components of emotional intelligence. You need to be aware of your own biases (self-awareness), willing to work on and change them (self-management), have empathy for how others feel and want to be treated (social awareness), and be willing to influence others to do the same (relationship management).

Leadership

According to an article in the Journal of Engineering, Project, and Production Management, EI is a success factor for both leadership and decision-making. It can help you be more empathetic and a better communicator with your team.

“Managers who show more empathy toward direct reports are viewed by their bosses as better performers in their jobs,” according to the Center for Creative Leadership. “Increasing your emotional intelligence quotient [can] directly increase your effectiveness as a leader.”

Professionalism

Being professional means acting with integrity as well as being dependable and consistent. But if you act based on uncontrolled emotions, you may make decisions that are not in your own best interest or that of the organization.

Understanding your own emotions and how to control them may allow you to better navigate times in which negative emotions begin to rise. For example, instead of procrastinating due to fear of failure, you can recognize and accept that emotion, but apply self-management skills to put that fear aside long enough to complete the task at hand.

Teamwork

Think about the last time you worked on a team project. There can often be as many personality types, communication styles, and ideas about how to best complete the task as there are people on the team. This can lead to difficulties in task completion.

When it comes to effective teamwork, you need to be able to read and react to your teammates’ emotional states and adjust your own behavior, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). In fact, the NBER published research showing “a clear and statistically significant correlation between being a good team player and emotional perceptiveness.”

>> Read More: Goal-Setting Strategies and Resources

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