Emotional Intelligence Test: What's Your EQ
Emotional Intelligence Test: What's Your EQ
Emotional intelligence (otherwise known as emotional quotient or EQ) is the ability to understand, use, and manage your own emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges and defuse conflict. Emotional intelligence helps you build stronger relationships, succeed at school and work, and achieve your career and personal goals. It can also help you to connect with your feelings, turn intention into action, and make informed decisions about what matters most to you. The term emotional intelligence was created by two researchers, Peter Salavoy and John Mayer in their article “Emotional Intelligence” in the journal Imagination, Cognition, and Personality in 1990. It was later popularized by Dan Goleman in his 1995 book Emotional Intelligence.
Emotional intelligence is commonly defined by four attributes:
Self-management – You’re able to control impulsive feelings and behaviors, manage your emotions in healthy ways, take initiative, follow through on commitments, and adapt to changing circumstances.
Self-awareness – You recognize your own emotions and how they affect your thoughts and behavior. You know your strengths and weaknesses, and have self-confidence.
Social awareness – You have empathy. You can understand the emotions, needs, and concerns of other people, pick up on emotional cues, feel comfortable socially, and recognize the power dynamics in a group or organization.
Relationship management – You know how to develop and maintain good relationships, communicate clearly, inspire and influence others, work well in a team, and manage conflict.
Why Emotional Intelligence is Important?
It’s a scientific fact that emotions precede thought. When emotions run high, they change the way our brains function…diminishing our cognitive abilities, decision-making powers, and even interpersonal skills. Understanding and managing our emotions (and the emotions of others) helps us to be more successful in both our personal and professional lives.
At a personal level, emotional intelligence helps us:
Have uncomfortable conversations without hurting feelings
Manage our emotions when stressed or feeling overwhelmed
Improve relationships with the people we care about
At work, emotional intelligence can help us:
Resolve conflicts
Coach and motivate others
Create a culture of collaboration
Build psychological safety within teams
Researchers have found that emotionally intelligent people often have great leadership potential. Realize this potential by seeking opportunities to improve even further.
WAYS TO IMPROVE EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
Use the following tips to improve your emotional intelligence both at and outside of work:
1. Be more self-aware
Being aware of your emotions and emotional responses to those around you can greatly improve your emotional intelligence. Knowing when you’re feeling anxious or angry can help you process and communicate those feelings in a way that promotes healthy results.
2. Recognize how others feel
Emotional intelligence may start with self-reflection, but it’s also important to gauge how others perceive your behavior and communication. Knowing how to adjust your own message based on how you’re being received is an important part of being emotionally intelligent.
3. Practice active listening
People communicate via both verbal and nonverbal communication, so it’s important to listen and watch for potentially positive and negative reactions. Taking the time to listen to others also indicates a level of respect that can form the foundation for healthy relationships.
4. Communicate clearly
Strong communication skills are essential for emotional intelligence. Knowing what to say or write and when to deliver information is crucial for building strong relationships. For example, as a manager in a work environment, communicating expectations and goals is necessary to keep everyone on the same page.
5. Empathize
Considering how others might be feeling is an important quality of emotional intelligence. It means you can empathize with feelings that you may not be feeling yourself and respond in a way that’s respectful and comforting to others.
6. Listen to feedback
It’s important to be the kind of person who can hear feedback, whether it’s positive feedback on a recent presentation or more critical recommendations on how you should delegate tasks more efficiently. Being open to feedback means you can take responsibility for your actions and are willing to improve how you communicate with others.
7. Stay calm under pressure
It’s important to be able to approach stressful situations with a calm and positive attitude. Tensions can easily escalate, especially when people are working under deadlines, so keeping steady and focusing on finding a solution will help everyone meet their goals.