Working on your skills is one of the most important things you must do to get a good job. You go to school for that, get your education, and get the necessary technical skills required for the industry you want to work in. But is that all? Only sometimes. Sometimes you need to go the extra mile and learn more skills, among which emotional intelligence is one. 

Emotional intelligence, or EI, is a crucial aspect of one’s personal and professional life. It is defined as the ability to understand and manage one’s own emotions, as well as the emotions of others. People might think emotional intelligence is useless in the workplace since it does not directly contribute to your work. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. Your emotional intelligence impacts your ability to work in a team, communication skills, leadership skills, and problem-solving skills, all of which are important in building a successful career. 

Emotional intelligence’s importance for personal and professional success has grown in recent years. Emotional intelligence can significantly influence a person’s capacity to succeed at work, especially in highly collaborative and people-focused organizations. People with a better understanding of emotional intelligence can lead with empathy and compassion, communicate with greater efficiency, and create deeper bonds with others.

This article will explore the importance of emotional intelligence in career success and how to develop it. So, keep on reading. 

The Importance of Emotional Intelligence in Career Success

Success comes in several forms, and there is no foolproof way of succeeding. What might work for some may not always work for others. Emotional intelligence is exceptionally crucial and fundamental when building your career. But how does emotional intelligence help us in our careers? We will discuss that in this section. 

Communication Skills

Effective communication is the cornerstone of any successful career. When you can communicate fluently, you make it easier for others to work with you. Communication skills are not only about conveying your thoughts efficiently, but it is also about understanding the perspectives of others. If you need help understanding what other people are saying to you, especially in the workplace, it can be easier for the entire team to carry out tasks properly. 

Emotional intelligence helps individuals understand how their words and actions can affect others’ emotions and adjust their communication style accordingly. Effective communication is essential in any workplace, and individuals with high emotional intelligence can convey their thoughts and ideas in a way that resonates with others. A workplace can sometimes be overwhelming, with many tasks to complete. But, a leader can help motivate and inspire others to achieve their goals when they have good communication skills. 

Teamwork

No matter what kind of job you have, teamwork is always essential. A workplace is a social setting, meaning you have to collaborate and effectively team up with everyone else to get the best project outcomes. When you lack emotional intelligence, it becomes difficult to mesh with others and accept what they say. 

People with emotional intelligence can collaborate well with others, value varied viewpoints, and work toward shared objectives. An employee with emotional intelligence recognizes the value of developing strong connections with coworkers, boosting output and satisfaction at work. When you have emotional intelligence at work, you see beyond your team members’ personalities, experiences, or backgrounds and focus on the project. It is all about valuing different perspectives and realizing that different views can offer innovative solutions. 

Leadership

Most employees working at an organization dream of becoming a leader someday. And one of the critical elements you need to do is to develop emotional intelligence. Leaders must connect with their team members, inspire them, and, most importantly, gain their trust. It becomes challenging to do all this when you cannot resonate with others in your company. 

As mentioned earlier, a workplace setting can sometimes be overwhelming, and employees need a smiling face and empathetic attitude to tell them they can get through it. When you are a leader, you must consider how your decisions impact others, which means you must develop compassion. This is most true for a human resources manager. On the other hand, leaders with low emotional intelligence can struggle to motivate their teams and make decisions that lead to negative outcomes.

Problem-solving

Your career is full of challenges. When you work somewhere, you must constantly come up with solutions to beat every challenge. Thus, solving problems effectively is a valuable skill in any career. When you have emotional intelligence, you get to think critically and approach the problem from different perspectives. People with low emotional intelligence will get caught up in the complexity of the problem and fail to come up with a proper solution. 

Moreover, problem-solving skills also require you to understand how the problem is affecting other people in your team and the overall workflow. When you are emotionally intelligent, you can identify the emotions involved in the situation and make appropriate decisions. For instance, when you sense a conflict between two workers, you have to hear the problem and perspectives involved and prevent it from worsening before it impacts team productivity. 

Positivity

Another great way emotional intelligence helps your career is by allowing you to be more positive and open-minded. We already know how challenging building a career can be and that only some things go our way. But it’s crucial to have a positive attitude and understand that it’s not the end of the world. When you have emotional intelligence, you learn from your mistakes. 

Employees with low emotional intelligence view everything with a negative approach, and they blame everyone and everything and often ends up dodging their own mistakes. An emotionally intelligent person takes accountability, derives a lesson from every experience, and applies that to their career strategy. 

How to Develop Emotional Intelligence

We have talked about how emotional intelligence can help you in your career. But how do you develop it? Not everyone has the same level of emotional intelligence, but everyone can work on it and make themselves more understanding and better team members in the workplace. Here, we have discussed some tips for becoming more emotionally intelligent. 

Self-Awareness

It sounds ironic since many people might say that being emotionally intelligent helps you to be self-aware, but how can it work the other way around? The answer is that it’s a constant circle of learning, relearning, and even unlearning. Suppose you are looking to work on your emotional intelligence. In that case, you must develop your self-awareness since it allows you to look inside and understand your weaknesses, strengths, and emotions. 

When you are self-aware, you can understand what impacts your behavior and work toward or against it, depending on what benefits you. Self-awareness can be improved in multiple ways; one of the best ways is by seeking feedback. Other than that, some personal ways you can work on your self-awareness is by journaling or meditating. 

Empathy 

One of the primary ways you can work on your emotional intelligence is by developing empathy. It is the ability to understand and share another person’s feelings. When you are in a workplace, you cannot always think about yourself and have to take into consideration the feelings of others. 

Listen actively to what others say, ask questions, and show compassion. Put yourself in others’ shoes before you disregard what they say. Try to understand their feelings and offer a helping hand if needed. 

Social Skills

Lastly, socializing with others is another excellent way to improve your emotional intelligence. You learn from others and reflect upon the areas where you need improvement. Network with others and receive and give feedback. Perform a LinkedIn lookup to find individuals to connect with and participate in social activities. 

Final Thoughts 

Working on your technical skills indeed pays off, but you must remember emotional intelligence. It can help you stand out but also help you have more fulfilling and meaningful work experiences, which is what it ultimately boils down to. If you are unsatisfied with your work life, it can be challenging to overcome the obstacles. So, if you want to take your career to the next level, consider cultivating your emotional intelligence – it may be the key to unlocking your full potential.

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