In the business world today there are many different factors that can influence whether or not someone is successful. These can vary from how you dress to your like and dislikes. One factor that can directly impact the professional success that someone has is their emotional intelligence and ability to work with, and help others. Cultivating this skill can make or break your career trajectory. There are several ways that someone can improve and grow their very important skill, here are just a few.
Know Your Score
When you are looking to improve your emotional intelligence, the first thing that you will have to understand is where you currently are. Sometimes people with lower emotional intelligence think that they are very perceptive and need to be told in a very straightforward manner that they have some things to work on. One of the best ways to determine how you rank today is by taking a strong interest inventory test that will focus on emotional intelligence. Going this route can give you a solid baseline for where you are stronger and weaker in regards to this specific skill.
Think About How You React Under Pressure
Another important thing to think about when it comes to improving your emotional intelligence is to think about how you react under pressure. Most people are able to have positive reactions when things are going well. However, if things are always going well then you can easily be surprised by negative information and your reactions can be less than perfect. It is important to practice responding to negative information, which could lead to better personal outcomes. This can be done through role-play or talking to friends about potential outcomes.
Find a Mentor
Another way to improve your emotional intelligence is to think about people that you believe have strong emotional intelligence and understand how they act and react. More than likely, there are successful people in your work environment or persona life that have certain personality traits that you wish to emulate. These people also likely have certain ways of carrying themselves and responding to others. You can even study historical figures that were afflicted with negative outcomes and view how they reacted to their troubles. By copying those with good emotional intelligence, you could improve your skills as well.
Take Responsibility
One of the biggest parts of emotional intelligence is being able to react in a professional way during even some of the hardest situations. While everybody should try to be as perfect as possible during these situations, it is impossible to always do the right thing. However, a good sign of emotional intelligence is when someone is willing to take responsibility for their unfavorable or negative actions. Taking responsibility can be extremely difficult but it is essential to our progress as decent human beings.
Ultimately, when you are looking to improve your emotional intelligence, the most important thing that you need to do is pay attention. Pay close attention to what you say and do and see how others respond. Try to treat others as you would like to be treated but also consider that they might think differently from you. Over time you will be able to more closely identify actions that lead to positive or negative reactions in those around.
