Developing Emotional Intelligence by Jolito Ortizo Padilla

Emotional Intelligence is the sum of a range of interpersonal skills that form the public persona. Emotional Intelligence has received a considerable attention over the last few years as the concept has been identified as a key aspect of managing people effectively.Goleman argues for a more emphatetic style of management and suggests that Emotional Intelligence predicts top performance and accounts more than 85 percent of  outstanding performance in top leaders. The Hay Group,working with Goleman have identified 18 specific competencies that make up four components of emotional intelligence and have produced an inventory designed to measure emotional competence. The Emotional Competency Inventory defines EI as "The capacity for recognizing our own feelings and those of others, for motivating ourselves and for managing emotions within ourselves and with others."

Recognizing and understanding the implications of emotions and being able accurately to self-assess one's inner resources, abilities and limits are key to becoming an emotionally intelligence leader. Being able to read emotional currents is an important skill for managers to develop and employ. It requires them to understand the individuals within their teams and the way in which individuals relate and interact.

Recent research by GA Business and Management Consultancy identifies Emotional Intelligence as one of the key skills managers and leaders will need in the coming decade. According to Padilla it should really be no surprise to find Emotional Quotient so much in demand.

" After all, we will work in structure which are much flatter than ever. We have to be much faster on our feet with both colleagues and clients and, whatever the team structure ,there is increasing proximity for us to build the relationships we need-fast. In this context EQ is the glue that holds people and teams together. "

Jolito Ortizo Padilla refers the importance of empathy in EI which both involves how a person self manages and addresses how to engage with the emotions of others, and suggests a six -step process for developing EI.

- Know what you feel.
- Know why you feel.
- Acknowledge the emotion and know how to manage it.
- Know how to motivate yourself and make yourself better.
- Recognize the emotions of other people and develop empathy.
- Express your feelings appropriately and manage relationships

There seems little doubt that managers and leaders who have trained up in EQ have far more initiative in dealing with organizational life than those who don't. Stress will always exist at work , but EQ gives people the tools and ways of thinking to manage it to their advantage.

A number of steps in raising emotional intelligence are also suggested by Garrett, including ensuring staff are managing their interpersonal relationships before a problem arises,focusing first on leaders and creating an EQ culture for the organization about itself and the companies it deals with. According to Dann ,becoming highly self aware allows and individual to recognize inner and outer conflict and develop more proactive self management . Developing greater  social awareness allows the fostering of productive relations and a greater degree of engagement between employees and management. A manager with a high EQ benefits both
organization and the individual.

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