Defining Emotional Intelligence & Its Results

Emotional Intelligence is still quite a new science and therefore has many different definitions. So, here you will find various definitions that I have come across. Also, why improve your EQ? So you can:

• promote optimism
• build loyalty
• celebrate success
• resolve conflicts
• plan well but recognize, analyze and deal with failures
• “reach out" to everyone around you
• assess and respond to other people's signals
• elicit fresh ideas from employees
• effectively help employees transform negative feelings into opportunities for improvement
• push yourself to higher levels of excellence
• build rapport and relationships (be likeable!)
• Be able to build effective teams
• Lead people through change
• Read social signs
• Influence individuals and groups in the required direction

List of Definitions

"Quite simply, emotional intelligence is the intelligent use of emotions!" -- Hendrie Weisinger

According to the authors of the MSCEIT (Mayer Salovey Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test):

- EI begins with the idea that we want to identify the existing emotions in the relevant people or person, including self and others, as appropriate.

- The next step is we want to match emotion with task and this is the use of emotion.

- The third step is to understand the causes of existing emotions and what it may take to change, if necessary, or to keep the existing emotions if that is what we choose to do.

- And finally to manage emotions by following through with what we have learned by attending to the first three steps.

"Emotional intelligence is about mastering ourselves so our thinking brain can stay in charge when stress overwhelms us." Brenda Smith