Page 195 - 100 Great Business Ideas: From Leading Companies Around the World (100 Great Ideas)

In practice

EI can be learned. Succeeding with EI is achieved by heightening
ability in the following areas:

1. Self-awareness. Despite the fact that our moods run alongside our
thoughts, we rarely pay much attention to the way we feel. This
is significant because previous emotional experiences provide a
context for our decision making.

2. Managing emotions. All effective leaders learn to manage their
emotions, especially the big three emotions: anger, anxiety, and
sadness.

3. Motivating others. Motivating involves creating a supportive,
enthusiastic environment, being sensitive to the issues that
increase or reduce the enthusiasm of each individual, and
providing the right approach to move and guide people in the
right direction.

4. Showing empathy. The flip side of self-awareness is the ability to
correctly understand, and adjust to, emotions in others.

5. Staying connected. Emotions are contagious: there is an unseen
transaction that passes between individuals in every interaction,
making us feel either a little better or a little worse. Goleman
refers to this as a “secret economy,” and it holds the key to
motivating people.

These “emotional competencies” build on each other in a hierarchy.
At the bottom of Goleman’s hierarchy (1) is the ability to identify
one’s emotional state. Some knowledge of competency 1 is needed
to move to the next competency. Likewise, knowledge or skill in the
first three competencies is needed to show empathy, reading and
influencing positively other people’s emotions (competency 4). The
first four competencies lead to increased ability to enter and sustain
good relationships (competency 5).

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