Having Emotional Intelligence and Why it's Important

 

Emotional intelligence is the qualities that can improve your daily life and your leadership skills. There are 5 components to emotional intelligence, and those are self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social management. Effective leadership is crucial for the success of any organization. Last week I posted a blog on your personal brand, and I think the number one thing before building your personal brand is to become self-aware. Self-awareness can be such an effective thing in your life and also make you an effective leader in life. Self-awareness is when someone has a deeper understanding of one’s emotions, strengths, weaknesses, needs, and drives. Self-awareness is important for a leader because the leader will be able to put their strengths and abilities forward. It is also important because a self-aware leader knows their limitations and allows for more effective communication. Sometimes I put myself down, or think that I can’t do something because someone told me I couldn’t. I believe whenever I get down, it reflects on the other people around me because I’m always upbeat and excited. I really need to work on my self-confidence and believe in myself because I know I am capable and can do anything if I put my mind to it. I need to understand my moods and emotions and learn how to stabilize them as well, and I feel like that is the first thing to becoming more self-aware.

   

    Before started my undergrad I really wanted to go into Elementary Education. I started taking all the classes, and I got all the way to the last semester. I wasn't having fun at all, and I kept on telling myself to just keep going. Keep going so you can just finish this major. But, as I started teaching and observing I was like "This is not for me." So, I finally became more self-aware of how I was feeling and I ended up changing my major in the last semester of the Elementary Program. When I changed my major I instantly felt like a weight had lifted off my shoulders. I am saying all of this because once I switched my major I felt like I was doing something better for myself. I didn't want to be trapped in something that I didn't want to do. I definitely wouldn't have performed the best if I didn't like it. Now, I have an internship in social media and digital marketing and I love it so much. I was able to do this because I became self-aware and I realized how I really felt about what I was doing. 

    I have learned that I need to quit treating my emotions as good or bad. I didn’t realize that I did it until I learned more about it. For example, when I am sad I always treat that as a bad thing, and I don’t need to be sad. Which is not the case at all. It is healthy and perfectly okay to be sad because that's what helps me exist. Another thing I learned about myself is that I multitask way too much. Multitasking stops me from having a well-managed life, and stopping multitasking is one of the 5 keys to strengthening my focus. I believe that I have some days where I am very self-aware and some days I’m just out of it. There are definitely some areas though that I need to focus on to make myself more self-aware. I really need to work on providing motivation for myself to become more self-aware. Knowing what I want to do and need to do is so important, and I am going to work on motivating myself more by setting new goals for myself and surrounding myself with positive people. 

    Self-regulation is a useful skill that helps individuals cope with certain emotional behaviors and physical movements during stressful situations. In addition, self-regulation helps individuals stay focused and attentive during times of stress. Social management is when someone is very effective at managing relationships while they can understand and control their own emotions and can empathize with the feelings of others. Social Management is important for a leader because a leader should know who and who not to trust and set boundaries for themselves around people who don’t vibe with them. It is also important because it helps the team-building process when a leader and their teammates all get along and trust each other. Having a well-managed life is not only effective but also keeps life interesting. When I don’t plan things, and try to remember when I’m doing something, or need to be at something is so stressful.

    Motivation is also a very important part of Emotional Intelligence and something I need to work on every day. Just getting out of bed is the first thing to having motivation. You have to have the motivation to get out of bed every morning, so you are already one step ahead. Recently since I've been working two jobs and doing school work I have no motivation to do anything else that I'm expected to do. But as a learning leader, it's important to stay motivated just for further goals to accomplish in life and to work towards them. Motivation starts with you and it's important to be self-aware if you have enough motivation in your life. 

    Emotional intelligence is an important component of effective leadership. Having the skills of self-awareness, motivation, self-management, social management, and empathy will make you a more effective leader. Emotional intelligence can help you in your everyday life from your job to just doing a hobby you enjoy doing. Emotional intelligence is a critical component of leadership because it helps leaders to communicate effectively, build strong relationships, manage conflicts, and inspire their teams to achieve their goals. So if you're looking at what to improve and how you can become a better leader, look at your emotional intelligence qualities first. I believe that is the first step to becoming a servant leader and leading effectively.