Emotional intelligence is the ability to be aware of and manage your own emotions and the emotions of others.
What is emotional intelligence?
Emotional intelligence (EQ) is the ability to identify and manage your own emotions, as well as recognize and understand the emotions of others. People with high emotional intelligence are often able to adapt to changing situations and feel in control of their lives.
There are many tests that you can do to determine your emotional intelligence. But it all boils down to how good you are at the following:
- Understanding emotions:
To process and leverage emotions you must first be able to identify them in others and yourself. Clear thinking is required to recognize both verbal as well as non-verbal cues.
- Reasoning with emotions:
Not everything is black and white. It is important to be able and able to reason with emotions (while maintaining control over your emotions).
- Understanding emotions:
It’s not enough just to recognize emotions. You must also be able to understand how emotions impact decisions and how they affect the business.
- Managing emotions:
Finally, you need to manage emotions. These are the two most critical factors in the entire equation.
High emotional intelligence is essential for entrepreneurs. It allows you to be a better leader and manager. It not only impacts how you manage yourself but also makes it easier to relate to your employees, business partners, and clients in a better way.
When I think about high emotional intelligence business leaders, I think of Dan Price CEO of Gravity Payments. After raising the minimum salary to $70,000 in 2015, he was recognized.
He also reduced his own wages from $1.1million to $70,000. A generous work policy was also adopted by him. It states, “If your work gets done, it’s all that matters.” All of these decisions are heavily rooted in high levels of emotional intelligence.
Price is able to discern the needs and wants of his employees, and then he uses that information to guide his management style. The same is possible for you.
What is Emotional Intelligence in Business?
These are the four ways that emotional intelligence can make you a better entrepreneur.
1. Self-Awareness
Being self-aware is essential to any entrepreneurial endeavor. This helps you to be more efficient with your time and how you use your resources. You can also identify your weaknesses so you can find people who will complement your skills.
2. Building relationships
High levels of emotional intelligence enable people to build relationships with others and establish solid connections within their industry.
This is a clear advantage, as your network is your net value. It is important to use your energy and time wisely. Quality of connections is more important than quantity when it comes to networking. This is important to remember (and not overextend yourself).
3. Communication
Communication doesn’t have to be what they say. How you communicate is important in many cases. You can learn to communicate effectively with people and get them to take action.
See more: 7 Benefits of Self-Love
4. Success
Entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk spends much of his book #AskGaryVee discussing the importance and benefits of emotional intelligence.
He says this: “If I could make a formula that is based on gratitude, empathy and self-awareness, it would be my billion-dollar coconut water idea.”
It doesn’t matter if you have a brilliant idea. But if your emotional intelligence is lacking, your idea won’t work as well.
You can also take a simple idea and make it a seven-, eight, or nine-figure business if you add emotional intelligence to it. It is that crucial.
Emotional intelligence is a key ingredient in being an entrepreneur. Although not all entrepreneurs have high emotional intelligence, those who do tend to be more successful.
You can improve your emotional intelligence by actively working on it. This will be a huge benefit to you and your family.
