Emotional Intelligence and its Impact on Workplace Communication

Communication is a core leadership skill, and there is a deep connection between one’s ability to successfully communicate and one’s ability to successfully lead. It’s not surprising, then, that emotional intelligence, or EQ, is a hot topic. Emotional intelligence impacts an executive’s ability to present key corporate issues with integrity and authenticity. It is about being able to listen well, to motivate and inspire others, to control your reactions, and to build strong relationships. Developing your communication skills is essential, and one effective way to improve them is to strengthen emotional intelligence.What Is Emotional Intelligence?Daniel Goleman revolutionized our thinking in regards to leadership and intelligence when he presented his ideas on emotional intelligence in his book, Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ. Emotional intelligence, he says, is “the capacity for recognizing our own feelings and those of others, for motivating ourselves, and for managing emotions well in ourselves and our relationships.”Emotional intelligence is comprised of four attributes: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. Managing your emotions – knowing and understanding your emotions, overcoming stress, increasing your ability to read social cues, understanding what triggers you emotionally, and controlling your reactions – are all measures of emotional intelligence.Emotional Intelligence and CommunicationLearning more about how to manage your emotions is an effective way of improving your communication skills. When business leaders lack emotional intelligence, they become easily flustered by unexpected questions, and more likely to say something that they cannot retract, thus finding themselves in the media spotlight for all the wrong reasons. Leaders with insufficient emotional intelligence tend to react to situations without filtering their responses verbally and tonally; as well, they may exhibit inappropriate body language. Each of these responses can jeopardize relationships with employees, investors, and strategic business partners.Strengthen Emotional Intelligence to Communicate and Lead BetterAs you understand how an increased awareness of emotional response impacts the way in which you communicate, you will be better equipped to moderate your response in various business situations. For example, you may recognize a tendency to speak faster when anxious during a last-minute meeting, you’ll become more able to control your volume when you are angry with a co-worker, or you may learn that you scowl subconsciously when a certain topic is repeatedly raised by employees.Since many emotional reactions happen subconsciously, you may think that they cannot be controlled. Not true. Through training and coaching, you can begin to recognize how to control – and better yet, leverage your emotions – to be more effective with your business and personal communication. Ultimately, improving your emotional intelligence will allow you to be heard more accurately, inspire and motivate others, and augment your overall leadership presence.