Emotional Intelligence

2008-12-07T22:08:00.000-08:00

A complete long list of all the human emotions is available at: http://emotion-feeling.blogspot.com/

For everything you wanted to know on building leadership and management, refer Shyam Bhatawdekar’s website: http://shyam.bhatawdekar.com

(Refer our High Quality Management Encyclopedia “Management Universe” at: http://management-universe.blogspot.com/)Definitions Pertaining to Emotional Intelligence (EI)

Emotional intelligence is the intelligence or ability to sense, comprehend and use various aspects of emotions as a source of information for being more effective in various walks of life.
Emotional intelligence (EI) provides more fully formed- wider and deeper understanding of self and others.
With EI, quality of actions, particularly under adverse conditions, is likely to improve.
EI means being able to positively control the emotional impulses, to read others' inner feelings and to manage the relationships effectively.
EI is a skill which if you learn, you can handle any emotion appropriately. Aristotle put the same thing in this way- if you decide to get angry, you should have the ability to get angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for right purpose and in the right way.
EI, thus, is the capacity of recognizing the feelings/emotions of the self and those of others for effectively handling the decisions, actions and relationships.

Will You Like to Work for People with IQ Lower Than Yours?
The reply to this question, in most circumstances, by most people is: "No". However, a large number of people with high IQ are seen working under the people having IQ lower than their IQ. Why? Because such people with higher IQ have lower EQ (emotional quotient) or emotional intelligence (EI) than those people under whom they have to work.
Along with high IQ, for effectiveness and success in various aspects of life, one has to have high EQ (EI).
Advantages of Better Emotional Intelligence
EI can make difference in the following critical success factors (CSFs) in professional, organizational, home and social fronts:

Decision making
Leadership
Communication
Relationships
Team work
Creativity and innovation
Strategic and technological breakthroughs
Customer loyalty

Emotion: Definitions

Agitation or disturbance of mind, excited mental state, feeling, passion
Associated distinctive thoughts, psychological and physiological states and inclinations towards certain actions
The root of the word emotion is the Latin verb motere with prefix e, meaning to move away. Thus, all emotions are impulses to act.

Inventory of Some Primary Emotions

Anger
Disgust
Enjoyment
Fear
Love
Sadness
Shame
Surprise

You can add many more and their derivatives. Try doing it yourself and put them as your comments in the comments box on this page.
Hierarchy of Emotions

Emotion
Mood
Temperament
Disorder

People Without Feelings or Emotions
They are called alexithymics: down with alexithymia. These kind of people lack words for their feelings, cannot express their emotions.
a- lacking, lexis- for words, thymos- for emotions.
No anger, no joy, no sadness etc. They are colorless and boring
Emotional Short Circuit

We see something and that signal first goes from the retina to the thalamus. There it is translated into brain's language.
Most of the message then goes to the visual cortex. It is analyzed there, assessed for meaning and appropriate response. If that response is emotional, a signal goes to amygdala to activate the emotional centers.
But a small portion of the original signal goes straight from the thalamus to the amygdala in a quicker transmission. That allows a faster (though a less precise) response. Thus, the amygdala can trigger an emotional response before the cortical centers have fully understood what is really happening. For example: an immediate fight or flight response.
Therefore, we should allow adequate time to allow the cortical centers to activate for a much better understanding of situation(s). We will then be able to find a much better solutions.

Domains of Emotional Intelligence

Recognizing and understanding your own emotions
Managing those (your) emotions
Self motivation
Recognizing and understanding others' emotions
Managing relationships

Actions Triggered by Emotions in an Emotionally Intelligent Person

Listening
Considering
Clarifying
Remembering
Valuing
Empathizing
Standing up (getting ready to act)
Stepping forward (taking action)
Changing
Motivating
Learning
Innovating

Influence Without Authority

People who are more emotionally intelligent have influence without authority.
When a person discovers what is right and pursues it, he is in a position to uncover the required resources and apply them.
With resources in view now, he does not complain and moves towards seeking objectives by using his own sphere of influence though the sphere of constraints is always around everyone of us.