Framework of Emotional Intelligence — 5 Competencies
1. Self-Awareness — Enables better understanding of the way emotions affect our performance. Knowing one’s internal states, preferences, resources, and intuitions is important in the workplace for the following reasons:
- Emotional Awareness — Recognizing one’s emotions and their effects and impact on those around us.
- Accurate Self-Assessment – Knowing one’s strengths and limits.
- Self-Confidence — Sureness about one’s self-worth and capabilities.
2. Self-Regulation — Can help us control our temper and reduce stress by allowing us to act in a more positive, action-oriented manner. Enables us to retain our composure and think clearly under pressure. This involves managing one’s internal states, impulses, and resources. This competency is important in the workplace and includes:
- Self-Control — Managing disruptive emotions and impulses.
- Trustworthiness — Maintaining standards of honesty and integrity.
- Conscientiousness — Taking responsibility and being accountable for personal performance.
- Adaptability — Flexibility in handling change.
- Innovation — Being comfortable with an openness to novel ideas, approaches, and new information.
3. Motivation and Self-Expectations — Emotional tendencies that guide or facilitate reaching goals. Harnessing this aspect of EI allows us to enjoy challenges and stimulation and strive for achievement. This is important for the following reasons:
- Achievement Drive — Striving to improve or meet a standard of excellence we impose on ourselves.
- Commitment — Aligning with the goals of the Team or organization.
- Initiative — Readiness to act on opportunities without having to be told.
- Optimism — Persistence in pursuing goals despite obstacles and setbacks.
4. Empathy — This includes intuition as well as understanding other points of view. It allows us to behave openly and honestly based on our awareness of the feelings, needs, and concerns of others and includes:
- Understanding Others — An intuitive sense of others’ feelings and perspectives, and showing an active interest in their concerns and interests.
- Customer Service Orientation — The ability to anticipate, recognize, and meet customer needs.
- People Development — Ability to sense what others need in order to grow, develop, and master their strengths; it is vital for those in leadership roles.
- Leveraging Diversity — Cultivating opportunities through diverse people.
5. Social Skills and Political Acumen — Our adeptness at inducing desirable responses in others. This is important in the workplace for the following reasons:
- Influencing — Using effective tactics and techniques for persuasion and desired results.
- Communication — Sending clear and convincing messages that are understood by others.
- Leadership — Inspiring and guiding groups of people.
- Change Catalyst — Initiating and/or managing change in the workplace.
- Conflict Resolution — Negotiating and resolving disagreements with people.
- Building Bonds — Nurturing relationships for business success.
- Collaboration and Cooperation — Working with co-workers and business partners toward shared goals.
- Team Capabilities — Creating group synergy in pursuing collective goals.
