In this new world of work, emotional intelligence is becoming increasingly important as workers are expected to meet the demands of the workplace whilst maintaining a healthy level of personal well-being. This skill is necessary for motivating your employees and getting them to perform well. In this article, we'll explain why emotional intelligence is key to creating inspiring and motivating environments and how managers can inspire their staff.

The importance of reflection in action

Leaders who are genuinely engaged with the needs and aspirations of their staff are able to inspire others through what they do. However, it's vital to reflect on what you do to understand how your leadership affects your team and yourself. Leaders who fail to do so may end up doing more harm than good, leading their teams astray and losing their own authority.

If you're looking to improve the way you work, it's essential to be able to reflect and analyse your actions. Without reflection, you cannot evaluate whether the actions you take are beneficial. It's also important to understand the reasons behind your decisions so that you can make good decisions next time. Emotionally intelligent leaders understand the need for reflection and learn from the mistakes they've made. They are always learning and improving as they reflect on their actions and think about their next steps. When you reflect, you become aware of how you act and what emotions drive your decision-making. It's important to understand your own emotions and behaviours, but it's also helpful to understand the emotions of others.

Know thyself to be successful

The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle is famous for his assertion that "man is the measure of all things" (Aristotle, 1998..). This means that your own emotional intelligence will determine how successful you are in your life.

You may be the best in your field, but if you lack self-awareness, then you won't be able to motivate and inspire others, and your own confidence may suffer. You'll also struggle to understand the feelings of your team members, which will affect your ability to lead effectively.

Being emotionally intelligent enables you to empathise with your team members and help them feel supported. Empathising with your team means you can understand their motivations and identify their needs. Your ability to empathise with others helps you to understand and meet their needs. When you empathise, you're able to put yourself in someone else's shoes and recognise their feelings. It's an essential skill for leaders and managers because it helps them understand their employees' motivations, desires and goals.

Being vulnerable and courageous in your career

On the other hand, some people find it difficult to be vulnerable, whereas others feel they need to appear invulnerable. The ability to be vulnerable and courageous is important to developing emotional intelligence.

Being courageous is about being honest with yourself. It's about putting your true feelings and emotions into words, instead of suppressing them. When you feel emotional pain, it can be hard to speak out and be open about your feelings, but it's a necessity if you want to be successful. Being vulnerable in the workplace means being honest about your limitations, and knowing that your actions may upset people. This can be difficult for leaders and managers who have high self-esteem. They're often confident in their ability to lead effectively, and it's hard for them to admit their weaknesses.

If you're able to be vulnerable and courageous with your emotions, then you'll be able to identify your strengths and weaknesses. It's important to be honest about your successes and failures, because they'll help you to understand how you interact with the world around you.

Communication is key to a company’s success

It's important for employees to communicate with each other in a way that encourages collaboration and improves the organisation's performance. Emotional intelligence helps you to understand how people feel, and communicate your own emotions to them. It's important to know when to speak up, when to keep quiet and when to speak up in confidence.

As a manager, you have the opportunity to communicate with everyone who works for you. You have the ability to influence people, but if you can't communicate effectively, then you won't be able to motivate and inspire them. When you're able to share your emotions, you're able to make emotional connections with others. This helps you to build relationships and create trust. When people trust you, they're more likely to take your advice and follow your instructions.

It's also important for leaders to be able to listen effectively, so that they can understand what their employees are trying to achieve, and what the obstacles are that could stop them from achieving their goals.

Being emotionally intelligent means that you understand how to communicate effectively with others, because you're aware of the emotions driving your actions.

The best way to inspire others: Walk the talk

Developing emotional intelligence is one of the most important skills that leaders can learn, and it will help you to lead by example. You need to show your employees that you're not perfect, and that you're willing to make mistakes in the workplace. You can't inspire others if you're not willing to show your emotions. Emotional intelligence helps you to be honest, vulnerable and courageous, and to communicate effectively with your employees.

So how are worldwide leaders working on their emotional intelligence?

As you're learning about the skills that make up emotional intelligence, it's important that you understand the different types of skills involved. Emotional intelligence isn't just about being empathetic and being able to understand other people's emotions. There are different skills that make up emotional intelligence, and you have to work on all of them to develop them effectively. Remember, emotional intelligence is not a one-time lesson, you need to keep the momentum of reflection and practising.

By using an innovative tool that is scientifically validated and used by NASA from the 1970s - Process Communication ModelⓇ. It enables people to understand how and why people communicate, by:

• Observe and understand your own behavior
• Understand the behaviour of others and know how to communicate with them effectively
• Analyze conflict and miscommunication and know how to find resolution and a return to effective communication

In Vietnam, TYDE is the first consulting firm that is certified to apply PCM into training and coaching programs. To find the best fit for your needs, check this page out!

If you're able to develop emotional intelligence, then you'll be able to make real-life connections with the people around you, which will lead to the development of lasting relationships. As long as you keep working on your emotional intelligence, then you'll always be able to inspire others to do their best.