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Emotional Intelligence: Linking Professionalism, Perception and Human Motivation in the Workplace

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.

By Iberkis Faltas
January 11, 2019

Dr. David Caruso: MSCEIT Available at http://www.eiskillsgroup.com/certification-2/

Emotional intelligence is a set of skills that help us to be aware, understand, respond, cope, and be resilient when faced with difficult situations and challenging decisions. When writing about emotional intelligence, I am not suggesting that a person must be “sentimentally-solvent” to be emotionally intelligent. In fact, the conceptualization of sentiment and emotional intelligence are two completely different entities, each with a different purpose, interest, and a quite unique influence in human behavior, especially when decision-making, problem-solving, working with cross-functional teams, or simply working in an environment floated with different personalities and multiculturalism is involved. In social and behavioral science, emotional intelligence helps individuals to explore the cognitive and non-cognitive skills and abilities associated with a person’s behavioral responses to challenging, thought-provoking situations. For example, psychologists Reuven Bar-On, David Caruso, John Mayer, Peter Salovey, and Daniel Goleman, among many others have agreed that emotional intelligence focused on behavioral competencies that directly impact our workplace and social environment.

Emotional intelligence is a behavioral system that focuses on the following skills and abilities: Emotional Self-Control, Stress-Management, Self-Perception, Self-Expression, Interpersonal, Decision-Making, Emotional Self-Awareness, Adaptability, Achievement Orientation, Positive Outlooks, Empathy, Organizational Awareness, Influencing Others, Conflict Management, Coaching and Motivating Others, and Workplace Performance. In addition to our emotional intelligence behavioral system, our behavior and performance is also influenced by our mood. Mood is a temporary state of mind, that can, either be suggestive to a particular situation, or disconnected to our current circumstances, but that in general, can have a great impact in our perception, decisions, behavior, relationships, and overall performance.

Emotional Intelligence & Human Motivation

Human motivation is a basic need that can affect our performance, goals, mood, feelings, perception, relationships, among many others drives. In the workplace, a small recognition can make a great difference in some’s performance. But to recognize the good in others, we first need to recognize emotional intelligence in ourselves. For example, knowing yourself is extremely important when leading and managing others. However, learning and knowing those around us is as relevant, meaningful, and significant when guiding, managing, and leading others toward success. In the workplace, learning a person’s name, looking at the person when saying “good morning,” or simply asking “how are you doing today?” can have a positive impact in those we lead. Empathizing with a person’s specific situation make us reachable and approachable. It makes us part of the team. Jim Collins wrote in his book Good to Great, that great leaders have are a “paradoxical blend of humility and professional will” and good to great companies pay attention to managing changes, and motivating people, which are specific skills within the spectrum of emotional intelligence behavioral system that must be enhanced when leading and managing others.

Can you see yourself as other see you?

If you are a member of your organizational leadership chart, if you are a public servant, a person who deals with people with different personalities and cultural backgrounds, or if you work in a high performance challenging job, constantly exposed to dangerous, stressful situations, you must rely on emotional intelligence to create a well-balanced, non-preferential, team-oriented, workplace environment, where equal justice, recognition, motivation, respect, and professional support is available for everyone.

Can you answer the following questions honestly without a panic attack: Do people perceive you as a fear leader? Do people perceive you as an emotionally-balanced leader? Can you control your moods around others? Can you understand your mood changes? Do you let your mood or emotions get on the way of your decisions and actions? Do you think that you can read about how others see you, how other perceive you, without having a heart attack?

Why Emotional Intelligence?

 Research has demonstrated that emotional intelligence has a cognitive unbreakable connection to our ability and skills to perceive and understand our environment, the people in it, and use that information to make important decisions. One of those emotional intelligence competencies is Perception. Perception is an ability that must of us do not think enough about it, but that provides us with the ability to identify information, process it, interpret it, and use that information to make responsible decisions in the workplace. What do you perceive the number below? Is it a six or a nine? That is how perception works. Not everything we see is as we see it. Emotional intelligence helps us to be aware of the facts, putting bias and prejudgments on the side, before making a responsible decision.

As the number above, in the workplace, decisions should never be made solely based on what we perceive because our perception is influenced by our mood, personality, and emotions. This is where emotional intelligence can help to process such information, not only as we see it and hear it, but also as we become aware of the facts that will support our decisions. Get on the habit of using emotional intelligence to help you understand the world around you. It truly works.


Author: Dr. Iberkis Faltas [email protected] www.linkedin.com/in/iberkisfaltas

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One Response to Emotional Intelligence: Linking Professionalism, Perception and Human Motivation in the Workplace

  1. Chad M Peritore Reply

    January 12, 2019 at 2:32 pm

    I thought this article was written well and provided a good explanation of emotional intelligence. Thank you for taking the time to research and write about the topic. Additionally, I feel emotional intelligence is an important attribute for leaders to understand in most work environments.

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