Interpersonal skills have become fundamentally essential to employees’ success in today’s workforce. But, unfortunately, how can we nurture these skills if we do not have the self-esteem to face the challenges of communication when most of the time we speak through the phone, laptop, or zoom meetings?
Emotional intelligence is understanding, using, and managing your emotions positively to communicate effectively, empathize with others, and overcome obstacles. EQ (commonly known) helps you build stronger relationships that boost your success at school and work and help you achieve your career and personal goals.
Emotional intelligence affects the following:
- Self-management
- Self-awareness
- Social awareness
- Relationship management and interpersonal skills
As you can see, EQ is part of our daily lives, but not developing it can cause our emerging professionals to private themselves from achieving their full potential. But where can we implement this essential piece of our human development? Correct. Education.
Today more than ever, we need emotional intelligence courses in our country. We know our education system needs classes where students can learn how to communicate effectively and become leaders in their classrooms, families, and communities.
For example, teaching the Emotion Wheel, adapted from the work of American psychologist Robert Plutchik, helps describe the over 30,000 distinct feelings a human can experience. It is incredible to see how talking about emotional development, defining how you feel, and how you can manage those emotions into assertive actions can positively impact our young students.
These young students that will become graduates and surely will succeed in the industry if they know how to relate with their co-workers. So, let’s translate this concept to the workforce.
Businesses are turning away from “perfect” candidates who look good on paper to applicants they can trust to be reliable, empathetic change agents.
Research reveals that 74% of executives believe emotional intelligence is becoming a “must-have” skill.
Employees with high emotional intelligence are capable of managing their workflow but also better understand the customer experience processes of the organization and become more active participants in improving such processes.
It’s time for schools to address the need of workforce trends and more importantly, what the upcoming entrepreneurs will take advantage of the most if courses about emotional intelligence are presented to them.
