THE EQ CONCEPT (DR
DALIP SINGH)
Dalip Singh (2003)
defines Emotional intelligence as “the ability of an individual to
appropriately and successfully respond to a vast variety of emotional stimuli
being elicited from the inner self and immediate environment. Emotional
intelligence constitutes three psychological dimensions—emotional
competency,emotional maturity and emotional sensitivity—which motivate an
individual to recognize truthfully,
interpret honestly and handle tactfully the dynamics of human behaviour.
The three emotional
factors are described below in detail:
1. Emotional Competency:The managers have to learn the following emotional
competencies which havebeen identified after a detailed research on Indian
industry. These competencies are:
Tackling emotional upsets:This means tackling frustrations, conflicts, inferiority
complexes etc. It also means avoiding emotional exhaustion such as stress,
burnout and negativity of emotions. People in conflict are generally locked into
a self‐perpetuating emotional spiral in which the genesis of the
conflict is usually not clear. Finding ways to deal with anger, fear, anxiety
and sadness are essential signs of15emotional competencies. For example, learning how to manage
yourself when upset is one such asset.Being able to channelize emotions to a
positive end is another key skill to raise your EQ. Under Indian conditions,
inferiority complex arising from issues such as knowledge, education,
physical characteristics, religion, region, caste, sex and creed are not uncommon.
Inferiority complex is also reflected in the low self‐esteem, negative feelings and low opinion about oneself.
Research shows that a high level of emotional intelligence helps overcome
inferiority complex
High self‐esteem:Many managers often give themselves a negative feedback.
On the other hand, there are those who believe that optimism can be a useful
asset. Research done in Indian organizations has indicated that leaders should
learn to be optimistic to boost their self‐esteem. High self‐esteem gives a manager realistic confidence to perceive
challenges as learning opportunities. As a result, one constantly grows and
improves. High self‐esteem is the
greatest gift a manager can give to himself. Unfortunately,most of us suffer
from a wounded self‐esteem which often
leads to a psychological invalidation of their self. The managers should learn
to acquire high self‐esteem which is
reflected in the feelings of confidence and competence.
Tactful response to emotional stimuli:This means being creative and practical towards
emotional prompts elicited from the inner self and the immediate environment. An
emotionally intelligent manager will try to manipulate the ongoing environment
to his/her advantage by reacting appropriately.
Handling egoism:Egoism is based on the view that
fundamental motive behind all emotional conduct is self‐interest. A self‐centered manager
talks incessantly of himself and his doings and is interested in only his own
concerns. Tackling ego problems without hurting one’s self‐esteem is the key to success. An ‘I am never wrong’
attitude may be harmful in many situations. One should not be an egoist. It is
the root cause of problems in interpersonal relations. Taking the initiative to
resume dialogue and breaking the ice in situations where both parties have stuck
to their original stand and have refused to budge is a sign of emotional
competency.
II. Emotional Maturity:Emotional maturity is reflected in the behavioral
pattern exhibited by the managers while dealing with the inner self and the
immediate environment. Some of the important aspects of emotional maturity are:
Self‐awareness:One of the basic emotional skills is the ability to recognize different feelings emanating from within and giving a name to them.
Many managers are in fact unable to recognize their feelings and are inclined to
deny them. Knowing one’s own emotional strength and weaknesses is of great
help.For instance, the inner self constantly responds to the outer world. It is
generally believed that if one cannot interpret one’s own emotions, he or she
may not be able to do the same for others. This will reduce your effectiveness
in handling interpersonal relationships.
Developing others:Recognizing the value of the contribution of others and encouraging
their participation can often do good. Appreciating other’s point of view and
involving them actively in a project are signs of an emotionally intelligent
manager. Unfortunately, we in India seem to lack this natural gift.
Delaying gratification:The managers may learn to delay the gratification of
reacting to a particular situation instantaneously. This means to gain time to
judge whether what is about to be said or done in the heat of the moment is the
best course of action by expressing personal concern without anger or passivity,
a manager may come out a winner. A manager must have loads of patience and must
not allow emotions to get the upper hand. Delaying gratification ‘is doing
right’ and has far‐reaching16consequences
in attaining success in personal and professional life.
Adaptability and flexibility:Knowing how and when to take the lead and when to follow
are both essential emotional skills. The managers should know when to be
aggressive and when to be passive. He should also know that there is a time to
confront, withdraw, speak and remain silent. However, to do so,the manager has
to control powerful negative tendencies such as jealousy, manipulation and the
feeling of self‐grandeur.
III. Emotional Sensitivity:In the psychological sense, sensitivity means the
characteristic of being peculiarly sensitive and judge the threshold for various
types of stimulation, evoking sensations, feelings and emotions. The managers
may seek to evolve the following in their personality:
Understanding threshold of emotional
arousal:The managers should be in a position to respond to stimuli
of low intensity. Equally important is the ability to be aware of the
relationship between feelings and actions. What, for instance, triggered a
particular emotion? What was the feeling behind a specification? These are
questions that managers ought to ask themselves to understand the intensity of emotions better.
Empathy:Empathy is the ability to sense how other people feel. It
is the ability to share and accept another person’s feelings. In India, we tend
to call it the quality of humanness. It is the ability to listen to others
without getting carried away by personal emotions. It is necessary to be able
to distinguish between what others do or say, and one’s own personal reactions
and judgments.
Improving inter‐personal relations:Developing quality inter‐relationships has a
positive effect on all the parties. Positive inter‐personal
relations are a sure sign of success. The key to good inter‐personal relations is to believe in the basic elements of
trust, confidence and reliance. Research has shown that the primary cause of
failures among executives was their poor inter‐personal
relations at the workplace.A manager with poor inter‐personal relations will experience considerable stress
and anxiety and exhibit lack of trust in others.
Communicability
of emotions:The influence of emotions is contagious and travels
from one person to another instantaneously. A cheerful manager communicates a
message of confidence and self‐respect. In contrast, expressions of negative feeling by a manager communicate a message
of pessimism, bitterness,suspicion and inferiority. Hence, the managers may
learn how to communicate emotions through verbal and non‐verbal mediums.This is all for the day. GOOD NIGHT...
