Emotional Intelligence is the measure of an individual’s abilities to recognise and manage their emotions, and the emotions of other people, both individually and in groups. It encompasses both intrapersonal and interpersonal skills.

Emotional intelligence has been proven to have a direct relationship with more effective performance in leaders, and measurable business results. Studies have also revealed that in terms of competencies, EQ proved to be twice as important as cognitive skills [such as big picture thinking] and technical skills [such as business planning and finance]. And, the higher the level of role – the more important it becomes.

A lack of emotional intelligence has been attributed to the job failure of otherwise highly intelligent and highly skilled executives.

Core Components of Emotional Intelligence

EQ has six core components:

1. Mindfulness – the ability to be aware of events, thoughts and emotions, without becoming emotionally engaged
2. Self Awareness – being about to recognise and understand your moods, emotions and drives of both yourself and their effect on others.
3. Self Regulation – being about to suspend judgement, creating a gap to think before acting, and thereby control or redirect disruptive impulses and moods
4. Motivation – possessing a deep passion and sense of purpose in the pursuit of your goals and around the work you are doing in a way that energises you and provides resilience to challenges
5. Empathy – the ability to understand the emotional perspective, and reactions, of other people, without taking on those emotions yourself
6. Social Skill – building connections and relationships upon a common ground

Leaders with higher EQ find it easier to form and maintain interpersonal relationships and to ‘fit in’ to group situations. There are also better at understanding their own psychological state, including managing stress effectively and being less likely to suffer from depression.

Insight Mastery’s NeuroEQ Leadership program has has updated the understanding and application of these competencies. Using the latest advances in neuroscience, we have aggregated them into six modules:

1. Introduction to EQ – includes EQ and the brain, emotional capital and economies, EQ competencies and how EQ impacts performance
2. Self Awareness – includes mindfulness, EQ self-assessment, emotional awareness, and The Gap
3. Self Mastery – includes self-confidence, self-motivation, resilience and self-regulation
4. Social Awareness – includes empathy and compassion
5. Social Mastery – includes influence, communication, conflict management, change and relationships
6. Conscious Leadership – how EQ underpins the insight needed to leverage the waves of change emerging with cognitive technology.

For more details on Insight Mastery programs.