Success depends on more than IQ or technical knowledge. Emotional Intelligence has been a business term since Daniel Goleman reintroduced the concept in the ‘90s. Studies link emotional intelligence to effective leadership and superior job performance. Emotionally intelligent people are:

– Likely to use emotions to understand people and ideas

– Skilled at using emotions to communicate

– Recognize the role emotional intelligence can play in your career.

Here are five tips to pump up your emotional intelligence!

1. When making decisions, think about the emotional reactions of those who will be affected. This can lead to a better choice or implementation strategy.

2. Use active listening skills to understand others – not just their words but the emotions behind the words.

3. Attend to body language – it’s not just what you say but how you say it.

4. Empathize – once you understand what others are feeling you’ll be better able to relate.

5. Seek feedback. Seeing ourselves from others’ eyes helps us find better ways to communicate, improve the impressions we make, and be more sensitive to others.

Highly emotionally intelligent people soar because of these skills. You can too.

Lakeesha Flowers, Human Resources Specialist