Ever regret an interaction at work?
Or sent an email you were later not proud of?
Sure – we all have.
And we can all improve our Emotional Intelligence to guard against these kinds of things happening more frequently. Following are a few ideas from a recent article in Harvard Business Review on how we can improve our EI.
*Improve your EI Awareness. We are less prone to EI gaffes when we are well rested and in a good mood. It is smart to do a little self-evaluation before heading into an important meeting or interaction to see how you are doing. Take two minutes to do the following:
- Do a quick body scan. How energized do you feel? Are you hungry? If so, get something quick to eat before your meeting. Are you relaxed?
- Check the “traffic level” of your brain. How many issues are you concerned about at the same time as you are thinking about this meeting? If your thoughts were a car, is your mind a busy highway or country road? Try to set all thoughts, except those about your meeting, aside.
- Notice your emotions. Are you calm and excited, or – on the other end of the spectrum – angry and upset? Depending on how you feel, take special note of the next step.
*Self-Regulate with your breath. Breathing exercises are the fastest and most effective way to calm your emotions. Close your eyes, breath in to a count of four, and then breath out to a count of eight for a minimum of two minutes. This will help to calm you quickly.
*Be a Positive Energizer. Our interactions with some people leave us drained, while others are uplifting. The latter is what it means to be a Positive Energizer. It’s not about running around with a fake smile and orchestrating cheers. It’s about a focus on sincerely connecting with people with humility, empathy and caring. It can be as simple as really, really listening to someone and making sure they feel heard – with no agendas.
Our relationships with others are very important to getting work done and also to our personal satisfaction at work. Following these exercises will improve your interactions with your team and enhance your overall Mission Impact.
*Ideas for this blog taken from: Seppala, E. “3 Exercises to Boost Your Emotional Intelligence, According to Research” Harvard Business Review online, June 26, 2024.
