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Emotional Intelligence and its Quadrants
Emotional intelligence (also known as emotional quotient or EQ) is the ability to understand, use, and manage your own emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges and defuse conflict. An emotionally intelligent individual is both highly conscious of his or her own emotional states, even negativity—frustration, sadness or something more subtle—and able to identify and manage them. Such people are especially tuned in to the emotions that others experience. It’s understandable that a sensitivity to emotional signals both from within oneself and from one’s social environment that could make one a better friend, parent, leader, or romantic partner. Fortunately, these skills can be honed.
In modern-day and age, emotional intelligence is more valued than any other form of intelligence. For the development of interpersonal relationships between peers, colleagues and even friends and family, this can be a game-changer in establishing clear and meaningful communication. EQ is also very much celebrated for its significant contribution to self-development and professional growth.
The Four Quadrants
Emotional intelligence is all about channelling one’s energy and feelings into exciting and positive pathways through building awareness on emotional logic. Emotional intelligence revolves around four quadrants with which a person’s emotional excellence is determined. These quadrants are:
- Self-awareness
Self-awareness typically reflects interpersonal communication. This quadrant is concerned with how well you understand yourself and your personal psychology since you recognize your own emotions and how they affect your thoughts and behaviour. Self-awareness is the first step towards a better perspective of the vision that you might have for yourself. This includes closely inspecting your own personality and learning styles, mental attitudes and states, strengths and weaknesses, stress levels and spirituality.
- Social Recognition
The social recognition scale reflects your consideration of the feelings and responses of others. This is where empathy plays a crucial role. It is important to maintain sensitivity to the moods and emotions of others because it allows for superior intuition and connection. Often with a classmate or a colleague, communication can seem to be hard if their emotions are opaque to you. Social recognition is that step you take to be attentive, and listen to them with an intention to build effective communication with them. It is how you show your control over the external factors and scenarios. The key element for social recognition is your ‘reaction’ to your surroundings and how you tackle its consequences.
- Self-management
Self-management indicates self-evaluation coupled with self-regulation. ‘Indulgent’ behaviour is what we are trying to avoid here. This quadrant is only concerned with your internal discipline and your ability to achieve personal objectives. In the case of developing inner resolutions, self-management is the key quadrant that can build an achievement-oriented outlook for you. It can give you a direction, as to how to start working on yourself, and bring back the discipline in your life.
- Social Relationship Management
Social relationship management includes interpersonal skills and focuses intelligence on generating results. This social intelligence fosters collaboration and connection to tap the power of synergy. This quadrant pulls together the other 3 dimensions and creates the final product; relationship management. Often if we have the other three dimensions figured out, this will flow more naturally. Relationship management can be used to influence those around us to make a good decision. We can sense others’ reactions to the situation and fine-tune our response to move the interaction in a positive direction. This comes in handy in the case of collaboration, team management and good leadership as well.
Conclusion
Working on your emotional intelligence could well be the most important aspect of your personal development. Research has shown that people with higher levels of emotional intelligence enjoy more satisfying and successful careers and relationships. If you think about ways to enhance your emotional intelligence, you are likely to become more charismatic, interesting and attractive to others, and you will also give your self-esteem a boost.
