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Emotional Intelligence Reflection Paper

Sainath Reddy Koukuntla

Lewis University

BSAD 51000 : Critical Thinking and Communication

Dr. Sheila Boysen

January 30, 2023

In partial fulfillment of

BSAD 51000

January 30, 2023

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What is Emotional Intelligence? How is EQ different than IQ?

Emotional intelligence (EQ) refers to the ability to recognize, understand, and manage

one’s own emotions as well as the emotions of others. It is the ability to identify, assess, and

control the emotions of oneself, of others and of groups. It is the ability to use emotions and

emotional knowledge to enhance thought and to guide decision making. “Emotional

intelligence is a skill that anyone who owns it, tries to control their life with self-awareness

and improve it using self-management, and perceives its effects through sympathy or by

managing their relations to improve theirs or others’ moral” (Shehu & Kida, 2017) EQ is

different from IQ in that IQ measures cognitive intelligence or cognitive abilities such as

logical reasoning, problem-solving, and verbal and mathematical abilities. EQ, on the other

hand, focuses on emotional abilities such as empathy, self-awareness, and self-regulation.

While IQ is important for a person's intellectual abilities, EQ is important for a person's social

and emotional abilities. For example, a person with high EQ may be better at managing their

own stress and emotions, and at understanding the emotions of others. They may be more

able to communicate effectively with others and build positive relationships. They may be

more able to lead a team effectively and create a positive work environment. In contrast, a

person with low EQ may struggle with managing their own emotions and may have difficulty

understanding and responding to the emotions of others. They may have difficulty building

and maintaining relationships and may struggle in leadership roles. In the workplace, EQ can

be beneficial in many ways. For example, employees with high EQ are more likely to be able

to work well in a team, to handle difficult conversations, to manage stress and to resolve

conflicts. They are also more likely to be successful in leadership roles, as they can

understand and manage the emotions of others, which is important for building trust and

motivating employees. In short, EQ is the ability to understand and manage emotions, while

IQ is a measure of cognitive abilities. EQ is important for success in many aspects of life,

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including personal relationships and professional performance. EQ is a major factor in

determining one's ability to lead and manage others effectively.

Self-Assessment

I got an overall score of 83% on the emotional intelligence test that I took. In this

paper, I'll talk about my strengths and weaknesses in four emotional intelligence domains that

are self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. I'll

also talk about the 18 emotional intelligence competencies. The Emotional Intelligence

Appraisal showed me some things I needed to work on, some of which surprised me. My

social awareness got the highest score, but I needed to work on being self-aware and taking

care of myself. Even though I had some strengths and areas I needed to work on in each

competency, I was able to narrow it down to the fact that my area of expertise was social

awareness.

Self-Awareness: On the emotional intelligence test, I scored 75 % on self-awareness. My

weakness in this domain is that I am unable to fully grasp the role I play in creating the

difficulties I encounter. I may have difficulty recognizing and managing certain negative

emotions, such as anger or anxiety. Additionally, I may not always be aware of the impact

my behavior has on others. I am honest with people and don't try to trick them. To improve

my self-awareness, I will work on being able to take charge of these situations, keep my cool,

and stay calm so I can control my reactions to my triggers. Take the time to check in with

myself and write down my most important beliefs and values. This will help me become

more self-aware. Self-awareness has three competencies, which are emotional self-awareness,

accurate self-assessment, and self-confidence. Emotional self-awareness is a weakness

because I may have difficulty recognizing and managing certain negative emotions, such as

anger or anxiety. Accurate self-assessment is a weakness. Even though I'm good at figuring

out where I need to improve and am open to constructive criticism, I need to learn how to ask
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for help. Self-confidence is a strength because it lets me stand out in a group without feeling

self-conscious.

Self-Management: On the test of emotional intelligence, I got a 75% on how I handle

myself. This score means it's good enough, and with a little work, it could be a strength. I

know how to do some things in this area and am good at them. My strength in this area is that

I can work with other people, even if I don't like the way they do things. I can also keep my

feelings and logic separate. I need to keep working on my patience and ability to understand

when things get heated and emotional. This is something I want to get better at. I will work

on this weakness and improve my strengths by counting to ten, taking deep breaths, and

controlling what I say to myself. These will help me calm down, not make hasty decisions,

and keep my mind on the right things so I can handle my emotions well. In frustrating or

stressful situations, it's important for me to focus on taking deep breaths while I work on

getting better. Self-management has six competencies that are self-control, transparency,

adaptability, achievement, initiative, and optimism. I have a good amount of self-control, but

I could still do better. When I'm in a tough situation, I deal with it head-on. My problem in

this area is that I get angry when I'm under a lot of stress. When things go wrong, I will be

able to stay calmer if I have more self-control. My weakness is that I'm not always

completely honest with other people about how I feel. I'll admit that I've made mistakes, but

it's hard for me to explain what I did wrong. Having the ability to change and adapt to new

situations is one of my strengths. From my work experience, I know how to handle multiple

tasks without losing focus on any of them and still meet deadlines. I think that success is a

strength of mine because I always try to do better and have high standards for myself. Taking

the lead is both a good and a bad thing. I love being in charge of my life and what happens to

me. I don't mind breaking or bending the rules to make things better for myself. My optimism
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is a strength because I always see the "glass half full" in life and in situations. I see setbacks

more as chances to do better next time than as threats.

Social Awareness: On the test of emotional intelligence, I got 95% for being aware of other

people. Social awareness got the best grade from me. The Emotional Intelligence Appraisal

said that I had a very strong "ability to accurately pick up on other people's emotions and

understand what was really going on." I have always known that I might care too much. I am

usually the friend who people tell their secrets to and who helps them out without getting paid

or getting a license. I've always thought of this as a strength of mine, but I also sometimes

think of it as a weakness. Since I can't seem to get a handle on my own feelings and self-

control, I do think that being too empathic can be hard sometimes. Social awareness has three

competencies, which are empathy, organizational awareness, and service. In this area, I'm

best at having empathy. It is important to learn how to pay more attention to and care about

how other people feel. People of all ages, cultures, and backgrounds get along with me.

Organizational awareness is neither a strength nor a weakness, but I think it's something I

should try to get better at. By making changes, I will be able to understand the political forces

and values at work in the organization. I'm good at service because I'm always there for

people when they need me. At work, I do everything I can to help customers and keep track

of how happy they are to make sure they are getting what they want and need.

Relationship Management: I got an 89% on the relationship management part of the

emotional intelligence test. I did pretty well on this. According to my evaluation, I am aware

of my own emotions and the emotions of others. This helps me communicate clearly and

handle conflicts well. Relationship management is made up of six skills: inspiration,

influence, developing others, being a change catalyst, managing conflicts, and working

together as a team. I can improve my ability to inspire others by doing what I ask of them and

expressing a shared goal. Influence skills also need to be improved. This is something I can
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do by taking a practical approach and being interesting when I talk to groups. Once I'm good

at knowing my strengths, weaknesses, and goals, I'll be able to help other people improve

their skills. I'm a good change catalyst because I can see when something needs to change. I

can get better at this by learning how to get past the things that make it hard to change.

Taking charge of the change will also be helpful. I'm good at dealing with disagreements.

Because I have empathy, it's easy for me to understand how other people feel and see things.

I'm good at working with other people because I'm a team player. When I work in a group, I

work with the team to commit to a group effort by being helpful and working together. I've

had to work with other people many times over the years, which can have good and bad

results. When I'm in a situation that calls for teamwork, I go into it with the mindset that I'll

do my best and pay full attention to others. When many people work together on a plan or

project, the best results come out of it. I do think that teamwork is one of my strengths

because I know how important and helpful it can be to work with others. Some of my projects

would not have been as successful without the ideas of other people.

Uses of Emotional Intelligence (EI) to support people and teams

Emotional intelligence (EI) can be used to support people and teams in a number of

ways.

Active Listening: By actively listening to team members, a leader with high EI can gain

insight into the emotions, thoughts, and concerns of team members. This can help identify

potential issues and resolve them before they become major problems.

Empathy: By showing empathy towards team members, a leader with high EI can create a

more positive and supportive work environment. This can help team members feel valued and

respected, which can in turn lead to higher levels of motivation and engagement.
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Conflict Resolution: By using EI to understand the emotions and perspectives of all parties

involved, a leader can more effectively resolve conflicts and build stronger working

relationships.

Motivating: A leader with high EI can use their understanding of emotions to motivate team

members and create a more positive and productive work environment.

Coaching: A leader with high EI can use their understanding of emotions to coach team

members and help them develop the skills they need to succeed.

Team Building: A leader with high EI can use their understanding of emotions to build

stronger teams by fostering trust, collaboration, and mutual support among team members.

Flexibility: A leader with high EI can be flexible and adaptable in their leadership style,

adjusting their approach to meet the unique needs and emotions of different team members.

Clear Communication: A leader with high EI can use clear and effective communication to

convey information and instructions, while also being able to understand the emotional state

of the team members and adjust the communication accordingly.

Building Trust: A leader with high EI can build trust with team members by being

transparent, honest, and dependable.

Using the four main domains and their 18 competencies is an important part of getting

ready to be a good leader. It will help me improve my emotional intelligence quotient the

most if I keep using the information and strategies from the EI assessment. Emotional

intelligence is reliable when a person becomes more self-aware, improves their self-

management skills, learns to be socially adaptable, and looks at different situations. EI can be

changed and gotten better over time.

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References

Ajai, J. (2019). Emotional intelligence and achievement of students in mathematics: a case

study. International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), 8(5), 1907-1913.

Bradberry, T., & Greaves, J. (2009). Emotional intelligence 2.0. TalentSmart.

Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R. E., & McKee, A. (2013). Primal leadership: unleashing the power

of emotional intelligence. Harvard Business Press.

Shehu, L., & Kida, M. I. (2017). The effect of emotional intelligence on employee’s

performance. Review of Public Administration and Management, 6(12), 22- 32.