We all know some incredibly smart people that consistently sabotage their success in business by either alienating or angering the people around them. Regardless of how skilled and/or smart these people are, their success will be limited because they will have failed to develop a network of people who “have their back.” So when the crap hits the fan, and sooner or later it does for everyone – nobody is covering for them.
Business success is no longer about being the smartest person in the room. Furthermore, it is becoming increasingly clear that the secret to success in business is predicated less upon your IQ and more about something else. This “something else” is your EI, that is, your emotional intelligence.
What is emotional intelligence and exactly how can you harness it for professional success?
Although emotional intelligence can be defined and identified by breaking it down into four categories, for our purposes here we can very succinctly define emotional intelligence as the ability to develop healthy relationships. Whether you work as an entrepreneur or within a corporate environment, you must be able to successfully relate to others to create success. Within our highly competitive global marketplace, the ability to create relationships with our subordinates and superiors, with our customers and with our clients is critical to our success – and the success of our team. Emotional intelligence allows us to do just that.
Think about the following example as a way to understand how emotional intelligence is essential for your business success. You have an important presentation to present to your boss tomorrow and your computer crashes today. You call the IT department – and here is where emotional intelligence (EI) comes into play. A few months ago, you developed a healthy relationship with a manager in the IT department – long before you ever thought you would need his/her help. So when you call the IT department – you have an actual person to call – rather than just calling the general “help” desk. You call your buddy down at IT, you tell him/her your dilemma, and because you have a relationship with this person, your problem gets resolved much quicker than it would have otherwise. This is a great demonstration of emotional intelligence – how the ability to develop healthy relationships, is operationalized for success.
So the next time you are in the elevator at work, in line at the cafeteria, walking into the office from the parking lot etc., take a moment and say hello to the person sitting or standing next to you. Start a little chit-chat conversation and then build on this over time. You might be surprised at how this first hello will act as an ice-breaker to the beginning of a wonderful working relationship!
This is one of many simple and yet highly effective ways to use emotional intelligence as a way of creating success in your business and life!
The Place For Relationship Tools For Success In Business and Life,
Dr. Patty Ann
www.relationshiptoolbox.com
www.relationshiptoolbox.com/blog
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