What is Emotional Intelligence?
Emotional intelligence (sometimes referred to as EQ) is a challenging concept to define concisely, as many researchers define emotional intelligence differently. Here are three definitions to consider.

• Emotional intelligence is a set of abilities that help people to integrate reason and emotion for superior problem solving in human interactions.
• Emotional intelligence can be defined as the set of skills we use to read, understand, and respond effectively to the emotional signals sent to us by others and by ourselves. These skills allow us to understand and adjust our reactions to events and people, and they enable us to influence others.
• Emotional intelligence encompasses a set of skills that enable us to do many useful things, including:
  • understanding what others want and need.
  • understanding what we want and need.
  • finding ways for our wants and needs to fit with those of others.
  • staying calm under pressure.
  • being the kind of person that others want to be around.
  • using our emotions to energize us for achievement.

Emotional intelligence is a concept that describes factors that set successful leaders apart from other leaders.

Conceptually, EQ can be defined as those skills that people use to manage their own emotions wisely, i.e., use emotions to help them achieve their goals and to manage their interactions with others in ways that maximize the chances of influencing others constructively.

Leaders with high EQ have been shown to add as much as 127% more value to the bottom line of their organization than average leaders. Not compared to bad leaders -- but compared to leaders with average EQ.

Emotional intelligence factors have been shown to enhance leadership effectiveness and company profitability. Of course, EQ cannot substitute for business acumen or technical knowledge. Rather, EQ helps you leverage this knowledge for greater impact. Many executives have found that improvement in EQ has helped them to overcome hidden barriers to their success.

Facets of Emotional Intelligence

Self-Regard: The ability to respect and accept yourself as basically good and to like who you are "warts and all."

Emotional Awareness: The ability to recognize your feelings and to know why your are feeling a certain way.

Assertiveness: The ability to express feelings, beliefs, and thoughts and to defend your rights and without threatening others.

Self-Actualization: The ability to realize your potential capacities through involvement in pursuits that have meaning for you.

Independence: The ability to be self-reliant in your thinking and actions; to be free of emotional dependency

Empathy: The ability to be aware of, to understand, and to care about the feelings of others; to be able to read other people.

Social Responsibility: The ability to be a cooperative, contributing, and constructive member of your social groups.

Interpersonal Relationships: The ability to create and maintain mutually satisfying relationships that are characterized by intimacy and affection.

Problem Solving: The ability to methodically confront, identify and define problems as well as to generate and implement potentially effective solutions.

Reality Testing: The ability to see things as they are, rather than as we wish or fear them to be; to keep feelings from overwhelming our perception of objective facts.

Flexibility: The ability to adjust our emotions, thoughts, and behavior to changing situations.

Stress Tolerance: The ability to handle bad events and stressful situations without "falling apart"; to manage through active and positive coping techniques.

Impulse Control: The ability to resist or delay an impulse or temptation to act; to be able to tolerate frustration without loss of control.

Happiness: The ability to feel satisfied with your present life, to enjoy yourself and others, and to have fun.

Optimism: The ability to look at the brighter side of life and to maintain a positive attitude, even in the face of adversity; to have hope.