Personal growth and emotional intelligence

Emotions are the colours of life. Sartre believed that emotions are strategies through which people give their lives and the world around them meaning, which in turn, determine how successful or miserable they are.

Unmanaged emotions end up taking control of our life, determining its outcome- Claudette Portelli

According to Cooper and Sawaf emotions and – not reason – determine whether people’s abilities will eventually flourish or atrophy. Emotional intelligence seems to be an essential personal asset for self-actualisation.

Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognise and understand emotions and their impact on behaviour and attitudes. People with a high degree of emotional intelligence are in tune with both their own emotions and the emotions of other people with whom they come in contact.

Emotional intelligence involves being sensitive to, and perceptive of, other people’s emotions, and having the ability to intuitively facilitate improved performance. The modern workplace requires open communication, team work, and a mutual respect among employees and their supervisors. Having emotional intelligence allows managers to better understand and motivate people they supervise.

People in tune with their own emotions are much more likely to be able to understand and sync with the emotions that impact the attitudes and behaviours of others. This is why emotional intelligence is so valuable even in the working place.

In an economy characterised by continuous hurdles, the best way to keep a company motivated and stirring growth is to incorporate emotional intelligence into people’s personal and organisational management philosophy.

Managers and business owners cannot lose sight of the fact that their employees are first and foremost people, with real lives and emotions, and that wanting or not wanting, these influence how they think, feel, and act, which inevitably will influence their company’s accomplishments.

Managers who want to be effective leaders in the 21st century cannot fail to acquire a deeper understanding of the concept of emotional intelligence and apply it to their management strategies. In other words, success in the workplace does not only require an elevated know-how of one’s business, but also entails an effective awareness, control and management of one’s own emotions, and those of other people.

Personal growth and self-actualisation are often hindered by a lack of emotional literacy and flexibility, which paralyses one’s capabilities or even geniality. Unmanaged emotions end up taking control of our life, determining its outcome.

A seminar on emotional intelligence will be held at the Hotel Phoenicia in Floriana on April 18. Participants will be shown how to acquire operative knowledge on how to improve emotional intelligence.

They will be guided to acquire a better understanding of their emotions and learn strategies to manage and exploit them to the best. They will also acquire means to recognise and tune in with other people’s emotions to establish healthy relationships which are the key aspect for better teamwork, collaboration and effective outcomes.

For more information on the seminar, one may visit www.wdmalta.com.

Dr Portelli is a strategic coach and trainer at W&D’s Business Advisory Unit.