Emotional Intelligence Can Make or Break Your Career

Emotional Intelligence (EQ) may just make or break your career. You earned that prestigious MBA, sowed the deals, and mastered your job but did you master yourself? If your not sure you may want to take a look at your emotional talent to see if it can take you to the next level of performance. 

Having the right skills is important but may not be the deciding factor in long term success. It is an ability to handle the day-in and day-out emotional aspects of work and life. This is not easy as multiple pressures and issues seem to attract and distract our attention raising stress levels.

That isn't always easy as life is messy and comes with many ups and downs. The extent of our peaks and valleys and how we deal with them defines our emotional resilience. At times we are better than at others. There may be a few days that we feel like we are at our brink.

Emotional intelligence influences our ability to interact effectively with others and understand the origins of our emotions. Work is naturally stressful and the barrage of other peoples needs and issues mixed with a fast paced environment can be overwhelming to most.

Emotional intelligence is a decisive factor in career success. In a complex global business environment emotional intelligence is needed among managers that work at multinational companies. Where emotional intelligence is lacking, or unable to be developed, is a hole the skill battery of an organization.

Organizations often focus on the hard and easily measured skills that are based in results or job function. They ignore those soft skills that require something more subtle out of people. Winning at all costs without being able to develop quality relationships can be disasterous to turn over rates in the future.

Emotional intelligence is so important it can even be used as a predictor of the ability to communicate with others domestically and internationally (Fall, et. al. 2013). According to their work emotionality, sociability, and self-control make their way into higher emotional intelligence.

People that score low on emotional intelligence are also unlikely to be able to understand the nuances of international relationships. They are limited by their own perception and ability to control their emotions. People of different cultural backgrounds often look for these cues to determine intention.

The same process occurs within the same culture as it does internationally. The use of verbal and non-verbal expressions creates the total message. In international relationships the subtle nature of these impressions can change the dynamics of the relationship.

Emotional intelligence can be developed and enhanced through practice and persistence. Taking a few moments to analyze a situation critically before responding can do wonders. At times emotions can be more of a knee jerk response. If you do happen to master emotional intelligence and match your business skills to it you will have an unbeatable combination.

Fall, et. al. (2013). Intercultural communication apprehension and emotional intelligence in higher education: preparing business students for career success. Business Communication Quarterly, 76 (4).

Confidence in the Economy Grows as Holidays Near

The holiday season is nearly upon us and people are a little more optimistic about the economy then they were just a few months ago. People are slowly starting to feel good about their future prospects and the potential for their incomes. According to the Gallop Poll a -6 is a significant improvement over the -20’s experienced throughout the year. 

Economic confidence is a beneficial metric but isn’t a very conclusive one. Much of economic confidence is based in how people perceive the environment and their opportunities within it. New reports and the general impressions of reports does have an impact on economic impression (Barsky & Sims, 2012). Some have called positive economic beliefs part of our animal spirits. 

Animal spirits are more psychological images and impressions than objective data. If you buy more on days when you feel good than on days you don’t then this is your animal spirits coming to play. What we read and how we read the environment will naturally have some impact on our animal spirits. 

This perspective can add up to a lot over time. Cultural-ecological perspective across 45 countries has an impact on economic development (Chou & Loafsson, 2011). How we perceive our environment has an impact but that impact is not a one for one economic tally. Simply feeling confident about the environment may encourage people to spend more but may not impact long term growth. 

Positive consumer beliefs may be part of the holiday season or could a growing trend. As consumers improve their outlook for their own prospects they will naturally spend more over the holiday season. Hopefully this translates into greater sales and hiring throughout the year. Sometimes the economy has a self-fulfilling prophecy spirit where positive impression leads to sales and activity.

Read the Gallop Poll

Barsky, R. & Sims, E. (2012). Information, animal spirits, and the meaning of innovations in consumer confidence. American Economic Review, 102 (4). 

Chou, L. & Olafsson, S. (2011). Confidence as an economic indicator: a cultural-ecology perspective. Brussels Economic Review, 54 (4).

E-Learning Banishes Snow Days from Indiana Schools

Shelby County school district in Indiana has decided to experiment with their educational approach and simply just rid themselves of snow days. The ancient practice of getting days off of school and playing in the snow are almost a relic of the past. Snow days are now virtual commuting days for lesson plans, education, and homework assignments. 

Children are issued a device that has all of the assignments loaded on them if it looks like they are going to have a snow day. Most students simply work online and can chat with their teachers and complete their work. When they don’t have Internet access they still have the assignments on the device to complete and can upload them when they return to school the next day.

Snow days become great days to focus on those skills that they did not do so well in the previous year but will be tested on this year as well. It is hoped that the devices ensure that students cut down on the amount of snow days as well as raise their overall test scores for the district. 

Education must continue to adapt and develop based upon the changing of the times. When schools first started they worked around the farming and harvest times. As the decades passed the automobile brought with it bussing and larger school districts. Eventually, we made it into the present time when online education and year-round learning are possible. 

There will be many school districts looking at Shelby County Schools to see if there is something beneficial in the model.  

Information and Lessons Here