5 Tips to Enhance Your Emotional Intelligence

When I started my journey with HORNE four years ago, my emotional intelligence needed improvement, particularly in the areas of self-awareness and positive outlook. I knew this needed to change; not just for my professional growth, but so I could be a happier and more well-balanced person in all aspects of my life.

Fortunately, HORNE offers a variety of resources meant to aid in the improvement of emotional intelligence. I made it my mission to take advantage of these resources by signing up for the Building Emotional Intelligence workshop, accessing various on-demand educational courses offered through the firm and working directly with my Full Potential coach. As a result, I have been able to add new methods, techniques and tips for handling stress, managing change and improving empathy to my emotional intelligence toolkit.

Even with all these tools under my belt I struggled at first because I limited my idea of what emotional intelligence should look like to solely the professional world. Once I realized that emotional intelligence is not just a task to be checked off a to-do list but rather a lifestyle change to embrace, I was able to make greater strides towards becoming the better team member, leader, friend and mother that I wanted to be.

Here are some of the techniques I have adopted throughout both my personal and professional life that have helped me on my journey toward achieving greater emotional intelligence:

1. Practice Mindfulness – Find something that helps you stay centered throughout the chaotic ups and downs of life and work so that you don’t get swept away by the storm. For me, this means engaging in several minutes of thoughtful meditation a day or taking a daily walk to clear my mind.
2. Be Present – Focus only on what is happening in the here and now. Change is inevitable and by learning to let go of the past and not worry about the future, you can be better equipped to effectively deal with the current tasks at hand.
3. Have compassion – Have compassion not just for your team members but for yourself as well. This may be especially hard for those who hold themselves and others up to high standards. Just understand that we are all only human and, within reason, will make mistakes at times.
4. Rewrite the script – Actively work to change your negative thoughts to positive thoughts. Eventually, the positive thoughts will just come naturally.
5. Slow Your Roll – Gain control over your impulses by taking a few more minutes than usual to think things through before acting or responding—especially if emotion is involved in your first internal response.

Perhaps the biggest thing I have learned is that emotional intelligence is more of a lifelong journey than a destination. In what ways have you worked to grow your own emotional intelligence?