How to develop emotional intelligence

Dr. Alaa Jarad

Garad@alaagarad.com

14 March 2023

In a study conducted by researchers at Harvard University, it was found that 95% of the participants gave themselves high scores in self-awareness, however, using more empirical measures of self-awareness, and asking those around the respondents, the study found that only 10-15% of the group were really self-aware. This large gap in self-perception suggests that most of us are not fully self-conscious and, worse, managers and CEOs may be the least self-conscious at all. Writing in the Harvard Business Review, Yurich wrote that the more power a person has, the more likely they are to be overconfident in how much they know themselves. Accepting criticism, feedback, and receiving honest and constructive feedback is key to self-awareness, and therefore it is important to be open to hearing the opinion of others.

Therefore, it is important to be open to receiving criticism or feedback with open arms, and even to request and seek it, especially from objective people whose opinion we trust, and each of us must have a mentor, as this greatly helps in our understanding of ourselves and our understanding of what is going on around us, and there are many reliable sources that can be used to help us understand ourselves, whether using psychological measures, reading, watching video materials on YouTube or TED Portal, and there are great courses, most of which are free, on Coursera and YudeMay.

Harvard research summarizes three steps towards improving emotional intelligence, as the development of emotional intelligence is an ongoing process, a journey that varies from person to person, and the research suggests first recognizing and naming your feelings, what feelings are you feeling now? How can it be described? Bib, worried, anticipated? When you're in a stressful situation, what emotions usually arise? How do you want to respond in these situations? Can you pause to reflect, reflect and reconsider your response? Taking time to name and perceive your emotions and tone down your reaction is an essential step toward emotional intelligence. Review your self-perception by asking your manager, colleagues, friends, or family how they rate your emotional intelligence. For example, ask them how you respond to difficult situations, how adaptable or empathetic you are, and how well you handle conflict. Studies show that reading literature, especially reading stories, international novels and biographies of influential figures, can improve the level of individual learning, and reading stories from the perspectives of others helps us gain insight into their ideas, motives and actions, and may help promote social awareness.


Developing emotional intelligence is an ongoing process, and it's a journey that varies from person to person.

Garad@alaagarad.com

@Alaa_Garad

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Garad@alaagarad.com