Emotional Intelligence in Practice

So why does emotional intelligence really matter? Well in practice it is how you are able to emotionally connect to yourself and to others. Some people learn when they are young to swallow their emotions and/or to lash out at others in anger. While we may learn in a work setting to control these emotions better than in our personal lives, those reactions may come out when we are in stressful situations in an organization.

While it is natural to have emotions the more that we are able to manage the ups and downs of our emotions (through stress management techniques) and/or by understanding our emotions and expressing them in a healthy way (e.g. - open dialogue, crucial conversations, transparency in finding a win-win solution to problems) the better off we are going to be in building strong healthy interpersonal relationships and in making wise decisions even when we are leading with our emotions.

What stress management techniques do you use to manage your emotions? Statistics say getting up every 90 minutes in a work place is good for productivity and efficiency. Do you take walks, listen to music, chat with a coworker? What works for you to manage your emotional state? What could you do to help you in expressing your emotions better - take a communications or conflict resolution class?