Put Emotional Intelligence to Work is 164 pages long and is spread over ten chapters. The authors also included an Emotional Intelligence Quick Assessment and links to other resources and inventories. The chapters include:
- Emotional Intelligence: The New Science of Success
- Emotional Self-Awareness
- Confidence, Self-Esteem, and Peak Performance
- Anatomy of an Emotion
- Cognitive and Behavioral Strategies for Managing Your Emotions
- Achieving Goals and Overcoming Adversity
- Social Awareness
- EI and Workplace Issues
- Emotional Intelligence and Influence
- Putting It All Together–Your EI Plan of Action
Feldman and Mulle focus on a four-domain framework for understanding emotional intelligence. This framework includes self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. Different chapters of the book focus on the different domains.
If you exercise self-awareness and intelligent self-management, you exhibit a higher level of EI. If you are not aware or fail to properly manage your emotions, it can have a disrupting effect on those around you and the organization as a whole.
Throughout the book, the authors use stories to illustrate their points. I was able to see myself in a number of these stories.
In my mind, the most important domains of this framework are self-awareness and self-management. You have to be conscious of the situations that you are in. Additionally, you must be monitoring your emotions. The authors provided a number of techniques to help one tune into emotions and situations.
Once you are aware of your emotions, you should be able to provide an intelligent response to the situation. I say “should” because I just learned that your brain processes your response to emotions in two different areas. One response is more instinctive. It’s good when the world is full of dangers like sabertooth tigers but not always appropriate in the workplace. Unfortunately, this is the response that triggers first. The second response to emotion is more thought out. However, it is slower to develop. This is often a more intelligent response to an emotion. It is therefore good to pause and reflect before responding to an event. In other words, pause and count to ten before responding.
This is something I need to take to heart. I am confident that I am responding too quickly.
At the end of each chapter, the authors provide a number of useful exercises to help develop these different domains.
Another area I need to work on that the authors highlight is empathetic listening. I need to take time to truly listen rather than have solutions distract my thought. Basically, I just need to slow life down. If I slow down, I will provide responses that are more emotionally intelligent.
According to many articles I have recently read, emotional intelligence is critical to success for an individual and an organization. Put Emotional Intelligence to Work will help you become more aware of this importance. If you are a leader in an organization, you should read Put Emotional Intelligence to Work.
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