By Linky van der Merwe

Most experienced project managers know the importance of Emotional Intelligence.  Emotional Intelligence can be defined as:

“Awareness of one’s own emotions and moods and those of others, especially in managing people.” Source: Collins English Dictionary

Emotional intelligence is often what differentiates great leaders from the people they lead.

Four Pillars

There are generally four pillars associated with Emotional Intelligence, namely:

1. Self awareness – ability to recognize and monitor our thoughts and feelings.
2. Self management – ability to think before acting.
3. Social awareness – being aware of the emotional condition of others.
4. Social skill – ability to manage groups of people (project teams), building social networks, finding common ground with stakeholders, building rapport.

For more information about increasing your emotional intelligence, developing social awareness and improving social skills, read “Why Emotional Intelligence is important for Project Managers, from IIL.

For a good explanation of the value Employers place on Emotional Intelligence and how you can improve your Emotional IQ, see the Infographic below.

Created by the University of Maryland: onlinemba.umd.edu

Find more education infographics on e-Learning Infographics

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