“Knowing more than the others is easy; the difficult thing is to know something better than the others ” Seneca.
Emotional Intelligence emerged in the 1990s as a reaction to the purely cognitive intelligences approach. This approach quickly became popular in the nonscientific press, not least because it delivered a novel and engaging message: you can be successful in life without great academic skills. The published book by Daniel Goleman (1995) quickly became a best-seller, although research on it was still in its infancy.
It is important to point out the role that technical and professional specialization will always play. What is intended is a different way of being intelligent. The reality of the world of work is determined by the ability to work in a team, by our leadership capacity, by the type of relationship we maintain with ourselves and the way we relate to others and not by the widespread false belief that success depends exclusively on the Intelligence Quotient (IQ).
Emotional Intelligence is a way of interacting with the world, which takes feelings into account and includes skills such as: impulse control, self-awareness, motivation, enthusiasm, perseverance, empathy, mental agility, etc. They configure character traits such as self-discipline, compassion or being introverted, which are essential for a good and creative social adaptation.
The satisfaction of workers in their work activity must be seen as an end in itself, it has an intrinsic value that is the responsibility of both its leaders and the institution. It is not convenient to adopt utilitarian positions that consider job satisfaction only as one of the necessary factors to achieve higher production or better results, which would be a benefit. It is about directing our efforts, fundamentally, to achieve this satisfaction of the workers.
Taking advantage of emotional intelligence does not imply always being happy or avoiding disturbances, but maintaining balance, knowing how to go through the bad times that life brings us, recognizing and accepting one's own feelings and getting out of those situations without harming or harming others. The use and generalization of emotional intelligence in the directors of an institution, would make it, and therefore their organizations, a more pleasant, less aggressive and more stimulating place. It is not a question of eradicating passions, but of managing them intelligently.
Concepts and characterization of Emotional Intelligence
The intelligence of a person is formed by a set of variables such as attention, observation capacity, memory, learning, social skills, etc., which allow them to face the world on a daily basis. The performance we obtain from our daily activities depends to a great extent on the attention we pay to them, as well as the ability to concentrate that we manifest at all times. But it must be taken into account that, to have an adequate performance, many other functions intervene, such as, for example, a stable emotional state, good psycho-physical health or a normal level of activation.
Intelligence is the ability to assimilate, store, process information and use it to solve problems, something that animals and even computers are also capable of doing. But the human being goes further, developing a capacity to initiate, direct and control our mental operations and all the activities that handle information. We learn, recognize, relate, maintain balance and much more without knowing how we do it. But we also have the ability to integrate these mental activities and make them voluntary, ultimately to control them, as happens with our attention or with learning, which ceases to be automatic as in animals to focus it towards certain desired objectives.
For their part, emotions are the states of mind that manifest great organic activity, which is reflected in external and internal behaviors.
Emotions are a complex combination of physiological, social, and psychological aspects within the same multifaceted situation, as an organic response to the achievement of an objective, a need or a motivation.
The first of the great theorists in the field of intelligence to point out the difference between intellectual and emotional capacities was Gardner, Howard (1983), a Harvard psychologist who proposed a widely disseminated model called "Multiple Intelligence." He acknowledges that he had tendencies to consider intelligence in a cognitive sense, but stated: “When I first wrote about personal intelligences, I was talking about emotion especially in my idea of intrapersonal intelligence, a component that harmonizes emotionally with oneself.. It is the gut signals that one receives that are essential for interpersonal intelligence. But as it has developed in practice, the theory of multiple intelligence has evolved, focusing more on metacognition ”_ that is,in the awareness of one's own mental processes_ "than in the wide spectrum of emotional abilities."
Still, Gardner Howard appreciates just how critical these relationship and emotional skills are to the ups and downs of life. He points out that “many people who have an IQ of 160 work for people whose IQ is 100, if the former has low intrapersonal intelligence and the latter is high. And in the everyday world, no intelligence is more important than the interpersonal. If you do not have it, you will improperly choose who to marry, what job to accept, etc. We must train children in personal intelligence from school "
Emotions are affective states, of sudden expression and of brief appearance, they can according to Goleman, Daniel and others (1996), create a positive or negative impact on our physical, mental and spiritual health. That is why it is important to determine each of these states how they influence us and what their consequences are.
In this way, there are emotions that afflict, which are those that promote or maintain the processes of emotional illness. Among them are;
- Anger or rage, which comprises three stages:
- Distrust of the environment that surrounds the person Feeling of annoyance or anger as such Expressive behavior such as yelling, attacking, breaking or throwing objects.
What is emotional intelligence?
The term "Emotional Intelligence" refers to the ability to recognize our own feelings, the feelings of others, motivate ourselves and properly manage the relationships we have with others and with ourselves. It is a term that summarizes abilities that are very different, although complementary, to academic intelligence, the cognitive capacity measured by the Intelligence Quotient (IQ). In this sense, there are workers with a very high IQ but they suffer from Emotional Intelligence, and for this reason they end up being directed by someone with a lower IQ but who have an emotional intelligence superior to theirs.
Principles of Emotional Intelligence
- Reception: Anything that we incorporate through any of our senses Retention: Corresponds to memory, which includes retention (or capacity to store information) and memory, the ability to access that stored information Analysis: Function that includes recognition of guidelines and information processing. Emission: Any form of communication or creative act, including thought. Control: Function required of all mental and physical functions.
While Salovey, Peter and Mayer, John (1990) continue to outline their theory of emotional intelligence as "the ability to control and regulate the feelings of oneself and of others, and use them as a guide to thought and action", Goleman Daniel (1998), has adapted their model to a version more useful for understanding how these talents influence the world of work, a version that includes the following five basic emotional and social skills.
- Self-awareness or Self-awareness: Ability to know what we are feeling at a given moment and to use our preferences to guide decision-making based on a realistic assessment of our abilities and a well-established sense of confidence in ourselves. o Emotional Control: Manage our emotions so that they facilitate the task we are carrying out and do not interfere with it; be aware of and delay gratification in our pursuit of goals; be able to recover quickly from emotional stress Motivation: Use our deepest preferences to guide us towards our goals, help us take initiatives, be more effective and persevere despite setbacks and frustrations that arise.Realize what people are feeling, be able to put oneself in their place and cultivate the relationship and adjustment with a wide diversity of people.Social Skills or Relationship Management: Managing emotions well in relationships, properly interpreting emotions situations and social networks; interact fluently; use these skills to persuade, direct, negotiate, and resolve disputes; cooperate and work as a team.cooperate and work as a team.cooperate and work as a team.
We can get close to the characteristics that would define emotional intelligence such as the ability to motivate ourselves, persevere in the endeavor despite frustrations, control impulses, defer gratification, know and regulate our moods and emotions, and ability to empathize with others.
Being aware of feelings and trying to transform them go hand in hand, becoming aware of a negative state will lead to the attempt to get rid of it. In the same way, Emotional Intelligence at work, skills, technical and cognitive skills are essential in our personal, family and organizational growth, to fill us with knowledge and learn to handle ourselves in certain and certain circumstances applying and practicing healthy thoughts and feelings like these.:
- Smile: This change in the facial muscles produces a series of biochemical changes that change our emotion and promote health Refocus the problem: Try to find the positive in what happens, remember that difficult situations are a great opportunity to learn and that You have experienced conflict situations in the past and you were able to move on. Practice Exercises: At least 20 continuous minutes daily. Express your Feelings: Are they discomfort or pain by talking with the person involved (with friends or trusted people). Vitality Management: As opening a path in search of Comprehensive Health for the competitive and satisfied professional.
We live in a time when the prospect of the future depends on the ability to control ourselves and manage our relationships very well.
An increasing number of managers complain about the social attitudes of new workers, their inability to accept criticism, since they tend to adopt an extremely hostile and defensive attitude when someone makes the slightest observation about what they are doing, reacting as if it were a personal attack. But this problem does not only affect workers but can also apply to managers themselves
It is useless to be very well prepared and to be a great intellectual promise if we have significant deficiencies in the field of emotional intelligence. I mean that the manager must be prepared in all aspects and therefore it is essential that they have self-esteem, self-awareness, self-control, dedication, empathy, integrity, ability to communicate, expertise to initiate and accept changes.
Management skills
The brightest professionals stand out not only for their personal achievements, but also for their ability to work as a team, to maximize the production of the group, while the professionals who are incapable of facing changes or conflicts are harmful to the organization and society.
Managers must have fundamental skills among which are:
- Ability to listen and to communicate verbally Adaptability and ability to give a creative response to conflicts and obstacles Ability to control oneself, confidence, motivation to work towards certain goals, feeling of wanting to break through and feel proud of those achievements achieved Group and interpersonal effectiveness, cooperation, ability to work in a team and ability to negotiate disagreements Effectiveness within the organization, willingness to actively participate and leadership potential Initiative and creativity to face new challenges Empathy, social awareness and harnessing diversity.
Once a person enters an organization so that they can give their best, do their job well, not only with their talent but also with enthusiasm and commitment, it is necessary to:
- First that he has his work supplies and that he knows what he has to do Second, that he knows how to do it Third that he feels that what he is doing has significant value, that he is contributing and that he is recognized for it affectively.
The Management of Emotional Intelligence means emphasizing the emotional or the rational in interpersonal relationships and not behaving like the primitives giving in to our impulse.
In this way, messages with emotional content, performance evaluation for example, are clouded by an emotional reaction that leaves the conscious brain unable to give a rational response.
Understanding this irrationality of the human brain is essential to know how people relate - or do not relate to each other, a key element for a successful collaboration to motivate, direct or lead human teams.
Let's remember the five basic parameters of Emotional Intelligence:
- Self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, social skills.
Good user service, for example, is an emotional competence based on empathy (it implies the ability to interpret the feelings of others) and, in the same way, trust is a competence based on self-control or on knowing how to control properly our impulses and our emotions. And both customer service and accountability are competencies that can make people excel at their jobs. But the fact of having a high emotional intelligence does not guarantee that the person has learned the emotional competencies that matter most in the world of work, only that they have excellent potential to develop them.
A manager, for example, may be very empathetic and not have learned that they translate into good service to the user, to be aware of their feelings, needs and concerns, or the ability to know how to properly harmonize the efforts of the people who make up their team of work.
Emotional Competence is an acquired ability based on emotional intelligence that results in outstanding job performance.
Within the framework of emotional competence we must contemplate personal competence, which determines the way in which we relate to ourselves, and social competence, which determines the way in which we relate to others.
These competencies are grouped into sets, each of which is based on an underlying capacity for emotional intelligence, abilities that are vital if managers want to learn the competencies necessary to be successful in their jobs. If they lack social skills, for example they will be unable to persuade or inspire others, to lead teams, or to catalyze change. In case you have little self-awareness, for example, you will not be aware of your own weaknesses and consequently you will lack the self-confidence that can only be derived from security in your own strength.
Emotional intelligence in sport
As seen so far, there is a close relationship between the five dimensions of emotional intelligence and emotional competencies, the elements necessary for exemplary performance only require that we be strong in a certain number of them (about six at least on average) and that they are distributed in the five regions of emotional intelligence. This is valid, of course, for the sphere of Physical Culture and Sports. The managers of sports organizations and, of course, sports coaches are in charge of developing and incorporating Emotional Intelligence skills into their day-to-day activities to achieve greater and better results. Mastering and taking them to roads is indeed a challenge for the current sports manager.
The good performance of the sports team with its coach at the helm depends to a great extent on the development of Emotional Intelligence skills seen so far, since its proper functioning increases the performance of the team and the sports organization in general; at the same time that the traffic and rejection of its members decreases. As stated by the analyst Spencer, Lyle (1993) “Wherever there is a good work team, with very clear ideas regarding their objectives, very high performance criteria and a clear sense of what they have to do, hardly the fear and uncertainty that overwhelms others makes a dent, because the members of these teams place their trust more in their colleagues than in the organization or its managers ”.
The coach's ability to get everyone on a team to enjoy what they are doing is at the core of team building and leadership. Sports managers and coaches on such teams tend to share the same kind of motivation. They are competent and impartial when it comes to assigning each person the position or position that best suits their possibilities. They share the needs of their athletes or team workers, becoming caring and collaborative people when the time comes to address conflicts. In this way, they serve the shared goals of the team.
The main reason for the failure of great managers or coaches is their inability to consolidate and lead teams. Teamwork skills have become a key trait in sport and in sports organization and currently, taking into account studies carried out in organizations around the world, they constitute the most valued competence in managers and coaches.
The fundamental challenge they must face is to achieve collaboration between the leaders of the different groups. In this sense, it does not matter whether it is a group of three athletes or an entire department, because the skills of teamwork are put into operation every time people work together to achieve a common goal.
It is about knowing how to use the skills of each of the athletes with intelligence. The coach and manager of a sports organization must be able to:
- Know how to make appropriate decisions in difficult situations and in moments of tension during the competition. Self-control, being able to transmit positivity to their athletes, giving them confidence, motivation to work towards the achievement of victory to feel proud of the achievements achieved.Have developed communication skills and the ability to listen. Develop empathy in both senses coach-athlete and athlete-athlete Initiative and creativity to face new challenges. Social awareness and use of the diversity of athletes' abilities.
Managing feelings to be appropriate is a skill that is based on self-awareness. The ability to calm down, to shake off irritability, anxiety, and excessive melancholy, and to command emotions in service of a goal are essential for paying attention, for achieving self-motivation and mastery, and for fostering creativity. Emotional self-control enables outstanding performance in many ways. Sports managers and coaches who have this ability tend to be much more productive and effective in whatever task they undertake; Knowing in greater depth the characteristics of each athlete or worker and being able to project how to work with him and the group to achieve common goals, is a challenge for today's sports organization.
Bibliography
- Argyris, Chris (1992). "How to overcome organizational barriers." Editorial Díaz de Santos. MadridBello Zoe, Nancy Estévez (2002) "Selection of Human Intelligence Readings", Editorial Félix Varela. Havana Barret, LF and Gross, JJ (2001). Emotionla Intelligence. A process model of emotion representation and regulation. New York: The Guilford Press Gardner, Howard (1987) "Structures of the mind: The theory of multiple intelligences" Economic Cultures Funds. Mexico DF Goleman, Daniel (1996) "La Inteligencia Emocional" Essay Collection. Editorial Kairos.Goleman, Daniel (1998) "The Practice of Emotional Intelligence" Essay Collection. Editorial KairosHernández Echevarría, Tania I (2006) "Preliminary Study of Emotional Intelligence in leaders of the ISCF" Manuel Fajardo "from Havana City.Thesis to opt for the scientific degree of Master in Management and Administration of Physical Culture.Mata Molina, F and others (2000). "Emotionally Intelligent." Calidad Empresarial, Corporación Calidad 2010 Edition, 18-19,3 Sallovey, Peter and John Mayer (1990) "Emotional Intelligence Imaginatiion" Cognition and personality 9Valles, A y Valles, C (2003) "Self-regulation for emotional coping". In Valles, A. and Valles, C. Psychopedagogy of Emotional Intelligence. Valencia: Promolibro.C (2003) “Self-regulation for emotional coping”. In Valles, A. and Valles, C. Psychopedagogy of Emotional Intelligence. Valencia: Promolibro.C (2003) "Self-regulation for emotional coping." In Valles, A. and Valles, C. Psychopedagogy of Emotional Intelligence. Valencia: Promolibro.
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Next, and as a complement, you will be able to learn much more about what emotional intelligence means from the mouth of its greatest prophet, Daniel Goleman.
