How Emotional Intelligence Can Help Survive the Age of Dystopia?

90% of top performers have emotional intelligence that is higher than average. It has always been crucial to comprehend our coworkers’ emotional experiences because how we feel affects how we work. However, it is currently of the utmost relevance as IT leaders and their companies continue to operate in a dystopian age.
“It is nearly impractical to really understand the variety of strong feelings someone is going through.” According to Suzanne Bates, CEO of Bates Communications, “the age of dystopia is having a tremendous physical, emotional, and mental health impact on individuals.” Even with the help of videoconferencing, it is nearly hard for leaders to fully understand the wide spectrum of powerful emotions that people are going through. This in turn affects the company’s productivity, engagement, and loyalty.

Emotional Intelligence in the Crisis

Crucial leadership talent is being able to control your emotional reactions to crises, including those that members of your team may have as well as your own ups and downs. “Today, there is a great deal of anxiety and uncertainty in the world. According to Dr Steven J. Stein, creator and executive chairman of Multi-Health Systems, which creates and offers Emotional Quotient (EQ) tests, we have been hit with a dystopian age, unlike anything anyone has ever experienced. As we navigate these unfamiliar territories, it’s critical to be conscious of and in control of our own emotions. Only 10-15% of people genuinely are self-aware, compared to 95% who believe they are. The ten methods listed below can be useful:

1. Recognize Variable Fatigue

The emotional impact doesn’t go away just because an organization has been dealing with these issues for a while. In fact, emotional reactions might even get worse. We’re all becoming emotionally overburdened during extremely stressful periods, like those that we’re all currently experiencing. As a result of the pandemic, all of us are going through a lot of change, and Janelle Lynn, who runs the Lynn Leadership Group and helps leaders build trusting relationships through EI, says that everyone is going through a lot of change fatigue right now.
“While we all appeared to do a fantastic job at first, staying positive and focusing on doing what is necessary to keep each other safe, it’s very evident now that folks are just tired of the stress and difficulties of being apart,” the author writes.

2. Keep An Eye On Your Emotions

Acknowledging and accepting emotions is a useful technique. Although you may not like what is happening, Hasson argues that you can quiet your emotional thinking and use your reasoning and thinking side of the brain by acknowledging and accepting that you are afraid, concerned, or agitated. You can also learn to control your thoughts by figuring out what’s really worrying you, coming up with solutions, imagining a successful outcome, or talking to someone about it.

3. Pay Attention

Leaders that are wise will prioritize listening. Different people handle stress in different ways. Stress affects people differently, according to Dr Stein. It’s crucial to listen carefully and exercise more patience than normal. Sometimes all you have to do is listen to them speak. Additionally, you’ll have a deeper understanding of what can truly upset them.

4. Give Users Some Power

One of the more challenging experiences for people in crisis is losing control. Asking a team for advice on how to complete a Friday deliverable can be a better option than establishing a Friday deadline. This change in tone may provide folks who are feeling out of control some degree of influence over their work, according to Lynn.

5. Count To Ten

According to a study by Bates Communications, calmness is the most important of the 15 traits that matter most in a crisis. “And yet, it is the characteristic that most leaders rate the lowest.” In polls of 14,000 leaders, Bates notes, “we found that hurried, hurried, and unable to establish a place of psychological safety, leaders do not receive unpleasant news that they need to know, especially in trying circumstances. Leaders who explode or make people feel awful about discussing concerns are avoided by followers.
One of the best strategies for controlling in-the-moment emotional reactions is the tried-and-true ten-second pause (when upset or nervous). Additionally, Bates advises against responding while you’re upset or nervous. “Instead, purchase time by requesting time to consider it and reply to them.”

7. Do Not Rush

In a crisis, impulse has a powerful pull. Many business people are very action-oriented. It’s simple to assume you need to quickly check the box and move on when a plethora of issues are coming at you, but this is not always the best course of action. Bates advises giving yourself time to get things right the first time.
By doing this, you’ll lessen the chance of doing something you’ll have to undo or amend later. In the flurry of activity, you can’t afford to make poor choices, and you need to lead by example for others. You’ll think more clearly and calmly and have greater control over the situation if you let the emotions of the moment pass.

8. Look for heroes

Utilize the assistance of those team members who appear to be thriving in this situation. “You can access this energy as a leader. These folks can serve as representatives for other team members, checking in to see how everyone is doing and expressing concern, according to Lynn. “Let the heroes emerge from those who are adjusting well.”

9. Establish Boundaries

Toxic personalities, who always see the worst in a situation and feed off of that negative energy, are at the other end of the scale. Dr. Stein advises “limiting your time with the poisonous people around you.” Give them a time when you can get in touch, perhaps later that day or the following day.

10. Move on

According to Bates, there is a lot of pressure to convince your colleagues that you have the situation under control. However, it’s crucial to prioritize your own needs in order to be there for the team. Take pauses, go for walks, pet the dog, listen to music, and work out. Have a regular work schedule and spend time doing the things you enjoy, advises Bates. “Now is the time to put your own mask on before assisting others. If you are exhausted, you will do no good to your company or community.

How Our Courses Can Help You Develop Emotional Intelligence?

Watch how you’re feeling emotionally. Are you feeling puzzled, perplexed, anxious, disappointed, or depressed? Consider taking a break for yourself and returning to your job later. Self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management, the four components of emotional intelligence, can assist a leader in handling any situation with less stress, less emotional response, and fewer unintended repercussions.

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