Part 1: Post a Response

Daniel Goleman, a psychologist, was the first to popularize the trait Emotional Intelligence, sometimes referred to as EI. Emotional Intelligence is a person's capacity to be aware of her or his emotions and feelings towards others to influence their thinking and actions.

The four components of EI are:

1. Self-awareness - This is your ability to read your own emotions accurately to know how your actions or lack thereof affect others.

2. Self-management - This is your ability to control or regulate your emotions and act with integrity.

3. Social-awareness - Gives you the ability to understand the needs of others and show empathy towards them.

4. Relationship management - this is your ability to communicate clearly and convincingly, reduce conflict and build strong bonds.

Respond to the following questions for this discussion on Emotional Intelligence. (400 words)

• How has your emotional intelligence, or lack of emotional intelligence, positively or negatively impacted your professional or personal relationships?

• Choose ONE of the components of EI and explain how it contributes to job satisfaction.

If you have examples from your own experience, or from recent examples in the news, please make sure to include those in your response.

Part 2: Respond to a Peer

Read a post by one of your peers and respond, making sure to extend the conversation by asking questions, offering rich ideas, or sharing personal connections.

For you to comments as below (For you respond to the peer 2 posts);

Post 1: (200 words)

I know that I show a lack of emotional intelligence, specifically self-awareness and it most definitely affects my personal relationship. I have been reminded that I need to show more emotional with my fiance, more than once. She is a very caring person so when I do not show emotions she assumes that I do not care.

I am working on correcting that. I honestly blame the military for how I deal with my emotions. She has been very understanding since we have been together. She has no military background so most of the time understanding how/why I am like I am has been difficult for her.

I have been like this for so long that I am not even aware that I am doing it. However, I do think I know how to self manage my emotions in my professional life. I been dealing with a difficult employee that shows zero integrity. Integrity is a core value that I live by so it has been very hard for me to handle her. I am stuck between a rock and a hard spot with her where I have to self manage by emotions at all times. If I do not I could really end up in trouble. What really helps is knowing that this situation will not last forever and one of us will move on to something else.

One component of emotional intelligence that contributes to job satisfaction is self-management. I have seen a lot of people let their emotions take over them at work and it really makes them unhappy. I have even been a victim of it. I think one thing the military has taught me is to manage my emotions.

The troubled employee I have been dealing with has been a true test to manage my emotions because so much of me has been wanting to say certain things to her but I know I cannot. I just put it to the side, smile and be the bigger person knowing that her career is at jeopardy and not mine. By being able to manage my emotions it has given me more job satisfaction because I do not let the things I cannot control take over my emotions.

Post 2: (200 words)

I will address emotional intelligence concerning relationship management. I used to be the type of person who had to interrupt conversations if something was said incorrectly and correct it right then to make sure the person got it right. By the time the person was done speaking their mind, there were several interruptions. Needless to say, this made the situation worse.

There is a famous quote by Steven Covey, "Most people don't listen with the intent to understand, but they listen to reply." That was me. That quote really impacted my life.

Effective communication listens to the individual (right, wrong, or indifferent), and not just hear what they are saying, but also understand why they are saying it. Listening to and observing peoples' actions has help me to build better relationships, professionally and personally.

In regards to job satisfaction, I will address social awareness. When I worked retail, there was this one manager that very few people wanted to work under or be around because of his sporadic episodes of anger. I had to take a training session with this manager. I had a conversation with him. We talked about his sporadic episodes of anger and how you had to know his mood to approach him.

Turns out, he was dealing with some personal concerns and wasn't realizing the impact on the workplace. After this conversation, this manager became more aware of his actions, a pleasant person to work with and my mentor even beyond that employment.