MBA502 | Emotional Intelligence Self-Reflective Report
Introduction
Emotional intelligence refers to an individual’s capacity to recognise and manage their feelings and to recognise and respond effectively to those of others. Various theorists developed different models of emotional intelligence; one of these models is that of Daniel Goleman. The model contains four domains including self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. According to Daniel Goleman’s model, self-awareness involves understanding own emotions, weaknesses, strengths, motivations, drives, and needs whereas self-management involves the ability to think before acting, redirect challenging emotions and moods, regulate emotions and actions (Ott, 2019). The model presents an essential way to understand and reflect on one’s emotional intelligence.
In this report, I am going to reflect on my level of self-awareness and skills in self-management by focusing on the lessons learned and EI development tools and strategies provided in class. I will focus on the first two domains of Daniel Goleman’s model, self-awareness and self-management. Also, I will discuss the implications of EI for my future career development.
Self-awareness
Understanding my strengths, weaknesses, emotions, motives, drives, and needs has been one of my great achievements in this subject. Following the different tests based on models and tools of emotional intelligence, I have learned more about my level of self-awareness. Myers-Briggs test enabled me to understand more about my personality. More specifically, Myers-Brigg enabled me to understand that I am more an introvert than an extrovert. I realised that I get energy from self-reflection and I like staying in my world. Also, this too enabled me to understand that being on social media does not significantly influence the fact that I am an introvert. In addition to this, Myers-Briggs enabled me to realise that I tend to rely on logical thought to make decisions based on the advantages and disadvantages of the subject matter. I like focusing on tasks and time and prefer a more deliberate pace; this attributes to my introverted personality.
The multiple intelligence test enabled me to understand that emotions play a key role in how I think or reach various activities and engagements. I realised that emotions generally have a strong impact on the way I believe. Such realisation attributes to the fact that I can significantly reply to my emotions to make decisions. This could have pros and cons in my decision-making process since some emotions would not lead to a positive impact. Hence, I learned that it is important to assess the pros and cons of a given subject matter before making decisions. One of my key strengths is assessing the impacts or the consequences of a particular course of action and how it can impact my ability to understand my emotions and motivations. With a proper assessment of the consequences, I can effectively make an appropriate decision. The strength of understanding the importance of my emotions in decision-making is essential for determining my level of self-awareness.
Based on the Multiple Intelligence theory, I realised that I have high self-confidence and this allows me to take things seriously by focusing on actions. The multiple intelligence test tool enabled me to learn more about my ability to be aware of myself. More specifically, I realised that my ability to take on new challenges attributes to key motivations. The test enabled me to determine that I am more likely to be motivated by achievements and this attributes to my ability to take on new challenges. In summary, the key tools including Myers-Briggs and Multiple Intelligence Test enabled me to understand my emotions, motivations, and abilities which are relevant for my personal and career development.
Self-management
Daniel Goleman’s model enabled me to understand that self-management involves managing time, commitments, and goals and having the ability to think before acting. Since the decision made by an individual is more likely to have an impact on the intended outcome, it is important to think before acting. A lack of proper self-management can lead to difficulties in impulse control. In such a case, someone can make decisions without thinking appropriately and considering the related aspects. In the long run, their actions can significantly impact the intended outcome; hence it is essential to understand their own level of self-management. Understanding self-management in this subject will enable me to effectively manage my emotions and this relates to self-awareness.
I learned that there are four tools and strategies for developing self-management skills. These strategies include mindfulness, journaling, meditation, and on-the-spot strategies. After listening to numerous YouTube videos, I learned that mindfulness strategy is essential in understanding what I am thinking at any moment. I learned that I can effectively calm my emotions and create feelings of well-being by understanding my thoughts at any given moment. With the availability of numerous videos on mindfulness, I learned that it is important to consider other approaches to self-management.
I practiced meditation as one of the approaches to develop my self-management skills. In this case, I got to a quiet place and focused on the ability to manage the stresses of modern life with a degree of serenity. Meditation gave me a sense of calm, peace, and balance that had an impact on my emotional well-being. I realised that meditation could enable me to manage emotions attributable to self-management. According to the Individual and Family Self-Management Theory, self-management includes knowledge of beliefs, self-regulation skills and abilities, defined outcomes, and social facilitation (Grady and Gough, 2014). In congruent with the assumptions of Individual and Family Self-Management theory, I learned that having knowledge of self-regulation skills is one of my main abilities to manage myself.
In most cases, I focus on understanding regulating my actions by thinking of the outcomes and consequences of any course of action that I take. Approaches such as meditation and mindfulness enable me to recognise and manage my emotions on various occasions. Applying on-the-spot strategies such as taking a walk enabled me to think about my actions and the outcome that I have realised before. In other words, taking a walk enabled me to reflect on my ability to recognise and manage emotions attributable to various occasions.
Future career as a professional
Many researchers and theorists have argued on the influence and importance of personality in the workplace. Organisations use a personality test to identify applicants who fit the culture and job requirements (Tylor, 2020). Taylor adds that introverts excel at handling uncertainty since they take time to make decisions and consider implications instead of rushing into actions. Similarly, the Myer-Briggs test enabled me to understand my personality and the ability to consider implications before making decisions. Since this test enabled me to understand more about my personality, I have gained more knowledge about the attributes of an introvert. These attributes will be useful for my future personal and career development. I will focus on the jobs that are suitable for my personality, thus utilising my ability to make decisions based on implications.
Moreover, understanding my personality enhanced my ability to determine my behaviour at the workplace. Studying emotional intelligence in this subject enabled me to learn more about the impact of personality in decisions making and engagement at the workplace and this will have a long-lasting impact on my career. As an introvert, I tend to work-well in small groups than spend more time on social media or larger groups. I realised that I tend to focus more on new challenges and self-confidence. Also, managing other by taking more time alone is one of the approaches that I use not only to control my emotions but also to manage what other people think. I will learn more about the impact of personality at the workplace to ensure that I utilise my attributes more effectively.
Learning more about emotional intelligence is essential in understanding the role of emotions on how other people think. I intend to apply what I have learned about EI to enhance my interaction with colleagues at the workplace. Even though I am an introvert, learning more about EI has enabled me to realise some of my strengths including the ability to take new challenges and high self-confidence. I will apply these strengths to interact with many people at the workplace. I am confident that realising these strengths will allow me to network with many people at the workplace. An increased network is one of the significant career developments that I intend to achieve by applying the knowledge that I gained from EI.
Conclusion
Self-awareness is essential in understanding own strengths and motivations. The application of various tools such as the Myers-Briggs test and Multiple EI are useful in understanding own level of self-awareness. These tools enabled me to understand my personality, motivations, and strengths. One of my strengths is making decisions based on the implications of the subject matter whereas one of my motivations is an achievement that is attributable to taking on new challenges. Mindfulness and meditation as some of the effective strategies and approaches to self-management. Using both mindfulness and meditation approaches enabled me to realise that I can effectively manage my emotions by assessing the impact or the consequences of any action.
Learning more about EI has been a great opportunity that will not only allow me to pass this subject but also enhance my future career development. Some of the applications of the knowledge that I have learned from EI are interacting with people at the workplace and utilising my personality traits. Such approaches will be significant for my future career development.
References
Grady, P., & Gough, L. 2014. Self-management: A comprehensive approach to management of chronic conditions. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4103232/
Ott, C. 2019. What is emotional Intelligence? https://ohio4h.org/sites/ohio4h/files/imce/Emotional%20Intelligence%20Background.pdf
Taylor, M. 2020. Personality styles: Why they matter in the workplace. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340279499