The role of emotional intelligence in the workplace

The term emotional intelligence (EI) was coined in 1966 by German psychologist Barbara Leuner. It was further researched by Howard Gardner, Jack Mayer, Peter Salovey, and Daniel Goleman.¹

EI involves human emotions (affective domain) and thinking (cognitive domain) and how the two work together.² EI is the ability to monitor one’s own emotions and that of others and differentiate between the two to guide actions.³ It’s about controlling and regulating emotion⁴ and “the ability to understand, harmonize, and display one’s feelings and emotions” and “recognize, interpret, and communicate with other people’s feelings and emotions.”⁵

The four domains of emotional intelligence

EI has four domains: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management.⁶ According to Goleman et al,⁷ self-awareness is the most important component because it means a person can accurately self-assess their strengths and weaknesses and develop a good understanding of self-worth. This allows them to have psychological security, an understanding of who they are, a strong intuition, and the ability to self-reflect and self-control rather than be impulsive when challenged.⁶

Everyone in a dental office is a leader, whether the dentist, receptionist, hygienist, or assistant. Everyone should be a role model to positively impact colleagues, office culture, and patients. We must therefore be self-aware (attitudes, beliefs, triggers), be able to self-regulate (feelings, emotions), be socially aware (colleague and patient attitudes, concerns, emotions), and be able to manage relationships in a way that shows understanding, empathy, and respect.

Self-management reflects a result of self-awareness because “if a leader cannot control their emotions, their emotions will control them.”⁶ Self-management represents a leaders’ ability to control their emotions, act with integrity and honesty, and be reliable and adaptable.⁶ This means being aware of emotional, mental, and physical state, and recognizing that if we feel offended or irritated, it may be due to lack of sleep, illness, or challenges in our personal life. Negative past experiences may also illicit someone to communicate in unwarranted ways and use negative tones with others. Understanding ourselves and recognizing our habits is the first step to self-management.

Social awareness describes the ability to sense “the emotional tone of the organization and the emotional tone of the employees.”⁶ Leaders should be sensitive to what goes on around them and make decisions according to the context of the situation. Goleman⁸ explains empathy as “the ability to sense emotions in others and then grounded in emotional understanding, take action based on fear, concern, or joy.”⁶ Empathy requires taking others’ feelings into consideration and making decisions based with those feelings in mind.⁶

Through social awareness, leaders with EI can sense negative emotions in others and turn them into positive ones. This “allows them to navigate the team dynamics by identifying emotions pertaining to detachment from work, demotivation toward a group project or hesitation in sharing opinions,” and helps leaders be effective in their roles.⁹

When treating a fearful patient, this may mean making positive comments about their progress, no matter how small, providing home-care instructions without judgement, and using empowering and gentle tones and words. For colleagues, it may mean offering patience and empathy to someone having a difficult day. The ability to read others and regulate how we communicate often means quietly supporting someone. That takes EI.

The relationship management component of EI encompasses all three other domains—self-awareness, self-management, and social awareness—and using them to successfully manage other people’s emotions.⁶ Relationship management entails being friendly with a purpose, collaborating among colleagues to help the organization move forward, and using concepts such as vision, influence, and teamwork.⁶

The role of EI for dental leaders

Leaders are responsible for creating an emotional climate in the workplace that creates positive feelings and engaged followers by using EI in their leadership behavior.⁶ Since everyone is a leader in a dental office, it’s the responsibility of all to create a positive environment.

EI positively correlates to a positive organizational climate,¹⁰ the well-being of individuals,¹ problem solving, overcoming challenges, understanding emotions of others, and gaining trust.¹¹ Mood, feelings, and emotions are contagious; a positive mood can increase performance, creativity, and decision-making, whereas a negative mood can decrease performance and affect others’ emotional state.⁷

Developing the four domains of EI will help build a workplace climate that fosters engagement.⁶ Cultures emerge due to many variables, including attitudes, shared beliefs, values, and behavioral norms among colleagues.¹²

High-performing cultures exhibit positive work environments, collaboration of employees, continuous improvement and growth, and open communication.¹³ Organizational culture affects performance and is the key to excellence and improvement.¹² Employee satisfaction can improve by strengthening organizational culture, which positively affects employee attitudes, behavior, and performance.¹⁴

References

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