HOW ARE you feeling right now? What is causing me to feel like this? How would you like to feel for the rest of the day? What can you do/what strategies can you use to ensure that you feel the way you want to for the rest of the day?
Reviewed by Kate Chaffer
HOW ARE you feeling right now? What is causing me to feel like this? How would you like to feel for the rest of the day? What can you do/what strategies can you use to ensure that you feel the way you want to for the rest of the day?
All important questions that can help you assess what you are feeling, why you are feeling it – then rather then ruminating in a particular state you can move on and apply the appropriate strategy to create positive outcomes for yourself and relationships with others. You can also shift your emotional state in order to change the way you think or behave, and pick up on others’ emotions and act with empathy and consideration.
Why all this talk about emotions? Using emotions with intelligence gives individuals an edge and ultimately a higher level of work and life satisfaction that may be lacking in others who disregard the impact that emotions play in our lives. I’m sure we can all recall leaders that we have come across that are proficient at recognising, using, understanding and managing emotions in themselves and others. They are often standout, unforgettable and inspirational.
Emotions drive motivation and commitment –they are an inherent part of negotiation, conflict and change and are ultimately fundamental to our lives and relationships.
To learn more about emotions and the part they play in our lives, I attended the MSCEIT Certification course. It is a three-day workshop that introduces participants to two tools: the Mayor-Salovey model of emotional intelligence, and the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT). It was by far one of the best run and facilitated courses I have ever attended. The richness of content, material and research, as well as the generosity in the way it was taught and shared, was outstanding. The course is run by Susan David, from ebpsych (Evidence Based Psychology).
Like IQ tests, the MSCEIT assesses ability, and is not a self-reporting tool like other EI tests on the market. It assesses your ability to be intelligent with and about emotions in four core areas: recognising emotion, using emotion to assist thinking, understanding emotion and appropriately managing emotion. This model, and the tool, has been validated and grounded as a result of 12 years of extensive research.
I recently completed the course – firstly, because I’d heard so many great things about the program from colleagues and I had to experience for myself, and secondly (and more importantly) to gain an understanding of both the model of EI, as well as the use of a tool that could help clients gain greater insight into their ability in this area.
It has helped me enormously both personally (in gaining an understanding of my own EI capabilities) as well as professionally for use within leadership development programs, executive coaching, interpersonal skills training, recruitment and selection, and to be used as a great partner with the 360 feedback process. This course also helped me gain an appreciation of the background and history of the emotions literature and emotional intelligence in general. This is important as it helps to dispel common reactions that exist amongst individuals and organisations around this topic.
EI is not about controlling your emotions, and being nice all the time, but about understanding them and managing them intelligently. When was the last time you solved a problem involving emotions? Did you do it intelligently?
For more information, email [email protected] or visit www.ebpsych.com.
