One of the most important and interesting ideas theories I learned about during this term was the idea of Emotional Intelligence when it comes to leadership development. The four different aspects of emotional intelligence all represent different aspects of leadership. For me, I knew that my self-awareness was very strong and I had an understand of who I was and I could perceive my emotions and utilize them effectively. However, my main problem with emotional intelligence came from understanding other’s emotions and helping to adapt them for the betterment of the group.
The main step in helping with understanding and managing emotions came from being patient with the group. Instead of acting too swiftly or making decisions when they came to my mind, the main thing I had to do was be patient and understand where other’s were coming from before making the ultimate decision. In regards to my group, emotional intelligence was never a really tangible result however through understanding how my group members were perfectionists when it came to their work, I knew the importance of starting the project and presentation early. By doing this, we were able to go through multiple rounds of editing to create the best ending product possible.
However, in terms of personal emotional intelligence group outside of BA 352, I learned a lot and found a better understanding of other’s decisions in regards to how it was caused by their emotions. In my blog post titled, “Not everyday can be great” I learned about how emotions can cause brash decisions to be made, without thinking about others in the situation. An issue occurred with my fraternity and the lack of emotional intelligence by the one who made the decision completely discredited his respect and leadership abilities from his peers. Making decisions based off emotion and not thought can have devastating effects if made incorrectly.
The main thing I learned about emotional intelligence is that through patience and understanding, more educated and intelligent decisions can be made that have a positive and constructive effect on all of those involved. Understanding other’s emotions is key to the overall decision-making and for me, this is one of the most important things I learned from the entire course.