Emotional intelligence is not a new term; however inside the entrepreneurial atmosphere it requires a different type of approach when it comes to recognizing when to pause before performing an action that does not lead to anything positive in the growth of your own business, it definitely plays a very important role. Individuals, who decide to appreciate entrepreneurship as a way of living, know for certain that understanding how they react to daily situations is the way to recognize their behavior against common challenges (personal & professional). Emotional intelligence is basically defined as the ability to feel, understand, control and change moods (own and others).
As easy as it is to understand that being in control of emotions may lead entrepreneurs to manage common challenges perfectly and run business wisely, there are circumstances where some business owners tend to shut off the way they feel because they think it is likely to cope with their ability to take fast decisions and lead a team, without involving any positive or negative effects. As much as those leaders want to avoid emotions, truth is, we can’t eliminate them.
There are certain attributes which can describe the entrepreneur mindset in order to obtain better relationships, profitability, productivity, leadership and engagement. This involves putting together self-awareness + self-management, social awareness + relationship management, plus enthusiasm, empathy, perseverance and mental agility.
Why Emotional Intelligence in Entrepreneurship?
As we may know, within the business world, there are more likely to survive only those who manage wisely their movements, since they got to experience a lot of emotional situations. The success of entrepreneurs is closely related to their way of running their idea into the growth of their business, which is why emotional intelligence becomes important as a way to understand the value of leadership and act upon problems that might show up in the business world. When entrepreneurs keep in mind what they want to achieve, it is easier to cope with the difficulties that show up every day; entrepreneurs, who do not have the ability to resolve conflicts, can reflect negatively on their business.
Let’s explore the four skills that all entrepreneurs must have:
Self-Awareness
Literally means knowing who you are. Understanding personal strengths and weakness will help you guide the business towards a fast decision-making and leading it on the right direction, however self-awareness means more than focusing on this, it means knowing that what you feel has a strong influence in your behavior.
Differentiate between your emotions while understanding the cause and impact in your actions is a key success factor in entrepreneurship; fair to recognize this since your business depends on you as an entrepreneur. What I mean is that before anything else you must have a clear knowledge of what you are made of (emotions), and then you will be able to deal with situations when they occur.
Self-Management
While entrepreneurs are mainly acknowledge by their abilities to run groundbreaking ideas, lead and motivate people, be productive and conduct decisions into constructive strategies, there is a crucial element to enhance emotional intelligence within their success. It implies guiding your emotions positively, so you can direct your behavior whether the situation is leading your business towards a new opportunity of growth, adjustment or change.
Social Awareness
Whether you are launching a revolutionary product or perhaps a one-of-a-kind service, if you do not have ground knowledge of people’s emotions and behavior, your business will be likely to experience a failure. Social awareness is vital for you to lead your strategies into your potential market since it helps you to build golden relationships and focus on what you can get from the amazing connection between people (influencers, business partners, clients) and your business.
Relationship Management
Basically it is the effective use of your emotions and social awareness to manage interactions successfully. Leaders need to build trust through the impact they have made on people’s emotions to achieve results. If you as a startup are not willing to build powerful relationships and bring an effect on people’s lives, then you will be leading your business into its downfall.
Emotional intelligence is a determinant for success within the business environment. Increase your emotional intelligence and become the front runner of your market!
