100 cards
Emotional intelligence, often abbreviated as EQ, refers to the ability to recognize, understand, manage, and effectively use emotions in both yourself and others. The concept was brought into mainstream awareness by psychologist Daniel Goleman through his 1995 bestselling book "Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter...
Goleman's foundational EQ model identifies five core competencies, divided between intrapersonal (self-focused) and interpersonal (others-focused) skills. The first three, namely self-awareness, self-regulation, and motivation, are personal competencies, while empathy and social skills are social competencies directed...
The first step toward emotional intelligence is emotional awareness, which is simply noticing that emotions are present. Building on this, emotional vocabulary is the range of words you can use to precisely describe your emotional states. Rather than saying you feel "bad," a rich vocabulary lets you distinguish between...
Strong emotional reactions can override rational thinking. An amygdala hijack occurs when the brain's emotional center, the amygdala, overrides the rational prefrontal cortex, triggering an intense fight-or-flight response. This explains why people say or do things they regret during emotional outbursts, because the th...
Listening well is foundational to emotional intelligence, and it requires much more than simply hearing sounds. Hearing is the passive, physiological process of perceiving sound, while listening is the active, intentional process of paying attention to, interpreting, and responding to what someone is communicating. Act...
Effective communication is essential to navigating relationships. An "I" statement expresses feelings using the format "I feel [emotion] when [situation] because [reason]." For example, "I feel frustrated when meetings start late because it cuts into my productive time." This approach takes ownership of emotions withou...
Emotional intelligence supports inner resilience and growth. Emotional resilience is the ability to adapt to and recover from stress, adversity, or setbacks, with resilient individuals maintaining a positive outlook, learning from difficulties, and bouncing back more quickly. Key resilience factors include strong socia...
Emotional intelligence is a defining feature of effective leadership. Leaders with high EQ inspire trust, motivate teams, and navigate complex interpersonal dynamics more effectively, with research suggesting EQ accounts for nearly 90 percent of what distinguishes outstanding leaders from average ones at senior levels....