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Navigating emotions in the workplace
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nyone who has ever held down a job will know that raw skill and stellar performance only gets one so far. Though they are of course important aspects in any occupation, emotional intelligence (EI) also plays a large part in navigating the workplace.
From watercooler conversations to teamwork-heavy projects, EI is key to influencing and gaining the trust of others; and as is common knowledge, trust is the currency of the business world.
Thus, harnessing the potential of EI in the workplace is a vital skill, exemplified in the theme of the sixth Knowledge Series webinar by B/NDL Studios and The Jakarta Post.
Moderated by the Post's president and chief revenue officer Maggie Tiojakin, the webinar invited Mikha Ramadewi, chief HR officer at Integra Group as speaker.
Mikha, who also serves as advisor to the board of directors at the Post, agreed with the commonly held knowledge of utilizing EI to influence coworkers, but noted that most of the work is done to influence ourselves to become more mindful of our own emotions.
She cited the words of United States psychologist and author Daniel Goleman, who opined that no matter how smart an individual is, they will not be able to go very far in life if they do not possess empathy, self awareness and are unable to manage their emotions.
At the same time, she also stressed that EI is not about reading the minds of others. Along with being a bad idea in general, she continues, facial expressions are poor indicators of emotions, as there is no universal body language code to begin with.
“Emotion in itself is a complex construction. The brain creates the emotions, thinking and processing our feelings, but only in reaction to what happens inside the body. In that sense, the brain is only a prediction engine,” she explained.
The question then, she says, is why we are constantly trying to read others’ emotions when the only access we have is our own emotions, created by our brain in reaction to stimulus we receive from the other person?
“What makes a person with high EI special is not their ability to read the mind of others - maybe they can guess correctly - but their powers lie in the way they are able to manage themselves and their emotions, particularly when in difficult situations, making difficult decisions and handling difficult people.”
For workplace situations, she recommended the use of the mood meter to recognize and accept our emotions. With four quadrants, the mood meter relies on two factors, pleasantness and energy, to label and understand the cause of the emotions.
With that in mind, Mikha said that there are no “good” or “bad” emotions, but rather an aspect of being human. A more productive way of seeing it is to be curious as to what caused the emotion, and listening to others to take note and therefore learn from the process.
Before trying to read the room or the emotions of others, Mikha suggests trying to read our own emotional landscape first.
“That’s the superpower of EI,” she said.
