Emotions have long remained on the shelf in open spaces, placed in the “weakness” or “lack of professionalism” box. In many companies, we still value cold mastery, as if letting our fear, anger or joy show would cause us to lose credibility. However, human resources specialists today speak of a real skill: emotional intelligence at work, which has become a key criterion for success.
Emotional intelligence at work: a concrete asset for your career
Coach Valérie Rocoplan, author ofDare to be the boss: For women who want to embrace their professional ambitionis based on the definition of psychologists Salovey and Mayer, for whom emotional intelligence is “the ability to perceive and express emotions, to integrate them to facilitate thought, to understand and reason with emotions, as well as to regulate emotions in oneself and others“. France Travail also refers to it when the organization describes this skill as a real professional springboard.
Developing your emotional intelligence changes the way you work. Understanding what we feel and what others feel improves communication, limits misunderstandings and allows us to adapt to different interlocutors.
Four steps to taming your emotions according to Valérie Rocoplan
This skill helps to manage a dry remark, an aggressive email, a tense meeting and directly nourishes leadership, collaboration, empathy and stress management.
France Travail insists on the fact that the brain remains malleable throughout life and that these skills are worked on with training, via tools such as the QEPRO test or the Dr Mood application. UNIL Executive Education shows, for its part, that managers learn to develop several specific emotional skills in training.
“To develop your emotional intelligence and remain calm and composed in difficult situations, we offer you a four-step program”explains Valérie Rocoplan.
Spotting the signals of emotion, taking an inner step aside, recognizing and naming what we feel, then taking care of the associated need: this path transforms a hot reaction into a chosen response.
Positive emotions at work: a discreet engine of progression
This work leads directly to assertiveness, this posture where we express our needs without crushing those of others. For the author, it is a pillar of professional development.
“In any situation, practice being assertive. And especially when a difficulty arises or a challenge is thrown at you; it’s about quickly putting yourself back on your two feet, and telling yourself: I’m going through an unpleasant situation, and it doesn’t call into question who I am. It’s just about getting through this situation as best as possible.”.
Besides, positive emotions count just as much. Recognizing the enthusiasm, gratitude or curiosity that runs through us prevents them from biasing us, and allows us to use them as fuel to decide with more perspective.
According to Valérie Rocoplan, these emotions facilitate relationships, create authentic bonds and help establish leadership.