Definition :

Emotional intelligence refers to the capability

of a person to manage and control his or her emotions
and possess the ability to control the emotions of others
as well. In other words, they can influence the emotions
of other people also.
Emotional intelligence is a very important skill
in leadership. It is said to have five main elements such
as - self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy,
and social skills.
Emotional intelligence has been defined as "the ability to
monitor one's own and other people's emotions, to
discriminate between different emotions and label them
appropriately, and to use emotional information to guide
thinking and behavior" by Peter Salovey and John Mayer.
This definition was later broken down and refined into
four proposed abilities: perceiving, using, understanding,
and managing emotions. These abilities are distinct yet
related.Emotional intelligence also reflects abilities to
join intelligence, empathy and emotions to enhance
thought and understanding of interpersonal dynamics.
However, substantial disagreement exists regarding the
definition of EI, with respect to both terminology and
operationalizations. Currently, there are three main
models of EI:

1. Ability model
2. Mixed model (usually subsumed under trait EI)
3. Trait model
Different models of EI have led to the development of
While some of these measures may overlap, most
researchers agree that they tap different constructs.
Specific ability models address the ways in which
emotions facilitate thought and understanding. For
example, emotions may interact with thinking and allow
people to be better decision makers (Lyubomirsky et al.
2005).A person who is more responsive emotionally to
crucial issues will attend to the more crucial aspects of
his or her life.Aspects of emotional facilitation factor is
to also know how to include or exclude emotions from
thought depending on context and situation. This is also
related to emotional reasoning and understanding in
response to the people, environment and circumstances
one encounters in his or her day-to-day life

FOUNDER OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE:

Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer coined the

term 'Emotional Intelligence' in 1990 describing it as “a
form of social intelligence that involves the ability to
monitor one's own and others' feelings and emotions, to
discriminate among them, and to use this information to
guide one's thinking and action.

Emotional intelligence (EQ) is the ability to identify,

assess, and control the emotions of oneself, of others,
and of groups. A skill now highly regarded as a
necessity for great leaders. Traditionally analytical skills
measured by IQ tests were considered as the pinnacle of
leadership missing probably the most important quality
of a leader, EQ.

Recently I gave Daniel Goleman’s book called

“Emotional Intelligence” a spin. In his book, Goleman
explains how emotions play a much greater role in
thought, decision-making and individual success than
is commonly acknowledged.

Emotions and the Tripartite Brain :

Paul MacLean – 3 Brain Theory

Dr. MacLean said we do not have 1 brain but 3. Each
brain evolved over time one by one over the older brain
until there were 3 distinct brains interconnected with
their own purpose and function. This is called the Triune
Brain Model.

The 3 brains – starting in the center :

1st – Reptilian (Primitive) is at the brain stem, root
brain. This controls breathing, heart and organ functions.
It is a part of the brain which cannot be reprogrammed
since it regulates your body. Its goal is to make sure you
stay alive and reproduce.

2nd – Limbic (Emotional) sits over the primitive brain

and is impulsive and powerful. It controls how you feel
to certain stimulus. Knowing something is right in your
heart. It connects information to memory and works best
during emotionally charged context. It serves the
primitive brain giving pleasure to natural survival needs.

We like to believe that our decisions are based on our

thought but in reality they are based on our “emotional
state of mind”, how we feel at the time.

It’s important to know that there was an emotional

brain long before rational brain.

3rd – Neocortex (Rational) is the newest part of our

brain and is also referred to as the “thinking brain”. It sits
on top of the emotional brain and it controls higher level
processes such as logic, reasoning, creative thinking,
language etc.

Neocortex tends to be swamped by the brains beneath it,

especially the emotional brain on which it sits &
connects to directly. The emotional brain is known to
hijack your rational mind when it its basic needs for
survival & reproduction are threatened sending a
storm of messages to the lower brain to execute
pre-programmed instructions in a fight or flight
response. E.g. Fear sends stress signals to all parts of the
brain immobilizing the body.

The ‘triune brain’, conceived by Paul D. MacLean

(1913–2007) in the late 1960s, has witnessed more
attention and controversy than any other evolutionary
model of brain and behavior in modern neuroscience.
Decades earlier, in his book Elements of Neurobiology
published in 1923 in La Plata, Argentina, neurobiologist
Christfried (Christofredo) Jakob (1866–1956) had
formulated a ‘tripsychic’ brain system, based on his deep
understanding of biological and neural phylogeny. In a
historical context, 1923 was also the year of publication
of Sigmund Freud’s The Ego and the Id, whereby the
founder of psychoanalysis solidified his tripartite model
of the mental apparatus. Tripartite systems of the human
mind have been surmised since Plato and Aristotle; they
continue to our era, an example being Robert J.
Sternberg’s triarchic theory of human intelligence. In
view of the fact that both Jakob and MacLean invested a
considerable part of their long and distinguished careers
studying comparative, and particularly reptilian
neurobiology, the present article revisits their
neuroevolutionary models, underlining the convergence
of their anatomical-functional propositions, in spite of a
time distance of almost half a century.

EMOTIONS AND CHILDHOOD:

The theoretical perspective taken toward
emotional development in childhood is a combination
of functionalist theory and dynamical systems theory1:
A child’s encounters with an environment can be seen
as dynamic transactions that involve multiple
emotion-related components (e.g., expressive
behaviour, physiological patterning, action tendencies,
goals and motives, social and physical contexts,
appraisals and experiential feeling) that change over
time as the child matures and in response to changing
environmental interactions. Emotional development
reflects social experience, including the cultural
context. Elsewhere I have argued that emotional
development should be considered from a
bio-ecological framework that regards human beings
as dynamic systems embedded within a community
context.2 Table 1 summarizes noteworthy descriptive
markers of emotional development in relation to
social interaction.
Table 1. Noteworthy Markers of Emotional
Development in Relation to Social Interaction

Age Regulation/ Expressive Relationship

Period Coping Behavior Building

Self-soothin Behavior
g and synchrony
learning to with others
modulate in some Social games
reactivity. expressive and turn-taking
channels. (e.g.,
Regulation “peek-a-boo”).
of attention Increasing
in service of discriminati Social
Infancy:
coordinated on of referencing.
0 - 12
mos. action. others’ Socially
expressions.
instrumental
Reliance on
caregivers Increasing signal use
for expressive (e.g., “fake”
supportive responsiven crying to get
“scaffolding ess to attention).
” during stimuli
stressful under
circumstance contingent
Age Regulation/ Expressive Relationship
Period Coping Behavior Building

s. control.
Increasing
coordinatio
n of
expressive
behaviors
with
emotion-eli
citing
circumstanc
es.

Emergence Self-evaluat Anticipation of

of ion and different
self-awarene self-conscio feelings toward
ss and usness different
consciousnes evident in people.
s of own expressive
Toddlerho Increasing
emotional behavior
od: discrimination
response. accompanyi
12 of others’
ng shame,
mos.-2½ Irritability emotions and
pride,
years due to their
coyness.
constraints meaningfulnes
and limits Increasing s.
imposed on verbal
expanding comprehens Early forms of
autonomy ion and empathy and
and production prosocial
Age Regulation/ Expressive Relationship
Period Coping Behavior Building

exploration of words for action.

needs. expressive
behavior
and
affective
states.

Symbolic
access Communicatio
facilitates n with others
emotion Adoption of elaborates
regulation, pretend child’s
but symbols expressive understanding
can also behavior in of social
provoke play and transactions
distress. teasing. and
expectations
Preschool: Communicat Pragmatic for
2-5 years ion with awareness comportment.
others that “false”
extends facial Sympathetic
child’s expressions and prosocial
evaluation of can mislead behavior
and another toward peers.
awareness of about one’s Increasing
own feelings feelings. insight into
and of others’
emotion-elici emotions.
ting events.
Age Regulation/ Expressive Relationship
Period Coping Behavior Building

Self-conscio
us emotions
(e.g.,
embarrassme Increasing
nt) are coordination of
targeted for social skills
regulation. with one’s own
Seeking Adoption of and others’
Early emotions.
support from “cool
Elementar
emotional
y School: caregivers Early
front” with understanding
5-7 years still
prominent peers. of
coping consensually
strategy, but agreed upon
increasing emotion
reliance on “scripts.”
situational
problem-solv
ing evident.

Problem-sol Appreciatio Awareness of

ving n of norms multiple
Middle preferred for emotions
Childhood coping expressive toward the
: strategy if behavior, same person.
7-10 years control is at whether
Use of multiple
least genuine or
time frames
moderate. dissembled.
and unique
Age Regulation/ Expressive Relationship
Period Coping Behavior Building

Distancing Use of personal

strategies expressive information
used if behavior to about another
control is modulate as aids in the
appraised as relationship development
minimal. dynamics of close
(e.g., friendships.
smiling
while
reproaching
a friend).

Increasing
accuracy in
appraisal of
realistic Distinction
control in made Increasing
stressful between social
circumstance genuine sensitivity and
Preadoles
s. emotional awareness of
cence:
expression emotion
10-13 Capable of with close “scripts” in
years generating friends and conjunction
multiple managed with social
solutions and displays roles.
differentiate with others.
d strategies
for dealing
with stress.
Age Regulation/ Expressive Relationship
Period Coping Behavior Building

Awareness
of one’s own
emotion
cycles (e.g.,
guilt about
feeling
angry) Skillful
facilitates Awareness of
adoption of
insightful mutual and
self-present
reciprocal
Adolescen coping. ation
communication
ce: Increasing strategies
of emotions as
13+ years integration for
affecting
of moral impression
quality of
character and managemen
relationship.
personal t.
philosophy
in dealing
with stress
and
subsequent
decisions.

ROLE OF EMOTIONS:

Emotions are nothing but the feelings that we experience

within us such as happiness, loneliness, anger, pride,
anxiety, regret, shame, guilt, excitement, love, etc
depending on our experiences and the stimuli we receive
from our surroundings and people around. Every
individual has a unique perception of the event and every
individual feels it differently. That is the reason why
some people are considered to be more emotional than
others.

Our emotions are the primary influencing factor for

every definitive action that we make as a human being.
We experience emotions right from the time we are born.
Gradually as we grow up, we tend to understand the
world around us in a better way and also develop a better
understanding of our own emotions. Emotions are the
key part of our life and they affect our overall being and
behavior. As humans, we are constantly experiencing
different types of emotions be it anger, sadness,
happiness, guilt or anything else. The role of emotions
dictates our actions more often than not. Hence, getting a
complete hold of your emotions is very necessary to lead
a stable life. The role of emotions in motivating behavior
is also an important aspect of understanding our
addictions. Without emotions, addiction does not exist.
Without that intense need addiction does not exist.

We, human beings, are living in a close knit society

where our behavior and action is determined by our past
experiences. Some of the emotions like fear, anger, love
and grief are so strong that they force us to things which
one would not even think of doing otherwise. On the
other hand, many people even being successful or getting
old have a good grip on their emotions.
There are many times when so many of us experience
strong emotions. These strong and intense emotions are
good but it is bad to let them overpower you. Most of us
knowingly or unknowingly come in the control of these
intense emotions. In the situations like these our body
secrets a lot of hormones which makes it difficult for our
brain to take any decisions. During such times, our
decisions become biased and we base them upon our past
experiences. When intense emotions surround us, we get
into depression and then we become dangerous not just
for our own self but also for others. For example, when
we are angry we do not realize how our behavior is
hurting others and harming our own body. In
psychological sense, this is a state where we have no
control on emotions and thus our brain weakens in
controlling emotions.

To come out of such situations we need to exert a certain

control over our emotions. We need to be strong to face
any emotional imbalance or disturbance. For this we
need to understand emotions and its role in our life. We
need to realize that up to what extent we can get a control
of our emotions. People who commit suicide have no
control over their emotions. They never realize that they
are a victim of their own emotions. We need a brain and
a heart strong enough so that no emotion can take control
of us. This can be achieved by cultivating hobbies, doing
things that please us, inculcating a sense of optimism and
positivity around and practicing breathing exercises and
meditation.
 emotions and attitudes
When discussing the whole concept of Inspiration and
Success we wanted to categorize all pages and posts
where, for psychological reasons, we decided to limit the
number of categories to seven. And as inspiration,
success and probably motivation are closely related to
attitude, emotions and feelings one of the categories we
decided to use is attitude, emotions and feelings.
Attitude
So what has attitude to do with inspiration. Maybe not
much, as being inspired just means you need to be open,
although of course that would be an attitude. And
somehow success also has to do with attitude. Maybe
attitude is even the most important characteristic related
to being successful. So let’s see what dictionaries and e.g.
Wikipedia say about attitude:
Wikipedia starts with: “An attitude is an expression of
favor or disfavor toward a person, place, thing, or event
(the attitude object). Prominent psychologist Gordon
Allport once described attitudes “the most distinctive and
indispensable concept in contemporary social
psychology.”.[1] Attitude can be formed from a person’s
past and present.[2] Attitude is also measurable and
changeable as well as influencing the person’s emotion
and behavior.”
Webster’s dictionary says:
 the way you think and feel about someone or
something
  a feeling or way of thinking that affects a person’s
behavior
 a way of thinking and behaving that people regard
as unfriendly, rude, etc.
So attitude is related to thinking and feeling and behavior.
And it’s changeable according psychologists.
Emotions
For emotion Wikipedia starts with “In psychology and
philosophy, emotion is a subjective, conscious
experience characterized primarily by psycho
physiological expressions, biological reactions, and
mental states.”
And Webster’s dictionary states:
 the affective aspect of consciousness : feeling
 a state of feeling
 a conscious mental reaction (as anger or fear)
subjectively experienced as strong feeling usually
directed toward a specific object and typically
accompanied by physiological and behavioral
changes in the body.
So emotions are also related to feelings and can cause
mental reactions, maybe change in attitude and physical
reactions.

5 ADVANTAGES OF EMOTIONAL
INTELLIGENCE
1. Motivation
By taking advantage of emotional intelligence in
business, we can control our emotional state and reach an
agreement with each problem. Thus, we can take control
of the conflicts and contribute to teamwork. A positive
working environment means everything. It increases both
the motivation of both; you and your colleagues.
2. Common vision
Most of us spend the majority of our time at work. For
this reason, as much as happy and positive emotions we
also face problems like anger, lack of empathy, nervous
crises. In such situations, emotional intelligence is what
comes to our rescue. By taking advantage of our
emotional intelligence, we can demonstrate consistent
behavior to this change of our emotions
and.communicate positively to the people around us.
Only then it is possible for us to develop a common
vision for our team members.
3. Change
Every individual who wants to be professional in the
business world has to be open to change and innovation.
Because these two are among the first to rank for
leadership features. People with high emotional
intelligence can manage the stress, concern, and anxiety
in the business world and turn it into an opportunity. And
in this way, they are able to progress more easily and
confidently in business life
4. Communication

People with high emotional intelligence can express

themselves clearly. Thus, they earn respect from
others and create an effective communication
network between them. They can solve problems by
staying calm, they are open to getting help from
others, and are able to influence others with these
behaviors. This will help you to have a peaceful
business environment and to be successful in a short
time
5. Leadership

The foundation of success in business life, in a word;

management, is the leadership skill. And this skill starts
with the person himself/herself. As long as one can
control of himself/herself, emotions and thoughts, s/he
can also influence others in the positive direction; and
lead in term of business. Being someone who can
manage their emotions for success in business life, will
help you achieve your goals.

EMOTIONAL COMPETENCIES:
Self-Awareness – Knowing one’s internal states,
preferences, resources and intuitions. The competencies
in this category include:
Emotional Awareness – Recognizing one’s emotions and
their effects
Accurate Self-Assessment – Knowing one’s strengths
and limits
Self-Confidence – A strong sense of one’s self-worth and
capabilities
Self-Regulation – Managing one’s internal states,
impulses and resources. The competencies in this
category include:
 Self-Control – Keeping disruptive emotions and
impulses in check
 Trustworthiness – Maintaining standards of honesty
and integrity
 Conscientiousness – Taking responsibility for
personal performance
 Adaptability – Flexibility in handling change
 Innovation – Being comfortable with novel ideas
and approaches
Motivation – Emotional tendencies that guide or
facilitate reaching goals. The competencies in this
category include:
 Achievement Drive – Striving to improve or meet a
standard of excellence
 Commitment – Aligning with the goals of the group
or organization
 Initiative – Readiness to act on opportunities
 Optimism – Persistence in pursuing goals despite
obstacles and setbacks
Social Competence
Empathy – Awareness of others’ feelings, needs and
concerns. The competencies in this category include:
  Understanding Others – Sensing others’ feelings
and perspectives
 Developing Others – Sensing others’ development
needs and bolstering their abilities
 Service Orientation – Anticipating, recognizing and
meeting customers’ needs
 Leveraging Diversity – Cultivating opportunities
through different kinds of people
 Political Awareness – Reading a group’s emotional
currents and power relationships
Social Skills – Adeptness at inducing desirable responses
in others. The competencies in this category include:
 Influence – Wielding effective tactics for
persuasion.
 Communication – Listening openly and sending
convincing messages
 Conflict Management – Negotiating and resolving
disagreements
 Leadership – Inspiring and guiding individuals and
groups
 Change Catalyst – Initiating or managing change
 Building Bonds – Nurturing instrumental
relationships
 Collaboration and Cooperation – Working with
others toward shared goals
 Team Capabilities – Creating group synergy in
pursuing collective goals