Emotional Intelligence Coaching

Emotional Intelligence as a subject has become very prominent after Daniel Goleman published his legendary books “Emotional Intelligence” and “Working with Emotional Intelligence”. Thereafter, some very good writers including Dr Travis Bradberry have written on the subject and it has gathered importance in corporate circles as well.

Why is EI so useful?

A huge advantage that Emotional Intelligence enjoys over IQ is that while IQ is static, Emotional Intelligence keeps growing as we use it. Wherever human interaction is involved, Emotional Intelligence has been found to make a difference in sixty five percent of the cases.

What are the implications of EI for coaching?

What then, are the implications of Emotional Intelligence for coaching? Very necessary to consider is the fact that coaching is an inter=development process. As coaches keep developing their clients, they keep developing as well. When they develop their own emotional intelligence, they increase their self-awareness. It is known that people work better when they feel good. Feeling good about oneself as well as about others requires good self-regulation, which is an integral part of emotional intelligence.

The objective of the coach is to turn the entire organization into an emotionally intelligent organization. Here it may be useful to look at some key characteristics of an emotionally intelligent organization. Characteristics common to all emotionally intelligent organizations are:

-         All communicate with each other with understanding and respect

-         When people set up group goals, they help everybody in the group attain them

-         The entire organization is permeated by energy and positivity

It is now being increasingly recognized that along with developing working capital, it is necessary to develop human capital as well. Coaches make people realize that all the means for growth are within the people themselves. Through powerful questioning and facilitation they help people look within and discover themselves.

Emotional Intelligence sets off a process that works out to be very useful.

-         They use emotional information from themselves and other people

-         They integrate this with their thinking

-         They use this for decision making

What is the importance of emotions?

So, is our brain logical and emotional at the same time? And does it also control our life processes? To understand this, we need to understand the concept of the triune brain, a division conceptually posited by Paul MacLean. Here the brain is divided into:

-         The neocortex, or the thinking brain

-         The limbic brain or the emotional brain

-         The reptilian brain which controls life systems

Now, emotions are important from two perspectives:

1 > The amygdala receives signals faster than the neocortex and at times may be able to take over

2 > Even in the cortex, the prefrontal cortex regulates emotions, the left part regulating the positive ones and the right part the negative ones

Therefore, given the huge domination of emotions, it becomes very important to keep them in check

This is where coaching plays a vital role. It helps people become aware of themselves, aware of their surroundings and it helps them evolve strategies to deal with the situation.

It helps set right goals and move in the right direction.