What happens in our personal lives affects our professional lives. You are who you are, wherever you are, it’s just the facts. If we have challenges being positive at home – or anywhere else in life, it’s going to show up at work. If we can bring authentic excellence to who we are at work, we’ll bring this excellence home to our people. Our emotional intelligence does not discriminate between work/home. Understanding how to use that intelligence to benefit a corporate culture is key to professional and personal development – and to becoming an exceptional leader.
What is emotional intelligence? It’s the ability to understand and regulate one’s emotions, the emotions of others, and how to best provide guidance for positive expression of feelings. Empathy, awareness of our impact and understanding the culture that you and your team are working in add up to being an ‘awesome’ emotionally intelligent leader.
Emotionally intelligent people bring focus to their personal development, which directly affects professional development. (You are who you are, wherever you are.) That’s why personal development and professional development are key factors in leadership development. It’s simple: the more emotionally intelligent you are, the better leadership skills you display.
As we seek that magic formula to help us become awesome leaders, the connection between personal and professional development cannot be ignored. That journey becomes a part of who we are, at work, at home and in all aspects of life.