As leaders, we hear a great deal about emotions through learning emotional intelligence – an enlightened concept.
The key elements of emotional intelligence are:
• Self-Awareness
• Self-Regulation
• Motivation
• Empathy
• Social Skills
It entails being able to discriminate between different emotions, label them appropriately, and utilize emotional information to guide our thinking and behavior. It is in effect our emotional compass – our emotional GPS. Healthy emotional intelligence means you are curious about others, embrace change, have self-awareness, know your strengths and weaknesses, and are a good judge of character.
Passion is fuel for our emotional intelligence to provide us with the energy we need to engage in life, both business and personal, with zest and zeal! Since our passions are very much a part of our emotions, it is paramount that they become connected with our emotional intelligence, which helps us cope with personal and professional demands and pressures. It is important to practice self-awareness and understand our feelings – like passion!
Passion is expressed in our words and actions. A large body of evidence indicates that employees with passion are both happier and more productive. Their passion stems from caring deeply about what they do and being personally invested in and motivated by their mission. We need to follow our true passion and bring it to our workplace. The challenge is to determine what your passion truly is! An important professional assignment, it’s about who you are!
“The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” – Steve Jobs
Too often, we strive to be cool, detached and clinical in our dealings with other people. This results in most encounters leaving a bland impression; frankly, boring. If people like us, it creates an emotional tie – passion! That opens the door for people to work with us and trust us. You can achieve this by virtue of being your authentic self. Both your passion and energy make you stand out. Passion triumphs expertise. If you are academically talented (in your profession) and passionate at the same time, you are indeed a special talent!
“It is on the passions alone that all good and evil in life depends” – René Descartes, 1645
Value congruence makes driven, successful organizations. When employees share and support the values of the company and its leadership, the seeds of high motivation are deeply planted. They create a culture of:
Passion inspires us and others to invest time and energy on a constant basis (motivation) and becomes a part of our identity. Then we view what we do as not just a job, but a career!
