[Alicia Davis] As a nonprofit leader, have you ever wondered what emotional intelligence is and why it might matter to you? If so, that’s really what we want to talk about today and over the next few weeks because we think it really makes a difference for leaders of all kinds, don’t we? Stacie?

[Stacie Watson] We really do. And I feel like emotional intelligence is one of those catchphrases that gets attributed to a lot of different – whether it’s, you know, the way that we treat each other, the way that we show up at work, you know. I think emotional intelligence kind of is a paintbrush that gets painted over a lot. And it seems like it’s helpful to maybe break it down a little bit to really understand more fully what do we mean when we talk about emotional intelligence. How does it matter to me and to you? And what can I do to sort of increase my sense of emotional intelligence? Or the way emotional intelligence works for me?

[Alicia Davis] That’s right. Well, honestly, it’s a little bit in the title of it, right? So emotional intelligence is our ability, both as individuals to first notice what we’re feeling in any given situation, and then to be able to regulate that. And then it also is about how do we notice the emotions of other people. And how do we use that information to be able to really deepen our relationship and our connection with them?

[Stacie Watson] Right. And, of course, that is one of the reasons it’s so important for leaders to consider emotional intelligence because, at the end of the day, it really does affect how we connect with the people around us.

[Alicia Davis] That’s right. And, you know, often, people often refer to Daniel Goleman’s work on emotional intelligence as the kind of the pioneer, if you will. And so this is a visual of the model of what we just described. And what we’re going to do over the next four weeks is talk about each one of these aspects of emotional intelligence. So what does it mean to have self-awareness? What does it mean to have self-management or regulate emotions, like anger or frustration, or maybe even sadness or hopelessness? What is it, and then to talk about how we build skill around noticing and having some awareness about what somebody else is feeling or even how they’re reacting to something that you just said? And then because we know that things that we say and do either help build the relationship or sometimes put a wedge in it, right? And so we’re gonna just do a deeper dive into this whole concept of emotional intelligence?

[Stacie Watson] Yeah, it should be exciting. I feel like so many of the conversations that I know I have with leaders and perhaps that you’re having with staff is really about how can we be more effective together? How can we be productive? How can we acknowledge and validate each other, value the work that we do, and feel valued, and all of this is woven into emotional intelligence?

[Alicia Davis] That’s exactly right. So, as a leader, as a supervisor, as a manager, we would love to hear from you about your thoughts on emotional intelligence, maybe your thoughts about why it’s important or how you’ve been emotionally intelligent. And we’ll invite you to continue watching the series and give us a direct message. We’d love to chat with you. I’m Alicia Davis.

[Stacie Watson] I’m Stacie Watson.

[Alicia Davis] And we are from Transformative Leadership Strategies, coaching, training, and team building that transforms. So thank you so much. We’ll talk to you soon.

[Stacie Watson] Thank you.