4 Emotional Intelligence - Lexicon Ethics by Raz Kr

After reading thischapter youwill he ableto understand

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^What ^is Emotional Intelligence ⁽El⁾

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Utilities and application of El in administration and governance

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^What ^is ^Emotional ^Quotient

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^Importance ^{of EQ}

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^El ^and Effective Leadership

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^{Future of} ^El ^is Bureaucracy

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^Emotional Intelligence and Emotional Quotient ⁱⁿ work place

Emotions

Emotion is an affective state of consciousness in which joy, sorrow, fear, hate, or the like, is experienced, as distinguished from cognitive and volitional states of consciousness

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Whereas,the^term'affective'isdefinedassomethingpertaining to feeling or emotions, especially pleasurable or unpleasurable

aspects of a mental process

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Intelligence

Intelligence is a set of cognitive abilities which allow us to

acquire knowledge, to learn and to solve problems

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EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE 87

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive emotions,^to assessand generate emotions so as to assist thought,to understand emotions and emotional knowledge, and ^to reflectively regulate emotions so as to promote emotional and intellectual growth

(Mayer and ^Salovey, 19971^,

According to Coleman ⁽1998⁾,"emotional intelligence⁷^' refers to the capacity for recognizing our own feelings and those of others, for ^motivating ourselves, ^{and for} ^managing emotions^, ^well in ourselves and ⁱⁿ our relationships

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In simple words, emotional intelligence refers to attributes such as understanding one's feeling, empathy for others, and the regulation of emotions ^to enhance one^'s life^,

Background of Emotional Intelligence

Aristotle wrote about emotional intelligence in 350 BC, centuries before the term became popular

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Although the term

Emotional Intelligence' was first coined by two colleagues from Yale University, Peter Salovey and John ^Mayer^, DanieE Goleman is responsible for the current popularity of the subject with his groundbreaking bestseller in 1995, Emotional Intelligence ^- Why it tan matter more than!QJ ⁽IQ ^here ^means Intelligence Quotient⁾

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Why Emotional Intelligence?

EQ ^can ^lead ^one ^to ^healthy relationships and to have the ability to respond to the challenges of one's life and career in a positive ^manner^.

Emotional Intelligence

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Heart and Head Combined

It is important to understand that Emotional Intelligence is

not the opposite of intelligence, it is not the triumph of head over heart

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^{it is} ^the ^unique intersection of both

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Think about the

88 LEXICON

definition of emotion, intelligence

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and especially, of the three

parts of our mind ^- affect/emotion^, cognition/thinking^, volition/ motivation

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Emotional Intelligence combines affect with cognition and emotion with intelligence

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Emotional intelligence,then,^{is the}abilitytouseyour emotions to help you solve problems and livea moreeffective life

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Emotional intelligence without intelligence,or intelligence without emotional intelligence, is only part of a solution

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^{It is} ^{the head} ^working ^with

the heart^,

Mayer & Salovey (Ability Model)

In the words of Mayer and Salovey, Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive emotions, to access and generate emotions so as to assist thought, to understand emotions and emotional knowledge, and to reflectively regulateemotions so as to promote

emotional and intellectual growth

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We tan see that there are four different areas as perceived by Mayer and Salovey ⁱⁿ above definition

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^Perceiving ^Emotions

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^In ^order ^to ^properly understand the emotions

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^{it is}^{, first}

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necessary ^to accurately perceive them^, in many cases, this ^might involve understanding ^non^-verbal

signals such as body language and facial expressions

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^Reasoning ^with ^Emotions

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^Reasoning ^with ^emotions ^involves

using emotions to promote thinking and cognitive activity

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Emotions help prioritize what we pay attention and react to; we respond emotionally to things that gamer our attention^,

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Understanding Emotions

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^The emotions that we perceive can carry a wide varietyofmeanings

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If someoneis expressing angry emotions, the observer must interpret the cause of their anger and what it might mean^. For example

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if your boss is acting angry, it might mean that he is dissatisfied with your work; o^; il could be because he got a speeding ticket on his way to

work that morning or that he^'^s ^been ^fighting with his wife

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EMOTIONALINTELLIGENCE

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Managing Emotions

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The ability tomanage emotionseffectively is a key part of emotional intelligence^. Regulating emotions, responding appropriately and responding to the emotions of others are ail important aspect of emotional management

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Domains of El as Given by Daniel Goieman

Goleman gave five domains that delineate the parameters of emotional intelligence:

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^Being ^self ^aware

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The ability to recognize a feeling as it is happening is fundamental to EL If we are unable to notice our ^emotions, we can be overwhelmed and also flounder at

the mercy of these strong feelings^,

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Managing emotions

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^This^rests^upon ^self^-^awareness^;^{once aware}^,

we need to handie our emotions. The goal is to 'balance' the emotions, i

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e^,, neither emotional suppression nor emotional excess

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It is a continuous exercise and those who can handle emotions ^can fate ^life's ^upsets better and far more quickly than those who do not

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^Having^self

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^motivation

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^Underlyingthe accomplishment of any sort of goaf is the ability to marshal our emotions in pursuit of that end

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For creative tasks, focus and mastery ⁽learning to

delay gratificationandstifleinappropriatedesires^} areimportant

skills

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and emotional control is essential

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Recognizing the emotions of others

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^People^' ^skills ^are ^based

on a capacity for empathy andthe ability to stay tuned ^to the emotions of others

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^Empathy kindles altruism and Ires at the basis of professions that deal with caring for others, such as teaching, management, and the healing arts

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^Handlingrelationship

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Interpersonaleffectiveness Isdependent on ourabilitytomanagetheemotionsofothers

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Brilliantprojects and Innovative Insights are often never realized because of a lack of social competence and leadership skill

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DO LEXICON

Attributes of an Emotionally Intelligent Administrator

An emotionally intelligent administrator will possess the ability to

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^Handle ^conflicts constructively

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^De

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personalize from the angers of others

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^Deal ^with uncertainty and change

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^Identify and abide by core values and beliefs that shape the choices you make

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Understand and empathize with positionsdifferent fromothers

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^To ^enroll ^people ^{into his}^/ ^her ^vision

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^Manage ^difficult^/ unreasonable persons in all situations

Relevance of Emotional Intelligenceinthe Current Environment of Civil Services

Civil services today work in anenvironment that is beset with numerous problems, challenges_, and even contradictions such as

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^Fast ^changing ^social ^structure ^{and values}

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Încreasing ^regional^, êconomic ând ^digital ^divide^, ^rising

population and unemployment^,

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^Inadequacy ^of^basicnecessitieslike housing and drinkingwater

and infrastructure and so on

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Încreased âwareness ôf ^{the masses} âs ^well âs êxistence ôf

significant number of voiceless and marginalized poor

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Widespread application of information technology which has helped the government on one hand,but has alsoput pressure

on the ^government ^to "appear tobe^performing andin control of things*

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^The ^?3^{rd and} ⁷⁴^th Constitutional Amendments have led ^to decentralization of decision making and created a new class of politicians over the civil services

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EMOT^}OfV⁽ALINTELLIGENCE 91

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^There ^{is an} ^all ^pervasive^demand for improved governance

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A paradigm

‘

^shift has occurred in the idea ofgovernance

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^of ^what

governments should do and also ^{how they} should ^govern^.On one hand, governments are expected to move out of many areas, and on the other hand they are expected to perform multiple roles

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^There^is^,^however^,a consensusthatgovernment shouidperform better,bemore responsiveandtransparent,and enhancescope for participation of people and civil society

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^Issues ^get politicized easily and quickly^,

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^There ^{is an}^all ^pervasive and increased cynicism andcontempt of politics and administration

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Înner dissent and conflicts over policies^, programmes and implementation thereof are ^more ôpen ând sharper

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^There ^is ^an increased tendency on part of the people to resort to agitation and aggression

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The common man is no longer satisfied easily

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Even a small instance can provoke people to

indulge in harmful and destructive activities

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Increase in the number of frustrated and disgruntled people has only added fuel to the fire

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The administration itself is beset withmany problems^-political pressures

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rampant corruption^,obsolete and outdated methods, procedures and laws, Jack of avenues for growth, over

-centralizaiton

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self aggrandizement and so on

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Thus the work environment of the civil services is much more complex, demanding andevenhostileattimes

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Andgivenitspresent state, it is in no position to handle and tackle the problems in the old ways

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Even the well intendingcivil ^servants cannot do much because all their energies are exhausted in sheer survival^. Herein lies the roJe of Emotional Intelligence^, The emotionally intelligent civil services can achievea lot if they are professionally competent and positive in their approach

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How can Emotional Intelligence Help Civil Services?

Emotional Intelligence ⁽El⁾ car help in three ways ^at the workplace

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^To achieve amicable work environment

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Improvement in the behavior and performance of individual workers

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Improvement in organizational performance

Numerous organizations in public and private sectors have used El and reported positive results^. To name a few^- US Air Force, US Navy, ^johnson and

Johnson

^, Motorola and so on

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In India, HPCL has used El to create an environment that fosters emotionally intelligent leadership

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^As an initial measure it has trained frontline leaders and provided them with opportunities to put El into practice

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Specifically, the awareness and the application of El helps in the following manner

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^Greater interpersonal skills ⁽crucial for good citizen centric administration⁾

In document Lexicon Ethics by Raz Kr (Page 83-89)