You may have heard the term Emotional Intelligence, which is the capacity to be aware of emotions and how they impact your life. Emotional Agility goes one step further by measuring not just your awareness, but your ability to use and understand emotions to create positive outcomes for yourself and others.
This ability has been described by some as a superpower because high Emotional Agility enables you to understand why and how people do what they do, it helps you solve complicated real-world problems, it gives you peace of mind that leads to reduced stress, and it provides the foundation for you to inspire others to step into their full potential.
Unlike some other core human characteristics, you can improve your Emotional Agility over time. And since there’s a direct correlation between Emotional Agility and financial success and happiness, it’s likely to be the best return on investment you could possibly make.
“What is EA” Emotional agility is the collection of five key skills proven to be essential for an optimally successful and fulfilling life. EA has been shown to be twice as important as IQ and technical skills for workplace success and it accounts for 90% of performance outcomes in top leadership positions.
There are five Mindfluence Emotional Agility skills and they each have a direct influence on your success in business, life, and relationships:
- Self-Awareness and Impact
- Self-Management
- Inspired Engagement
- Compassionate Understanding
- Relationship Influence
The first three skills are INTRApersonal (within you) and the final two are INTERpersonal (between you and others). The intrapersonal aspects are primary and they support your interpersonal abilities.
Emotion is a powerful force. We experience varying emotions throughout the day based upon our circumstances and our interactions with others. Most of the time we’re not fully conscious of this dance of emotions or its impact on the world around us.
These emotions either propel us forward in our growth, contribution, relationships, and success or they act to sabotage our purpose, peace, and progress in the world. The good news is that we can choose which outcome we’ll get.
While none of us are perfect in these critical emotional skills (and most of us have never received any EA training at all), you now have the incredible opportunity to develop and direct these powerful forces in the same way that you can expand your mental capacity with new knowledge and develop your physical fitness through exercise.
Let’s briefly explore the 5 Emotional Agility Skills:
SELF-AWARENESS AND IMPACT
This is the skill of being aware of and understanding your own moods, attitudes, and drives, as well as how they impact the people around you.
How are your feelings affecting your thoughts and actions?
How are they affecting your ability to achieve your desired outcomes?
SELF MANAGEMENT
This score demonstrates your skill at sitting with your emotional awareness, and (as necessary) your willingness and ability to shift your own emotional state.
How good are you at minimizing a potential negative affect upon the people around you?
Do your emotions serve your larger vision and goals?
INSPIRED ENGAGEMENT
This skill reflects the source of your drive to take action.
On the deepest level, why do you do what you do?
How do you orient to adversity?
How do you move toward your goals?
COMPASSIONATE UNDERSTANDING
This EA competency measures your ability to understand and connect with other people.
Do you see the underlying relationship between their feelings and their actions?
How deeply do you care about others and how willing are you to take action for their benefit?
RELATIONSHIP INFLUENCE
This final EA factor gauges how others feel about you and the extent of your relational interaction and depth.
How service-focused are you and how proficient are you in managing relationships and building networks through your communication and behavior?
Do you build rapport and inspire others?
Emotional Agility is a crucial life skill that can put the odds of success in your favor. Whether you want to be happier in your work, a better leader, improve the quality of your relationships, or just make more money, Emotional Agility is the vehicle that can carry you there.
You can purchase the Mindfluence Emotional Agility Assessment at Emogility.com. If you have any questions, please contact Mindfluence.