As social creatures who constantly interact with others in our professional and personal lives, we experience emotions throughout the day. Our relationships with others affect our success and happiness. But how do we navigate these connections with emotional intelligence?  How do we manage these encounters for the best possible outcomes?

By using emotional intelligence and understanding our circle of influence, we can improve professional and personal relationships. Let’s delve into the intersection of these two ideas and how we can benefit from them.

For starters, what does emotional intelligence mean? It’s recognizing, understanding and managing our emotions as well as identifying and influencing the emotions of others. This proves important in the workplace as we traverse situations loaded with emotions. Understanding how emotions affect behavior helps us read situations correctly, identify emotional cues and react appropriately.

There are four attributes involved in developing and maintaining this tool:

Self-awareness — in tune and honest about our strengths, weaknesses and triggers. Realizing each of us exerts influence and affects others.

Self-management —  express emotions appropriately in changing situations.  Often this requires resisting the urge to react instead of methodically acting proportionately to the circumstances.

Empathy – understand someone else is going through something to which you might not be able to relate.

Nurturing relationships – focus on building relationships within an organization and determine whether or not relationships are more important than conflicts.

Incorporating emotional intelligence training into employee orientations yields numerous benefits, including improved communication and coping skills as well as less time spent on conflict management. Regardless of the industries or positions, all employees can benefit from such training both professionally and personally. In experiencing less turmoil in their personal lives, employees are less likely to bring drama into the workplace and remain more engaged while they’re there.

Now, let’s turn to our circle of influence. We all have three circles that govern our interactions and problem-solving abilities. The first circle is what we can control — our thoughts, reactions and behaviors. The second circle is how, what or whom we influence, including relationships, communications and motivation. The third and largest circle encompasses what we’re concerned with, whether or not we exert control over it. Understanding the difference in our circles allows us to focus on the inner two and not waste time or resources on matters outside them.

Since the circle of influence starts with individuals, employees have the potential to exert influence by their attitudes, performances and relationships with colleagues and customers. Individual influence ripples outward, affecting the team, department and organization in positive or negative ways.

Emotional intelligence increases the circle of influence by helping employees navigate professional or social situations with greater ease and effectiveness. When we become aware and accepting of our own emotions, trigger points, strengths and weaknesses and those of others, we communicate more rationally, empathize within the situation and strengthen work relationships. Building this brand of self-management projects a positive image to others, inspiring them to follow our example as trustworthy and reliable people. This can lead to greater respect and cooperation with others and in turn expands the circle of influence.

By being emotionally intelligent, we can also manage conflicts and difficult conversations in constructive ways, which can further enhance our ability to influence others to chose more productive paths. Learning this concept enables us to tailor our communication style to the situation and audience whether we want to educate, influence or call others to action.

Finally, by understanding what motivates people and connecting with them on an emotional level, we can inspire them to take action aligning with organizational goals. This can be especially valuable in a leadership role, where the ability to inspire others affects employee engagement, customer satisfaction and company reputation.

All of us encounter emotionally charged situations at work and in our personal lives. Emotional intelligence among leaders and employees benefits an organization with productive communication techniques and effective conflict resolution methods. Expanding our workplace circle of influence involves developing emotional intelligence by acknowledging and managing our emotions, recognizing those of others and adapting communication styles accordingly. Practicing these skills improves leadership as well as professional and personal success.