How Emotional Intelligence affects Decision Making

Good decision making is vital in the workplace. Leaders must evaluate all the facts when making decisions and understand the impact that their decisions will have on the business and other people. As part of the emotional intelligence EQ-i 2.0 model, the decision making scale focuses on the way in which people make decisions using emotional information. Higher emotional intelligence leads to better decision making. Within this scale, key behaviours relating to decision making include:
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• Problem solving – having the ability to come up with specific solutions where emotions are involved and understand how emotions can impact on decision making
• Reality testing – the ability to remain objective, to understand what the actual situation is and make a decision based on what is real and recognise where emotions could cause less objectivity
• Impulse control – identify and have the ability to recognise a rash impulse which could lead to a rash decision.
  

Being emotionally intelligent enables a person to understand the impact that emotions can have on decision making, they can be objective and avoid acting in a rash way when making a decision. A person with high emotional intelligence will demonstrate a calm composure and are pragmatic in their manner. They can focus on solutions and have the ability to separate emotions from the issue. This type of person is very confident, has a high self-regard, a strong conviction and is not easily swayed.

By understanding your own or your employees emotional intelligence will allow you to raise awareness of specific behaviours and identify areas for development. It is an extremely powerful tool that is highly effective that can be used in the workplace and will help in personal development.