Emotions
- Emotion is an instinctive state of mind. A positive emotion(confidence, happiness)creates a sense of pleasantness while a negative emotion(fear, anger) creates a sense of disturbance.
What is Emotional Intelligence?
- According to Daniel Goleman, “Emotional Intelligence ” 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.
- In simple terms, EI refers to attributes such as understanding one’s feelings, empathy for others, and the regulation of emotions to enhance one’s life.
- Emotional Intelligence is the ability to use our emotions to help us solve problems and live a more effective life.
- The core capabilities required for driving change and transformation in the VUCA world (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) have to comprise elements of the Indian ethos and its imperatives, learning agility embedded in emotional intelligence.
Examples
- During the early years of India’s space program, Vikram Sarabhai faced several challenges, including the failure of the first rocket launch. Despite the setback, he took full responsibility for the failure and encouraged his team to learn from their mistakes and move forward. This act showcases elements of emotional intelligence such as self-awareness, empathy, and resilience.
- Mahatma Gandhi displayed emotional intelligence during India’s struggle for independence. He practiced non-violence, empathy, and forgiveness, even in the face of adversity.
- The Scientists of ISRO showed emotional Intelligence during the years of criticism and ridicule after the failure of Chandrayaan 2. This emotional intelligence was a stepping stone to the success of chandrayaan3.
“Emotional intelligence is the key to both personal and professional success.” –Daniel Goleman
“Whatever is begun in anger, ends in shame.”-Benjamin Franklin
“Where we have strong emotions, we’re liable to fool ourselves.”-Carl Sagan
“All learning has an emotional base.”-Plato
Emotional Intelligence Theory
Daniel Goleman has conceptualized emotional intelligence on the basis of five main aspects.
- Self-awareness: Ability to accurately assess our feelings at any given time, and make decisions according to our preferences.
- Self-regulation: Control over emotions so that they help and do not hinder the task at hand.
- Motivation: Relying on our strongest preferences to guide and move us towards our cherished goals.
- Empathy: The ability to sense what others are feeling; it enables one to look at things from the perspective of others.
- Social skills: Ability to handle emotions in relationships and accurately understand social situations and networks.
Emotional Intelligence in Indian Philosophy
- Bhagavad Gita describes a person of steady wisdom as Sthitaprajna (or Sthitapragnya)
- Sthita means steady and prajna means wisdom. Thus, Sthitaprajna refers to a person of steady wisdom, the one who has experienced the truth from within.
- A Sthitaprajna is a perfect embodiment of inner balance, detachment, and compassion.
Importance of EI in Civil Service
- Better Communication: A civil servant with emotional intelligence will be able to explain policies more clearly and promote positive interactions with subordinates.
- Conflict Resolution: An administrator with Emotional Intelligence settles disputes more quickly by evaluating both pros and cons.
- Effective Decision-making: EI enables a civil servant to make and accept decisions effectively and empathetically.Eg: A police officer with emotional Intelligence can resolve a law and order issue by effectively communicating with the people(not in all situations).
- Enhanced Empathy: EI trains public employees to understand and correctly react to the emotions of others.
- Work-Life Balance: Civil servant will be able to better manage both their personal and professional lives with EI
- Managing Stress and Tensions: Emotional intelligence (EI) assists civil servants in managing their own emotions and controlling them effectively at home and workplace.
- EI in Civil Service contributes to increased levels of commitment, trustworthiness, and consciousness.
Attributes of an Emotionally Intelligent Administrator
Emotional Quotient (EQ)
- It is a measurement of a person’s ability to monitor his or her thoughts and actions.
Intelligence Quotient (IQ)
- IQ is a measure of the intelligence level of an individual, that is reflected in the score obtained by the person in the intelligence test
Difference between IQ and EQ
| IQ | EQ |
| Measures General Intelligence | Measures Emotional Intelligence |
| Inborn ability | Learned and improved ability. |
| Ensures Success in school. | Ensures Success in life |
| Recognizes people with high intellect, common sense etc | Recognizes Leaders, Captains, Managers etc |
| Obtained from a standardized intelligence test. | Obtained from analyzing individual’s level of emotional intelligence |
Reference
- https://keydifferences.com/difference-between-iq-and-eq.html
- Lexicon
- ETHICS, INTEGRITY AND APTITUDE by G Subba Rao IAS and P N Roy Chowdhury IAS
- Ethics,Integrity and Aptitude by DK Balaji,IAS
Previous Year Question
What are the main components of emotional intelligence (EI)? Can they be learned? Discuss.
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2020 Mains]