The Importance of Emotional Intelligence

A Packaging and Processing Women’s Leadership Network webinar discussed embracing and understanding emotional intelligence. Here is an overview of the discussion.

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As a part of its ongoing Learning Circle Webinar series, the Packaging and Processing Women’s Leadership Network completed a deep dive into emotional intelligence, including misconceptions about what it is and how important it can be to career and relationship success. PMMI Media Group Senior Marketing Manager Rebecca Welsby moderated the discussion with PPWLN leader Jan Tharp, Infinium Spirits President and CEO, and Dr. Cranla Warren, Organizational Psychologist. The following are a few exchanges from the Webinar, which can be found at pmmi.org/womens-leadership-network. The Q&A has been edited for clarity and space.

Rebecca Welsby: How is emotional intelligence defined?

Dr. Cranla Warren: Emotional intelligence, also often referred to as EI, is the ability to recognize, understand, and manage our own emotions while also tuning into the emotions of others. I'd say there's two sides to EI. There's looking at the intra-personal experience. There's this internal dialogue we have with ourselves.

Then there are interpersonal skills. Those are social skills. Emotions drive our behavior, so we feel and then we act. So one aspect of EI is the experience that I have within myself. The other is my experience in how I engage with people.

Rebecca Welsby: How does cultivating EI benefit us as women in the workforce? 

Dr. Cranla Warren: Emotional intelligence can be a strategic advantage for women in the workforce. It can help us navigate unique challenges like balancing empathy with authority and overcoming stereotypes and biases around emotional expression. When we have high EI, we can communicate our needs, advocate for ourselves, and advocate for our team members with confidence and clarity. It also allows us to communicate our needs assertively and read nonverbal cues better. 

Jan Tharp: It's a balancing act; you're in a situation, and you're really collecting data. Does the guy across the room have his arms crossed? Are they listening? Do they have a scowl on their face? You're taking in body language, people's tone, and how you feel; they're all data points. EI is the ability to take all those data points and figure out, okay, what's my next step? How will I use this data to move this discussion forward constructively?

Dr. Cranla Warren: Another thing that popped to mind about EI and benefiting women in the workforce is that so many of them feel pressured to do it all. They're managing family, children, and work. EI can help us to recognize and set personal boundaries. To your point about data points, we're taking in all these data points so we can recognize what's coming in and set up our personal boundaries. By understanding and managing our emotions, we become role models for each other. That's another thing I've been trying to set up in the workplace regarding peer role modeling and advocating for a balanced and healthy work culture. So I think there's a lot here for women to dig into about what it is here for you: developing, honing, practicing, and being in lifelong practice with EI skills.