Emotional Intelligence (EI) is the ability of a person to manage his or her emotions as well as to manage the emotions of others. Emotional intelligence is much deeper than just having good interpersonal skills. It is being aware of and controlling our own emotions and being empathic enough to perceive and manage the emotions of others. That does not mean controlling others, it means understanding others’ emotions well enough to lead them to better performance (Allen Stewart, 2002).
Project managers need to master more than the requisite technical knowledge in order to run any project successfully. Without the skills necessary to lead effectively, project can quickly fall apart. Availability of people to manage a project is important, but how people is managed to get the best performance is more important. Tapping the potential and motivating individuals and teams to work towards a common goal is a job of project manager. Project managers must be competent in managing the human side of projects as well as the technical components.
Projects are fundamentally about relationships. An excellent project manager always developing and sustaining relationships, then as the result successful projects. Emotional intelligence can help project managers by:
- Provides an ability to use emotions to better understand what is going on with the team members and how to best motivate them to achieve the project objectives.
- Provides them with tools to understand the emotions of their stakeholders to build strong relationships that will provide a fertile environment for a successful project.
- Help them to appreciate the importance and timing of courageous truth-telling.
- Anticipate and recognize some of the breakdowns that occur with people on the team and how to best avoid or deal with them.
- Recognizing the fine line between dealing with project conflict and dealing with bullies or narcissist personalities.
