“Emotional intelligence”. We hear conversations, read books, and listen to talks on what it means, how to raise emotionally intelligent children, the different types of emotional intelligence, and how it can make you a great leader, partner, and individual.
Ei4Change, an Alison publisher and expert in this field, shared a few thoughts on emotional intelligence and spoke to us about the importance of developing this trait and we should each take time to invest in it.
Please share with our learners a bit about your background.
My name’s Robin Hills. I am an emotional intelligence coach, trainer and facilitator. I live in NW England where I run a business focused on helping people in business to develop themselves and their careers through increased self-awareness and how they relate to other people.
How did you get into emotional intelligence coaching?
I had a number of roles in the corporate world in selling, marketing and in leadership, which gave me some great experience of working with and through people. I learnt a lot about human interaction, and behaviour and how this related to emotional intelligence even before emotional intelligence had become recognised for what it is.
Over the years, there have been three occasions when my role was made redundant, and these gave me the chance to determine what I needed to do to gain further knowledge and skills. I became qualified to work with a variety of well-known, well-respected personality and behavioural assessments and registered with the British Psychological Society. I am a committee member of the Association of Business Psychology.
There are very few openings as an emotional intelligence coach so I had to create the opportunities for myself. This is fundamentally what Alison offers people through online education – build your knowledge and skills in the areas that interest you and take this understanding and use it to your advantage.
How does emotional intelligence affect our daily lives?
As human beings, everything we do is underpinned by our emotions. Our emotions are the way that we react psychologically and physiological to our environment, so understanding how we respond to situations can help us improve the way that we interact with circumstances as they change and how we engage with others.
Why should people be invested in developing their emotional intelligence?
Emotional intelligence is being smart with our feelings in order to make good decisions and build authentic relationships. It is involved in communication, conflict management, collaboration, team work, leadership, etc. All the important functions that are involved within our lives.
What misconceptions, if any, do people have about emotional intelligence and how would taking your courses help with this?
Emotional intelligence is not a soft option, in fact it is one of the hardest to learn about and to apply. One of the main misconceptions is that emotional intelligence is about being kind and nice. These are great values to work with, but emotional intelligence is about being assertive and ensuring that people are not taken advantage of and to right what is wrong in the world.
How does developing one’s emotional intelligence affect the workplace?
Your emotions are going to affect those working around you whether you are aware of it or not. As a leader, your emotions can influence the performance of yourself and others by up to 45%. If you are continually angry with those reporting to you, why should they be happy working for you?
How important is emotional intelligence to one’s mental well-being?
Vitally! Part of emotional intelligence involves the practice of mindfulness, which is the awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, non-judgmentally to what is going on in the present moment. Doing this effectively, helps you cope better with stresses and build your resilience. (I did say that practising emotional intelligence is not easy!)
You’ve been a self-publisher with Alison for several years. What do you enjoy most about publishing on this platform?
There is a very strict procedure to follow to get a course published. Having courses published on other platforms, I was surprised around this especially as the courses are free. It brings a high level of quality and consistency to Alison courses. But, beyond this, there is the support of the team at Alison and a very helpful Personal Account Manager to guide and support me along every step of the way.
What lessons or takeaways have you learned as a self-publisher on Alison?
My biggest lesson has been around how to write learning outcomes. This means that I have to direct my attention and course content on the learner and what skills they will be able to do once they have taken the course. It may not seem like such a big deal, but it requires a complete shift in focus and is not that easy (until the ability is developed).
My courses have improved massively due to this focus as it enables me to structure and deliver the content focused more on what learners want to learn about rather than what I want to tell them! I now realise how few learning instructors creating courses on other platforms can do this.
How has being a self-publisher on Alison changed or impacted your life?
I have been able to touch and make a difference to the lives of people all over the world. If it changes their lives for the better, it impacts on my life and my legacy.
What words of advice would you give someone who would like to become a publisher on Alison?
Just go for it! It is not hard, but you need to be determined and have tenacity. It takes time – much, much more time than you think. Use your emotional intelligence! Be focused, be consistent in your approach, be adaptable and most of all enjoy it.
Who should take your courses?
Anyone who is interested in learning more about themselves and their relationships with others.
For individuals interested in taking one of your courses, what can they expect to get from it?
A lot of hard work! A lot of self-reflection and soul searching and greater insights into who you are. Learning about emotional intelligence is very easy, putting it into practice and making changes is not easy and is the hard part.
What feedback have you received from learners about your course?
The feedback has been phenomenal. I am deeply touched by some of the thanks and stories that I have received.
What else can Alison and its learners look forward to from you in the coming year or two?
I am continually looking at ways to bring the messages about emotional intelligence to a wider audience so look out for more courses. For those who have enjoyed my courses, these new courses will help build your knowledge and understanding giving you different perspectives on emotional intelligence.
Also, I am keen to embrace new ways that people learn as technology develops so I need to continually ensure that my skills improve to build appropriate aspects of AI (artificial intelligence), gamification, etc. into my courses. How will this change over the coming decade? Nobody knows so I need to keep abreast of it and incorporate it into my courses as things evolve.
Any last words, advice or wisdom you’d like to share with our learners?
None of us know what the future holds. Keep an open mind, keep striving for more knowledge, and keep learning. Nobody else can be you – so be the best version of you that you can be.
The Principles of Emotional Intelligence, Leadership and Coaching course will be the difference between being a self-aware whole rounded extraordinary leader and being ordinary. Here, you will learn how this contributes towards your life skills, helps you in making decisions at work and at home and helps you build stronger and healthier relationships.
Your healing journey is a four short course away. Learn from Robin Hills by enrolling in these courses, Diploma in Emotional Intelligence, Develop Your Emotional Intelligence, Emotional Resilience at Work and watch your life grow from strength to strength.
