Emotional Intelligence boils down to one’s ability to be smart with their feelings. It is the ability to use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior to achieve goals. Every project has goals to achieve and a finish line to cross. The more complex a project is, the more emotional intelligence is needed so that everyone on the project team can effectively navigate and overcome the challenges, build decision networks, and collaborate with each other to ensure a project’s success.
Emotional intelligence is a skill we all possess and like any other skill, for it to become stronger, we first need to learn it and then apply it repetitively until we are competent in such skill. The reason emotional intelligence helps project managers to effectively manage complex projects is because it strengthens their ability to lead others through the complexities of a project. This is accomplished through clear, concise, well-tuned communication so that everyone understands their roles and responsibilities on the project team. Strong emotional intelligence is necessary for project team leaders and teams because it strengthens one’s ability to be agile, adaptable, flexible and focused with minimal stress during complex and challenging projects. Simply put, Emotional Intelligence helps project managers quickly build the rapport and trust needed to engage project team members and to communicate effectively during all aspects of a complex project.