Understanding Emotional Intelligence

About this package

Understanding Emotional Intelligence focuses on assessing how you use emotional intelligence, rather than simply learning its definition. It introduces the ability to recognise, understand and manage emotions in yourself and in relationships with others. With a particular emphasis on leadership and management, the package connects emotional awareness to everyday behaviour, communication and performance in personal and professional settings.

The opening content explores the purpose of emotional intelligence: creating a gap between feeling an emotion and choosing how to respond. Workplace situations such as tense meetings, client complaints, late projects and changes in workload provide a practical context. Learners consider how noticing emotions, understanding their influence and choosing a deliberate response can help prevent pressure from turning into reactive behaviour.

The package then examines five key characteristics: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills. It explains how recognising your own triggers, managing your response and maintaining motivation show up in observable leadership behaviour. The content on empathy and social skills considers how another person’s circumstances affect the way a message is received, and why effective team communication requires more than passing on information. These characteristics are linked to thoughtful decision-making and productive working relationships.

The final part moves from understanding to evidence-based self-assessment. Learners use Goleman’s five-area framework and behaviourally anchored ratings to examine specific situations, rather than relying on broad statements about being good with people or calm under pressure. Reflection focuses on the context, behaviour and outcome of a response, helping learners distinguish their intentions from the effect on others. This supports identification of genuine strengths and development needs, with attention to managing emotions, collaboration and future responses. Video content is included, and the package is delivered through your own LMS.

Who it’s for

Suitable for leadership and management learners, managers and team leaders who want to understand and assess their emotional intelligence. It also suits learners reflecting on how their emotional responses affect personal and working relationships.

What’s covered

1. Defining emotional intelligence in leadership practice

   Introduces emotional intelligence as recognising, understanding and managing emotions in yourself and in relationships. Explores how noticing feelings, interpreting their influence and choosing a response support deliberate leadership behaviour.

2. The purpose of emotional intelligence

   Examines why emotional intelligence matters in personal relationships, professional settings and decisions made under pressure. The focus is on creating separation between a feeling and an action so that responses are considered rather than automatic.

3. Self-awareness, self-regulation and motivation

   Explains three core characteristics through everyday leadership behaviour, including recognising emotions and triggers, managing responses and maintaining motivation. Learners consider how these qualities affect steadiness, fairness and performance when emotions rise.

4. Empathy, social skills and team communication

   Explores how understanding another person’s feelings, concerns and circumstances helps a manager choose an appropriate response. Connects empathy and social skills with team communication and decision-making.

5. Using an emotional intelligence assessment framework

   Introduces Goleman’s five-area framework as a structured way to assess emotional intelligence. Explains how behaviourally anchored ratings and specific, observable examples help turn personal judgements into evidence.

6. Reflecting on emotional intelligence and its impact

   Examines how to gather credible reflective evidence from real situations and identify strengths and development areas. Learners consider the effects of their behaviour on their own performance and relationships, using reflection to inform future responses.

Learning outcomes

By completing this package, learners can:

• Define emotional intelligence and identify its core purpose in personal and professional contexts.
• Describe the main characteristics of emotional intelligence, including self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills.
• Apply a recognised framework to assess your own use of emotional intelligence characteristics in given situations.
• Analyse how personal strengths and areas for development in emotional intelligence affect responses, relationships and decision-making.
• Evaluate the impact of your own emotional intelligence on yourself and others, using specific examples to justify conclusions.

Frequently asked questions

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