Emotional Intelligence Plays a Vital Role

Emotional Intelligence plays a vital role in our everyday lives and in the field of Social Work. Tony Morrison quotes Golemans definition of Emotional Intelligence as being able to motivate one-self and persist in the face of frustrations; to control impulse and delay gratification, to regulate ones moods and keep distress from swamping the ability to think, to emphasize, and to hope. (Morrison, 2006) In other words its all about being aware of yours and others emotions and knowing how to control yourself when in a heightened state of emotion. Emotional Intelligence is relevant to the Social Work Field in a variety of different ways. Because it is a very social and engaging field, Social Workers should utilize Emotional Intelligence on a daily basis. Often, there are stressful situations that workers will encounter and must practice some form of Emotional Intelligence. Stressful situations can arise from dealing with clients, court hearings, visits, medications, appointments, and etc. If a worker can have complete control over their emotions, it can allow them to do their job effectively. Emotions contribute to our thoughts and actions which plays a major role in our decision making. The Five DomainsAccording to Wang in the Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, Emotional Intelligence is broken down into five different domains. These domains consist of Relationships, Tolerance, Flexibility, Self-Management, and Emotional Awareness. (Wang et al.; 2012) All of these five domains play a role in our everyday lives and Its important to understand how these domains relate to the field of Social Work. RelationshipsThe skills needed for relationships are as follows, motivate, inspire and guide others; take an active role in developing other peoples talents; and resolve disagreements among others. (Wang et al.; 2012) Social Work is all about developing relationships so in my opinion this is the most important domain. Every day social workers must help people in need so developing a solid rapport with people is important. If a workers client trusts them they will allow their worker to help them. Social workers work timelessly to help build skills within people to complete tasks of their everyday lives. They are always trying to solve the daily problems in their clients lives and will also try to repair the broken relationships in those lives as well.I believe I do an excellent job in this domain. My relationships with my significant other, family, friends, colleagues, clients, and classmates all mean very much to me. I need all of these relationships in order to be successful. The one skill I excel at within relationships is resolving disagreements. I dont like when issues arise, and I try my very best to resolve any conflict so that we can move forward. One skill I can become better in is taking a role in developing others talents. I can try a little harder to help motivate the people in all of my relationships to help them become a better them. ToleranceTolerance is the second skill listed for the domains. Wang says that tolerance includes skills to: interact constructively with others whose values, goals, perspectives or cultural identities differ from ones own; respect others perspectives; work with others who are different; accept criticism of ones own performance; and take up new challenges. (Wang et al.; 2012) This is another huge component of Social Work. It is important that social workers are open to learning about cultures. The world is so diverse and populated with so many people, there will always be a client that is different. Tolerating others cultures and opinions about certain subjects can help build a trusting and stable relationship. It is also helpful to listen to others because their culture and opinions can teach and help workers understand them better.I believe I can work on this skill. I do think that I tolerate others opinions and culture well, but a lot of times I dont agree with them and believe it should be changed. My goal should be to understand and not to change.FlexibilityThe definition of Flexibility from The Journal University Teaching & Learning Practice says that flexibility includes skills to: perceive and comprehend anothers expectations and adjust ones own goals and behavior accordingly. (Wang et al.; 2012)

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