Emotional Intelligence in a Program, Project and Portfolio Management View

"Developed by Andrea Gatto"

Summary

The well-known American psychologist Daniel Goleman in his book “Emotional Intelligence”, published in 1995, defines the Emotional Intelligence as “the ability to recognize, understand and manage our own emotions and recognize, understand and influence the emotions of the others”. Indeed, EI belongs to the large group of soft skills, also called behavior skills, which are a prerogative to be flexible and adaptable to any environment, especially in a business environment, where interactions with colleagues and stakeholders are on the agenda. Is it possible that someone selected for a job position through classic tests is not actually able to handle it? it could be: self-control, stubbornness, empathy, and attention to the others are fundamental to work effectively in a shared environment. Obviously it is not just about that, indeed, this article aims to provide an overview of the importance of the emotional intelligence within team’s project and relations with stakeholders, especially from a psychological point of view.

Emotional Intelligence and its application

Emotional intelligence, as an individual and soft skill, can be applied in different contexts. Although it is a skill that every person should develop and train to make the most of it, in the following paragraphs it will be addressed from the point of view of the manager, who is in charge of a group project or responsible for relations with suppliers or stakeholders.