What is Emotional Intelligence? (frm In My Feelings – thanks Alpha Chi Headquarters!)
Emotionally intelligent people are self-aware. They have a realistic appreciation of their strengths and weaknesses and how they come across to others.
When we have high levels of emotional intelligence, we’re able to build strong working relationships and manage difficult situations more effectively.
Even if you already have many of the elements of emotional intelligence, it’s important to look for opportunities to build these elements further. This will increase your leadership potential and improve the quality of your relationships.
[*We also tied this back to recruitment: crucial to listen, cultivate empathy, and be resilient.*]
The Facilitators did a “get your wiggles” activity where they read aloud 15 quick yes-or-no questions. Sisters stood in the middle of the room, and if they responded “yes” to the question they shuffled right and “no” they shuffled left. Then they hurried back to the middle for the next question. It was as way for sisters to consider further exploration of why they felt or acted a certain way and to ponder how they could improve in that area. (Examples – Do I focus on what I can control? Do I listen for the message and not just the words?)
We wanted this to incorporate “get to to know your sisters better” also, so the chapter was split up into Freshman and Juniors and Sophomores and Seniors. They “paired and shared” with a sister they did not know well, and each part of the pair talked about something that made them anxious in the week. The sister listening was only to listen and ask questions and practice her EI skills.
And we took that knowledge and introspection about ourselves (#inourfeelings) and channeled it into our Word of the Year. Remember, “It’s not a resolution, it’s an inspiration”. Individually we jotted down areas where we want to grow. We brainstormed words illustrating the areas we described. We chose our word of the year and wrote down our “why”. We took our sheets home to hang on our fridges, tape on our bathroom mirrors, or put in our planners to help shape our positive path in 2022.
We loved the ruminations of seniors Sara Dramis and Annick Mitchel who realized what very different words resonated with them now as seniors vs. when they were freshmen! A little light introspection is good for a Monday; it’s what makes us Real. Strong. Women.
FSU Alpha Chi Omega 