The Emotional Competence Inventory (ECI) assessment is divided into four major quadrants, self-awareness, selfmanagement, social awareness, and relationship management. Of the four quadrants my lowest scores were in selfmanagement, with average scores of 3. 3 and 3. 6. Also according to the test, my highest scoring category was self-awareness with scores of 4 and 5. Within each of the quadrants there are sections that further explain your personality, such as, trustworthiness, self-awareness, influence, and empathy.
Through the test you can retrieve more data in which you surpass in and the areas that you can polish. Quoted from the handout, “Emotional Intelligence is the capacity for recognizing our own feelings and those of others, for motivating ourselves, and for managing emotions effectively in ourselves and others. ” The first of the quadrants in the ECI is self-awareness. Selfawareness is the ability to perceive aspects of our personality, behavior, emotions, motivations, and thought process without self-criticism. According the assessment, this is one of my highest scoring sections.
With this being my strongest category it shows that I can control my emotions very well and manipulate others to get what I want or need. Judging from the assessment, this is one of my highest scoring sections. In business, this can be a great attribute in recruiting. For example, judging a future employee or recruit by their image, I can put on a front similar to theirs to make them comfortable with me and my organization making them lose interest with other competitors. This is called emotional intelligence, managing your own emotions so you can better understand/manage/manipulate what others do.
Within this category, I was tested on my level of emotional self-awareness, accurate self-assessment, and selfconfidence. For example, with me having high self-awareness | have the ability to identify my own feelings in multiple situations. I am able to calculate when I am being unreasonable about certain decisions. The second quadrant is selfmanagement. Self-management can be defined as the taking of responsibility for one’s own behavior and well-being. Selfmanagement is my worst subject of all and it will be the first I ck out of the four quadrants.
In this section, I averaged a lower score of 3. 0 making this section one of my weaknesses. Judging from the self-management portion, I calmly deal with stress, take calculated risks, and seek information in unusual ways. Concurring with the test, an example of my low selfmanagement are shown when I have trouble managing my emotions. My emotional self-control shows that I have difficulty controlling my emotions in the work environment. I would argue that I am not weak minded enough to lose my job over stupidity or negative actions, but I can understand a reaction to selfdefense.
A way to build from this would be to reduce stress through physical activity or other types of conscious relaxation techniques. For example, I work at the Country Club of Birmingham, as a valet. One day I was talking to my manager Joe, and a member of the club walked up with multiple complaints in a disrespectful way. To show self-management | kept my composure and help the member as best as I could without any smart remarks or losing my temper. The third quadrant of the assessment is social awareness. In this section, I averaged a high score of 4. – 4. 6 also making it one of my strengths along with self-awareness. By being socially aware, am able to read people, there moods and nonverbal cues of others around me. This also helps me understand the political group at work within the corporation, and give contentment to those around me. My power to be socially aware really shows through my involvement in extracurricular activities. For instance, while being on the football team, I have been able to recognize the struggles our team has within each other and with our former coaches.
This also means that I have been able to recognize the favorites of each of the athletes, coaches, and trainers. Another example of being socially aware is seen in my ability to make sure that those around me are pleased with their relationship with me. This can happen through teammates, relationships with friends, and coworkers. According to the ECI, I am compatible when the happiness of others depends on me. When working in a group setting, I try to make myself as convenient as possible in order to assure the happiness of those working with me. The final major quadrant of the ECI is relationship management.
In line with the assessment, I recorded a score of 4 – 4. 3 making relationship management my most consistent score out of the four categories. With this category being my most consistent of good scores, the ECI is saying that I know how to inspire others through activities, deescalate conflicts, and call for needed change. An example of my ability to manage relationships properly can be seen in my position in the Urban Environmental Studies, Green Team. I can see when something needs to be changed, I do not attack it immediately but I do get it within a timely manner.
This attribute also shows that I am someone who can openly discuss the problems of a corporation that has room for improvement. For example, while on the Green Team this past year, I have noticed that our school does not participate in recycling as much. So for the upcoming fall semester I have arranged meeting to get a table during freshmen orientation to encourage incoming students to help make a healthy change. Although within the four major quadrants I scored higher in some categories compared to the others. There are still a few low averages that | scored within each of the quadrants.
In self-management, I have low scores in four out of the seven sections in this category. emotional self-control, optimism, achievement orientation, and initiative. Within social-awareness, my lowest score was organizational awareness and service orientation. Last but not least, in relationship management, my lowest averages were in conflict management, building bonds, and developing others. Within each minor competency, there are multiple steps or ways I can improve in order to build a stronger ability in each.
Under the emotional self-control part of the ECI, I scored an average of 3 points, making it my lowest score in the self-management category. Emotional self-control is the ability to keep your impulsive feelings and emotions under control. This competency is based off me dealing calmly with stress and staying positives in trying moments. My weaknesses by not having an accurate sense of emotional self-control means that I do not have the ability to deal with stress or stay positive during discouraging moments. I struggle with holding my tongue and retaliation.
This is apparent when I have a small tolerance with co-workers or people in general. I realize that my reactions should be corrected soon, in order to help correct my lack of self-control, I should plan to make a list of all my triggers and reduce stress through physical activity. For example, I have begun to think before I do or say during conversations and debates, and I also exercise more while doing participating in yoga as well. This is a method that I have begun using in order to become more comfortable with retaliation and stress. Under the initiative minor section, I averaged a score of a 3. . Having initiative is the power to recognize an issue and take action on it.
Although I highly disagreed with the self-management quadrant, the assessment shows that I occasionally show initiative. In order to attack this issue, I should start enforcing my decisions rather than pondering about what others around me would do. I tend to wait for the decisions of others in order to keep my position safe and not make any wrong moves when I should just trust my decision and act first. Also under self-management, I scored lowly in optimism with an average of 3. out of 5. Optimism is about having a positive attitude or, in other words, seeing the world as “half-full” rather than “half-empty. ” This will give you the ability to see the good in people or adverse situations. When dealing with adversity, it actually motivates me, but I tend to overthink a little too much causing me to question myself. In my opinion, a way to correct this problem would be through premeditation before taking action research says to make a list of all adversities and change your “self-talk” from negative to positive.
For example, I could retake a class in order to learn the material better and to score better in the class. In the last quadrant, relationship management, my lowest scores were in two categories, which were developing others, building bonds, and conflict management. In developing others, I averaged a 3. 3 score. The ability to develop others is the ability to learn long term and develop others. An easy way to build this section is to take the time to talk to others about their aspirations or the things they want to do better in.
For example, I have started listening to other teammates on the football team and giving positive feedback to help encourage them. Under conflict management, I averaged a 3. 3 for a score. With this being one of my lowest scores it clearly shows that do not have a strong ability to deal with complex individuals, group settings, or intense situations. There have been multiple altercations that I have been in recently at practice. I handled them by asking other leaders of the team for help, this proved to be effective and a clever strategy.
While I have weaknesses, I also have strengths that will help me strengthen my emotional intelligence. Through the ECI, I have been able to learn about myself through four major quadrants of self-awareness, selfmanagement, social awareness, and relationship management. Tuncovered the sections in which I thrive in and those in which need substantial development in. Although I have better strengths in some of the minor competencies over others, I can develop small steps in order to become better in all areas of the Emotional Competency Inventory.
