Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand, use, and manage emotions in positive ways to communicate effectively, empathize with others, and overcome challenges. Emotional intelligence is important because it helps you achieve your personal and career goals while fostering strong relationships with others and a deep sense of satisfaction with your life.

In business, emotional intelligence is important in developing the interpersonal skills that can help you excel in group collaboration. Attributes such as empathy and active listening can help communication between leadership and employees for peaceful conflict resolution and compassionate change management.

On a personal level, emotional intelligence can encourage the mindfulness needed to achieve the states of gratitude and happiness shown by positive psychology to be so important to thrive in our lives.

Emotional intelligence underlies the ability of people to work effectively in teams while creating meaningful change regardless of their industry or institution. These skills will thus serve you in any career you choose, but will especially benefit managers and team leaders as it enhances the ability to guide others in a way that leaves them feeling empowered and accomplished. These gentle, nurturing skills also serve those in career counseling, family therapy, and health education.

Social workers need an especially high level of emotional intelligence to help people solve problems in their everyday lives. They help people with mental health or substance abuse issues in outpatient facilities, as well as educate and advocate for disenfranchised groups. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, social workers earn a median income of $50,470 per year, and these jobs are expected to grow by 11% overall through 2028 - including 17% growth in jobs for healthcare social workers specifically. ,

Many social work careers can begin with only a bachelor’s degree; however, clinical social workers need to have a master’s degree, two years of supervised clinical experience, and be licensed by their state.

Yes! Coursera has a wide variety of online courses and Specializations in emotional intelligence, including topics in leadership and positive psychology. These courses are offered through top-ranked institutions from around the world, including Case Western Reserve University, the University of California, Davis, and the Indian School of Business, so you don’t have to sacrifice the quality of your education to learn remotely. And, thanks to virtual office hours and collaborative projects, you will still get to build relationships and develop the interpersonal skills at the core of emotional intelligence.