WORKSHOP ON TODAY’S TRENDING TOPIC ‘EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE’ – AN ENTERPRISE BY NUMS CENTER FOR LIFELONG LEARNING

Emotional Intelligence, or EQ, is an emerging hot topic these days and its role in making or breaking any organization cannot be overlooked. According to Daniel Goleman, emotional intelligence is the capacity for recognizing our own feelings and those of others, for motivating ourselves, and for managing emotions well in ourselves, and in our relationships.

In present times, everyone knows that high IQ alone does not guarantee success and happiness. With mental health being the talk of the town, it is no surprise that EQ is gaining recognition in modern work environments. The term can be divided into being self-aware and maintaining one’s own emotions, and being socially aware while focusing on one’s interaction with others.

NUMS Center for Lifelong Learning, an up-and-coming department established in 2021, proactively pinpointed the importance of this up-to-the-minute concept to educate and prepare its workforce from different walks of life. NCL planned the ‘Emotional Intelligence’ workshop on 3rd May 2022, facilitated by clinical psychologist Mr. Muhammad Umar Fayyaz (Lecturer, NUMS Department of Psychology). The workshop was mega-successful and eagerly attended by AFPGMI representatives, university faculty members, and administrative staff at the NUMS PWD Campus.

The resource person called to participants’ attention the framework of following five elements by Daniel Goleman that defines emotional intelligence:

  • Self-awareness
  • Self-regulation
  • Motivation
  • Empathy
  • Social skills

He underscored the quintessence of these elements step by step while keeping his audience engaged throughout the session. Mr. Fayyaz shared that people with high EQ are usually self-aware. They understand their emotions and don’t let them rule their lives. He then italicized the importance of self-regulation; the ability to control emotions and impulses.

The facilitator also underlined that individuals with high degree of emotional intelligence are usually motivated. He played the inspiring story of Babar Azam for the participants – from ball-picker in 2007 to test captain in 2021 – to emphasize the aspects of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.

He interacted with his audience much more elaborately on empathy. Empathy is basically stepping into people’s shoes and realizing what they are going through. Lastly, he highlighted the significance of having great social skills. Such individuals can manage disputes, are excellent communicators, and are masters at building and maintaining relationships.

Studies confirmed that IQ can help you to be successful to the extent of only 20 percent in life, whereas the rest of the 80 percent success depends on your EQ. Mr. Fayyaz also talked about the behaviors of men and women having high EQ individually, for equal representation of both genders.

The well-rounded resource person was open, friendly, and fluently shared personal experiences to make his audience feel comfortable. He engaged the participants with attention-grabbing activities about relationship management, self-management, self-awareness, and social awareness.

In a nutshell, Mr. Fayyaz inspired barter trade of feelings and emotions for mastering social skills, stressed that empathy is superior to sympathy, and taught ways to channel one’s intrinsic motivation into our respective jobs in order to ensure ultimate success.

This workshop by NCL is undertaken in relation to SDG 3 (Good Health and Wellbeing) and SDG 5 (Gender Equality).