The role of Emotional Intelligence in Decision-Making

Every day in life, we make several decisions on what to do or what not to do. Throughout my many years of experience in the government and private sectors, I’ve taken many decisions and seen many taken in the process. I was always intrigued by when and where these decisions come together and what the driving force behind them is. I also wondered if our rational mind is actually, as we believe, in control of this decision-making process.  

Contrary to popular belief, the rational mind might actually be taking a backseat in this process. The real fundamentals of the decision-making processes come from the EI (Emotional Intelligence) each of us has developed over the years. This deep-rooted wiring gives us pre-conceived images or narratives about the situation for which the decisions need to be made. A couple of incidents come to mind when I think about what led me to find the link between decisions and EI.

I used to play basketball for my state and university in my younger days and had to travel to different locations in India by train multiple times for national championships. Everybody used to avoid sleeping in the middle row of the 3tier compartment for obvious reasons, but I was always proactive in occupying the same as the leader. Personally, I feel, it went a long way in creating the desired impact on the team. The team’s trust in me grew and the members believed that we were a team that would look out for each other. Now, with the perspective of Beingful leadership, I see that my action was driven by the invisible routines of EI (to be a leader that motivates my teammates and sets an example), while my reason driven mind might have suggested that I move to the upper berth or switch to first-class with the coach and manager and seek my own comfort. I did not consciously decide to opt for the uncomfortable berth to be seen as the self-sacrificing leader. However, my zeal to be a good leader to my team helped me decide to put my team first rather than choose comfort.

Another example relates to my professional career, where due to organizational limitations (pricing), I could not offer our services to a client even though he showed extreme confidence in our technical abilities to support his requirements. I did provide him with the necessary technical support and a good understanding of standards even though our competitor served him. It helped me navigate and manage the expectations of the client while guiding my ability to display empathy, demonstrate active participation, and work successfully as a part of the team. The client came back to us at a later year despite the higher pricing. This, I strongly believe, is due to the empathy I displayed during the first project with the client. The practice of the reason-driven mind (not supporting a competitor’s client) would have led me astray and pushed me away from working in alignment with the higher self in me.

When the time comes, our EI-influenced decision stands strong in our minds and the logical part of the brain comes rushing in to claim the decision as its own. In the end, with our learning, socio-economic environment, practices, and experiences, we only apply reasoning to justify the purpose of the decisions, so that it looks or sounds right for the moment. If we really look forward to pursuing the higher-order instinct with conviction, the strengthening of the reason-driven mind (however important in other aspects of life) may not be of too much help. Heightening our levels of EI through self-reflection and self-regulation will aid us in making positive decisions even in turbulent time-pressed situations. The control and level of EI are more relevant to achieving our higher-order purpose, which might overpower the reasoning to some extent at times during critical decision-making process.