During an interview, one of the things that hiring managers want to determine is our ability to persevere when things aren’t going well. This is why one of the most common interview questions is about how an individual has dealt with setbacks in the past.

Everyone can feel motivated and determined when things are going well. It is when things aren’t going well that there is separation between those who will keep going and those that will quit or take an easier route. By going through setbacks and difficulties, we develop and increase our crucial problem-solving skills, critical thinking skills, and our adaptability. Without developing these skills, we often simply can’t reach our personal and professional goals.

I believe that one of the most important skills we need to develop in order to strengthen our perseverance is emotional intelligence. Here’s why:

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND PERSEVERANCE

There are many reasons why developing our emotional intelligence is one of the most effective ways to increasing our perseverance levels.

The basic tenets of emotional intelligence involve a deeper level of understanding ourselves and others. In the workplace, this translates into trying to understand a given situation and the importance of how we react to it. Instead of allowing fear and negativity to take over, emotionally intelligent people manage their emotions. This allows them to step back and to look for solutions.

In my own research, I have found that there are specific attributes of people who have developed perseverance, such as an all-consuming vision, a burning desire for success, inner confidence, the ability to adjust, and a commitment to lifelong learning. Instead of blaming others, people with high levels of perseverance move more rapidly toward problem-solving.

HOW PERSEVERANCE HELPS US AT WORK

Leaders with strong emotional intelligence will have a good sense of how situations impact those that report to them and reach out to support them.

When things go wrong and unexpected complications come up, emotions can overpower us and our judgments. This can lead to added stress and bad decisions made in the spur of the moment to try to alleviate the situation as quickly as possible. Emotional Intelligence allows us to take the time we need in order to step back and carefully think things through, resulting in responding with our powerful thinking brain instead of instinctively reacting from our emotions.

People with high emotional intelligence are sensitive to, and better at understanding, other’s emotions. Plus, they can provide support and empathy when it is most needed during stressful situations that arise. In this way, perseverance increases the comfort levels in the workplace and decreases the level of fear that we experience when we try something new that we aren’t sure will work. As a result, perseverance leads to a decrease in the level of defensiveness and instills workers with more confidence to try new ideas. These new ideas are crucial to helping keep an organization competitive and thriving. Without this level of comfort, workplaces will stagnate and creativity will grind to a halt.

When workers know that they will be supported, everyone’s desire to experiment, try new ideas, and be more innovative increases. This results in developing a solutions-focused mindset throughout all levels in a workplace. And ultimately, this is crucial to both an organization’s and an individual’s success.

Emotional intelligence increases positive relationships among colleagues, supervisors, and managers. As a result, levels of teamwork and collaboration goes up. Not having valuable energy drained by bickering, backstabbing, and infighting builds trust and increases team spirit. It builds confidence that whatever challenges will come up, together we will find the way through and persevere.

This increase in confidence, pride, and perseverance leads us to believe that we are capable of handling any situation that comes along. Consequently, team productivity goes up along with levels of job satisfaction. Our ability to figure things out and keep going despite difficulties has a snowball effect. It increases our confidence in our ability to take on larger challenges moving forward.