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What exactly is Positive Psychology and Emotional Intelligence?

Ray Slater Berry
20 August 2019

Here at OneCoWork, we’re constantly trying to provide our team with new opportunities for personal and professional growth. So, when PositivePsychology.com reached out to offer our team members the opportunity to take a course in Positive Psychology, specialising in Emotional Intelligence, we dived in. But first…


What is Positive Psychology? 

For many years psychologists have often focused on: “What is wrong with people” how can we “fix that”. This has lead to a very close-minded view that psychology is just there to fix the bad. Positive Psychology, focuses on what is “right” with people. It focuses on positive aspects we already hold that we can build on and how we can promote psychological well-being.

This particular course focuses on Emotional Intelligence (EI) and how we can incorporate that into management. Emotional Intelligence refers to the ability to understand and manage emotional encounters. These emotional encounters can be with the people around you (your team) or your self. 


There are essentially four dimensions of emotional intelligence:


  • Noticing and understanding emotions in oneself 

  • Noticing and understanding emotions in others 

  • Effectively regulating emotions in oneself 

  • Using emotions to facilitate performance 


This last one, within management and the working world, is the ability to direct emotions to help your team achieve their goals. Emotional Intelligence is a sea to be navigated and one that requires a captain/a champion to be able to steer hers or his team in the right direction. Read on if you’d like to explore the pillars that make up facilitating performance using Emotional Intelligence. 

Welcome, Captain!


1. Using Emotions to Facilitate Performance 

We looked at how our team can become a more emotionally intelligent unit and how this will, in turn, help OneCoWork become an emotionally intelligent business, working towards our business goals while remaining true to our values. Within Emotional Intelligence we look at four key factors for facilitating performance. Try to assess these four factors when looking at your own team or way of working. 


‘The act of using emotions to manipulate the immediate social environment to positively and effectively move towards a common goal.’


2. Relationship Management 

‘The act of using emotions to manipulate the immediate social environment to positively and effectively move towards a common goal.’ Emotions are contagious, project positive emotions onto your team and see it reflected back. Yet, project something negative and you’ll see the same result. 


3. Needs & Values 

‘Identify needs and values from emotions that you are feeling.’ This form of emotional intelligence can be used to identify what your team needs or what they stand for, given their emotional reaction to different social situations. View emotions as data and learn from them.


‘Identify needs and values from emotions that you are feeling.’


4. Creativity 

The potential for positive emotions is huge. If you’re able to build an emotionally positive team, you’ll find your team is naturally more creative, both in their productivity and problem-solving. 


5. Coping

‘Resilient people use coping strategies that elicit positive emotions. Such as humour, relaxation or optimistic thinking.’ Creating a team that is emotionally positive will create a team that overcomes hurdles easier and achieve goals quicker with a healthier state of mind. 




If you’re looking to embark (excuse the pun) on a journey to learn more about Positive Psychology and Emotional Intelligence then take a look at PositivePsychology.com. Also, check out these Positive Psychology Worksheets, Activities and Techniques, in your own time. Discover more about how you can introduce this mindset into your work, your team and your management style. 

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