Almost no FBI agent would say the phrase emotional intelligence aloud. Two core components of emotional intelligence, however, are key for the efficient work of any agent. These two abilities are self-awareness and self-management. The first is about conscious knowledge of your own character, feelings and desires. The latter is about taking responsibility for your own behavior.
FBI agents consider themselves mentally tough, which is possible thanks to their emotional intelligence. Mental toughness means that you are aware of your emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. Therefore you can manage and use them in ways that lead to success, claims the smartblogs.com website.
If you want to maintain peak performance in difficult situations, you must be able to predict your own responses. That is possible only when you possess both self-awareness and self-management.
Why emotional intelligence allows you to make better decisions
- You know what fuels you. Training at the FBI Academy efficiently filters out those who aren’t deeply attached to upholding the federal judicial system. When you are not pursuing something that is deeply connected to your core values, you will not keep going when the situation gets tough.
- You have a plan B and a plan C. When an arrest is taking place, many things can go wrong, and they usually do. As a result there is never only a plan A, but also plan B, C and sometimes D or even more. Mental toughness means that you are able to manage your emotions, thoughts, and behavior. You must be prepared for whatever comes next. Being a reactionary is never a good strategy. So do plan for different scenarios. This will also teach you how to think on the fly and respond when a crisis appears.
-jk-