Emotional intelligence (EQ or EI) is the capability of individuals to recognize their own emotions and those of others, discern between different feelings and label them appropriately, use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior, and manage and/or adjust emotions to adapt to environments or achieve one’s goal(s).
The concept was coined by Peter Salovey and John D. Mayerin 1990. It was later popularized by David Goleman. Some say it fell in to some obscurity during the previous decade but is now making a comeback due to advances in neuroscience that allow to devise practical steps people can take to improve their general wellbeing, performance, social cohesion and self-regulation.
Some corporate training programs such as the the ones used at Google, and later SAP, teach mindfulness, emotional intelligence and leadership skills as an all-encompassing integrated skill-set.
