To be successful nowadays, not only you need threshold competencies – knowledge and experience, but you also need Emotional Intelligence Competencies .

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Inspiring Leadership through Emotional Intelligence - the course which I’ve taken recently – has really changed my life. I highly recommend it to anyone. It is not only about leaders. It is about everyone who is interested in self-development.

In order to be an effective leader, you need to control your emotions. But before everything else, you need to be aware of them. Emotional self-control is critical! You have to keep disruptive emotions and impulses in check. You have to remain calm, especially in stressful situations. One of the techniques (not from this course, but it is worth mentioning it) is to practice Mindful Stop:

1. Stop – visually imagine the sign Stop

2. Take a deep breath

3. Observe outside and inside you without any judgment

4. Proceed positively

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You have to strive to improve on a constant basis, to aspire to become better or meet a standard of excellence. Muscles get weak if you don't use them, same goes for the mind.

I try to learn something new every day - to develop myself, to reach new horizons. If I don’t learn something new, I feel bad. It has become like a habit for me. More than that, it is a part of what I am as a person. Because that’s actually one of my life principles - we should always strive to improve and develop ourselves, not to sit at one place, but move, move forward... and strive to be better and better. The moment when we stop moving, we degrade in every sense of the word, because – Life is movement and movement is life. That’s why running water doesn’t smell bad, because it is in constant motion. And the stagnant water in the swamps gets mold and bad smell.

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Positive outlook is crucial, as well. I believe in the power of thoughts.

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Last but not least is Adaptability, i.e. flexibility in handling change. If the circumstances change, you have to adapt or alter your behavior to better fit the situation.