How you manage your emotions and those of others in the workplace has a key influence on your ability as a manager. Improving your emotional intelligence will allow you to: 

• Reduce stress
• Identify and manage your emotions
• Observe and recognise non-verbal cues
• Manage work challenges
• Resolve conflict positively.

Emotional intelligence can be developed, and there are a variety of online tests that you can take to establish your current EQ rating. These include the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT).

From: Mayer and Salovey. What Is Emotional Intelligence? In Emotional Development and Emotional Intelligence: Educational Implications, edited by Salovey and Sluyter. 1997. Basic Books (New York).