As part of my PhD research I have been reading Daniel Goleman’s book “Emotional Intelligence”, where he explains emotional intelligence as a series of competencies and skills that drive performance.
The four main elements he writes about include:
1. Self-awareness — the ability to read one’s emotions and recognise their impact while using gut feelings to guide decisions.
2. Social awareness — the ability to sense, understand, and react to others’ emotions while comprehending social networks.
3. Relationship management — the ability to inspire, influence, and develop others while managing conflict.
4. Self-management — involves controlling one’s emotions and impulses and adapting to changing circumstances.
Goleman comments that these are capabilities we learn, and that abilities such as being able to control emotions, and get along with other people are key factors in the success we achieve in life.
Reflecting on thinkpublic’s most successful projects we can identify these four elements in the behavior of many of the participants involved. Which brings to question can the co-design process teach social intelligence?