• Emotional intelligence or EI is the ability to understand and manage your own emotions, and those of the people around you. People with a high degree of emotional intelligence know what they''re feeling, what their emotions mean, and how these emotions can affect other people.

• Buddhism and Emotional Intelligence

• Right Mindfulness: One of the key principles of Buddhism is the concept of mindfulness, which involves being aware of and present in the current moment without judgment.
• This is similar to the modern concept of emotional intelligence, which includes the ability to recognize and manage one''s own emotions, as well as the emotions of others.

• Self-Awareness: Another parallel between Buddhism and emotional intelligence is the importance placed on self-regulation and control of one''s emotions.

• In Buddhism, this is often referred to as "equanimity," which refers to the ability to remain balanced and undisturbed in the face of difficult emotions or circumstances.

• This is similar to the modern concept of emotional intelligence, which includes the ability to regulate and control one''s emotions in a healthy and constructive way.

• Compassion: Both Buddhism and emotional intelligence also emphasize the importance of empathy and understanding the emotions of others. In Buddhism, this is often referred to as "compassion," which involves understanding and caring for the suffering of others.

• In emotional intelligence, the ability to understand and respond appropriately to the emotions of others is an important aspect of effective communication and relationship building.

• Right View: It is the intellectual aspect of wisdom. It implies penetrating the outward aspect of things, understanding the transient and imperfect nature.
• Right Speech: It is a route to moral discipline which sustains other virtues. Right speech consists of the following:

• To abstain from telling lies and speaking deceitfully.

• To avoid malicious or slanderous speech.
• To refrain from using harsh words which hurt others.
• To abstain from idle chatter that lacks purpose or depth.

• Right Action: It includes the acts that are kind and compassionate like to be honest, to respect the belongings of others; and to avoid sexual misconduct.
• Right Efforts: It refers to psychic energy which produces either wholesome or unwholesome mental states. It can lead, for example, to aggression, envy, desire and violence. But the same energy can lead to self-discipline, honesty, altruism and compassion. One has to control mind through right efforts.

Thus, Buddhism and modern ideas on emotional intelligence both recognize the importance of being aware of and managing one''s own emotions, as well as understanding and responding to the emotions of others, in order to lead a healthy and fulfilling life.

Value propositions of an emotionally intelligent leadership in a government set-up

• Deepen and nuance self-awareness that permeates actions and outcomes.
• Understand how emotions can influence thoughts, behaviours, goals and decisions.
• Understand how managing emotions can drive engagement and productivity.
• Leverage findings of a psychometric instrument for personal and professional excellence ..
• Decipher one’s core incompetence and create actions around it Enable the creation of personal insights that have the power to transform behaviours, actions and outcomes.
• Be change-ready: Driving actively radical change and transformation by serving those who serve others.
• Pursue happiness and productivity as a means of driving sustainable success and lasting greatness.