Emotional Intelligence and Your Personality

A friend of mine recently started a new job.  It requires some specific duties, that for my friend, are easy to forget.  His boss has given him a list to follow and check off.  He hates the list.  In fact his first reaction to the request to follow a list was a low to medium grade anger - the opposite of emotional intelligence.

His personality, or specifically, his temperament does not naturally flourish with "lists".  He is an idealist and he lives in a land with dotted lines as boundaries.  His boss, on the other hand is a guardian by temperament.  His boss flourishes with lists and solid lines as boundaries. 

So how can my friend flourish under a boss who is so different.  By using emotional intelligence, he can adapt to his environment by subscribing to the list anyway.  He doesn't have to carry the list in front of his eyes while he works, but he can incorporate some system to periodically check the list as he completes his work or review it when his work is done, or some other low maintenance system that helps him be thorough and keeps his boss happy and himself employed.  In this way he manages his proclivities for flexibility and respects his boss's desire for thoroughness.

Accessing your emotional intelligence isn't that hard.  Knowing you personality temperament is a good way to start.