Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is a very powerful concept and one that companies could embrace to make huge differences to their team working and leadership.
Emotional Intelligence is “the ability to monitor one’s own and other people’s emotions, to discriminate between different emotions and label them appropriately, and to use emotional information to guide thinking and behaviour.”
They key message for me is how supervisors and leaders can use emotional information to guide thinking and behaviour. Think of some examples when this could be used from meetings to appraisals and performance management. Basically anywhere where emotions could be included EQ can play its part to gain even better results. It’s important to mention that everyone has an amount of Emotional Intelligence within their make up its just some people have more awareness in this area and the key is to get them to understand about how this can be a fundamental part of a team working and delivering results.
The four main areas of Emotional Intelligence are –
Self-awareness – You recognize your own emotions and how they affect your thoughts and behavior, know your strengths and weaknesses, and have self-confidence.
Self-management – You’re able to control impulsive feelings and behaviors, manage your emotions in healthy ways, take initiative, follow through on commitments, and adapt to changing circumstances.
Social awareness – You can understand the emotions, needs, and concerns of other people, pick up on emotional cues, feel comfortable socially, and recognize the power dynamics in a group or organization.
Relationship management – You know how to develop and maintain good relationships, communicate clearly, inspire and influence others, work well in a team, and manage conflict.
From the above you can see the vital aspect of this is you need to understand yourself before you can understand the influence and impact you have on others. This will then translate into a personal level of EQ which is a real skill in today’s business world and used more and more to find new managers through assessment within the interview process. Your EQ can also be developed and at the Talent development Consultancy we have sessions developed to increase the personal understanding and also develop these skills to make all interactions in the workplace emotionally positive for all parties. Managers in this new age need to put more focus on EQ and make sure they have the tools to manage all situations in a more positive manner to achieve greater results.
After researching and reading various publications it seems there needs to be a new approach to learning and this is moving away from the traditional means and get staff learning about themselves and behaviors which affect others and results. This is the basis for all we do here at the Talent Development Consultancy. An emotionally intelligent supervisor or manager needs to be nurtured as these are the people team members will look up to and follow – not necessarily the manager who knows the job best but has limited people skills or a candidate with an amazing CV and that can interview well.
Development sessions need to be interactive and of course there needs to be learning objectives but rather than a premeditated slide show – why not through scenarios and facilitate discussion to provide a more inspirational learning experience. Focusing on behaviors rather than generic learning of perceived relevant skills will help grow the individual and if they are developing their EQ then learning of technical skills should come at a quicker rate.
Where are these people within your business? Customers are more discerning and want more for their money and competition is harsh. You need to know who the people are who are going to lead a team confidently through the tough times using the four areas of emotional intelligence. When the chips are down you need people on the front line who are managing relationships with new starters or customers, managing conflict during busy and stressful times, have social awareness so they know what the customer needs are before they ask and relationship management between all stakeholders to the team.
For more information on an interactive learning experience for your employees contact keith@develop-talent.co.uk or visit our website www.develop-talent.co.uk.