Why is emotional intelligence a big deal?
Well for starters, research shows people who are emotionally intelligent make better decisions, better team members, and better leaders. They are also more poised, outgoing and cheerful.
Here’s a story from Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Bradbury and Greaves
Marie was a hard-driving, high-output supervisor who worked hard to over-deliver every day and:
- expected nothing less than that from her subordinates.
- was hard on her staff as a matter of course, critical of what they didn’t do and rarely complimentary of what they did do.
She was a productivity machine and positivity was essentially absent from her radar screen. Her staff resisted and avoided her and at times even left her office in tears. She had limited self-awareness of how her leadership and communication style impacted others.
Through coaching, she first tapped into her own emotional awareness and emotional self-expression, and then grew a greater emotional awareness of others. She learned emotional self-management techniques and applied them daily. She remained highly productive and her interaction style ‘softened’, better able to connect with her staff. She came to understand the power of her words, tone and body language and how to use them for positive impact.
The bottom line – Marie saved her job, developed a greater understanding of how she operated and what her staff needed from her as a leader. She was able to generate a positive and more satisfying work environment for others and herself.
Emotional intelligence is the “other kind of smart.” It is one of the most powerful set of attributes a person can possess for work and life success. It affects how we manage behavior, navigate social interactions and make personal decisions to achieve positive results. These skills are also about how an individual works, responds, communicates and interacts with other people. This ability also helps one understand other’s moods, behaviors and motives. Your ability to improve in the Emotional Intelligence arena will ultimately improve your connections with others. The competencies of emotional intelligence, which include Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social –Awareness and Relationship Management are building blocks of leadership.
What does emotional intelligence bring to your organization?
- Talent retention
- Increased revenues
- Higher shareholder value
Those with high emotional intelligence also tend to have more empathy for others, are able to express their feelings directly and appropriately, and have a capacity for developing meaningful relationships. In a world where business is all about relationships, what’s not to love?
Does your current team fit the bill? Don’t fret! Emotional intelligence can actually be developed and improved – with the right training.
Possessing a high level of emotional intelligence, along with all its traits, is an extremely important aspect of a collaborative, high achieving workplace. And that’s why it’s a big deal.