What leaders get wrong about emotional intelligence (and 3 ways to improve it)
What leaders get wrong about emotional intelligence (and 3 ways to improve it)
Oct 24, 2019
The concept of emotional intelligence took a foothold in the 1990s and is considered one of the top skillsets among leaders today. Using emotional intelligence accurately, leaders thrive. Without it, they fail. Communication can suffer and productivity takes a hit. This is the era of emotional intelligence: use it or lose it.
Emotional intelligence is measured by the EQ (emotional quotient). Employee EQ can be enhanced in work cultures that are fostered and led by emotionally intelligent leaders. It's not just emotional sense, employers have a strong financial incentive to hire emotionally intelligent leaders. According to recent research, emotionally intelligent managers within the hospitality industry caused a 22% boost to their annual profit growth over a yearly industry average of just 15%. These numbers are trending across construction, oil and gas, megaprojects, healthcare, and multiple other industries. EQ is a multi-purpose measurement. Employees feel more inspired and teams are stronger.
So what is it that leaders can get so wrong when it comes to emotional intelligence?
While employers may understand the benefits of emotional intelligence in the workplace, they may still be hesitant to embrace it fully. They may feel that EQ something that we are simply born with and requires no further development. On the other hand, that attitude can lead to frustration when a manager doesn't feel like their emotional intelligence is up to the task. The truth is that like any muscle, your brain's emotional intelligence must be worked out and trained to operate at maximum capacity.
The following are three simple steps anyone can use to boost aspects of their emotional intelligence and raise their EQ. Ready?
1. BOOST YOUR SELF-AWARENESS
It's impossible to connect with someone else or support the EQ of your staff if you are not self-aware, to begin with. It's like the old safety lesson of inflating your oxygen mask before you can help anyone else. Get in tune with your emotional state and isolate any experience that causes your emotions to rise and fall. You can actively measure the distance between an emotional stimulus and your response to it. This is a keystone practice in the development of emotional intelligence for leaders.
2. BE AWARE OF OTHERS
If the first step, self-awareness, encourages you to react to situations in a more emotionally intelligent way, the second step, social awareness, turns your focus outward to your employees. Workers need space to process new information and take in the lessons you are sharing. Being aware of what others need to process this information is the second crucial step of emotional intelligent safety training.
3. GET AHEAD OF THE GAME WHEN CONNECTING WITH WORKERS
This is the final and perhaps most critical step in developing a leader's emotional intelligence. At this point, you are both self-aware and aware of the emotional needs of others. Now is the time to start connecting and utilizing these new skills. What is your old approach to addressing conflict? Can this be improved upon with your new understanding of EQ? We have two ears for a reason. Listen with your whole mind when talking with a team member. Raise their EQ and their psychological safety by encouraging them to express their feelings openly. Trust can thrive in this environment.
Read the source article at Fast Company
We are living in an era of emotional intelligence. Since the concept’s inception in the 1990s , it has become a sought-after skill among managers today.
Emotional intelligence is also a crucial part of leadership. Organizations often succeed because they have emotionally intelligent leaders who can create work environments that enhance employee EQ (“emotional quotient,” or how emotional intelligence is measured).
According to one study, restaurants with emotionally intelligent managers experienced a 22% annual profit growth versus the yearly average of 15%. Emotional intelligence also helps leaders gain trust and credibility from their followers when leading organizations through change. The Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence found supervisors with high EQ make workers feel “50 percent more inspired” than those with low EQ.
