Provocatively, Daniel Goleman has used the ‘emotion’ word, which often rises like a red flag, to introduce his research and critical findings to coin the now well-known phrase, ‘Emotional Intelligence’
Camp one, who views it as an essential ingredient in a leader’s armoury of skills for success; and camp two , who hears the word ‘emotion’ and invariably relates it to touchy-feely stuff and possibly for wimps, as opposed to for strong forceful leaders and executives responsible for companies and teams.
Which camp are you in?
Here are 10 bite-sized chunks of information that might help you decide!
1. Emotional Intelligence – What is it?
So, what is it exactly? Well, in a nutshell it is about being in tune with your own and others emotions and managing both. So how does that relate to business?
The answer is simple but potent. If you have, as a leader, a high level of emotional intelligence, you will be highly more successful and impactful in enabling others around you to follow your vision because you will build better relations with internal and external stakeholders, as well as perform more effectively yourself by regulating your own inner stoppers and stallers and understanding others better. You will then use that knowledge to employ your skills to manage and direct them better and inspire them more.
2. But how does it relate to business?
Let’s put that into context with some examples.
Today’s working environment works far more efficiently and effectively with a democratic modus operandi than an autocratic one. It is characterised by open communication, teamwork and mutual respect amongst employees and their managers and leaders.
Those who possess high emotional intelligence understand and therefore motivate their workforce better.
Leaders who come from the command and control era are followed because they have to be, but with sparse communication and therefore less buy-in and understanding. It is more of a blind following, and misunderstandings, and therefore mistakes and possibly resentments are more rife. It is far harder for this style of leader or manager to adapt to today’s more favoured working environments and it shows in the breakdown eventually of loyalty, talent retention and output. This, in turn, leads to less motivation, higher turnover of staff and low morale and less productivity in those who remain.
3. So what do we want, do we really really want?
In a far-reaching and respected research study. psychologist Abraham H. Maslow felt as though conditioning theories did not adequately capture the complexity of human behaviour. In a 1943 paper called A Theory of Human Motivation, Maslow presented the idea that human actions are directed toward goal attainment.
Outlined in a pyramid signifying the order of human needs, his basic premise was that after meeting our physiological needs of sleep, food and air and water, then our safety and belongingness including security, environment, employment homes and environment. As the needs grow more complex the top tiers represented our need for esteem and finally self-actualisation. These top three layers focus solely on our desire for confidence, self-esteem, achievement, respect amongst others, with the top desired need including morality, creativity, problem-solving and so on. The final tier, Self-Actualisation or self-fulfilment, means that human behaviour in this case is not driven or motivated by deficiencies but rather one’s desire for personal growth and the need to become all the things that a person is capable of becoming. In other words, we need to fulfil our ambitions, our sense of value and self-worth and our need for autonomous growth.
4. What does it achieve?
If you want to succeed in the business world now and in the future, it's important that you understand the role of emotional intelligence in business today. Leaders with high levels of emotional intelligence recognise these basic human needs and manage their stakeholders, both internally and externally with the tools required to satisfy these higher levels of needs. Money is important to many people of course but being valued respected and given creative freedom and development to grow in their roles has been seen to promote loyalty, a higher work ethic and self-esteem in teams. This is what emotional intelligence promotes and this is why it is a critical skill in business.
The wonderful thing about it is that it can be developed and learned and most of the world’s top leaders have recognised its significance, with the odd exception!
5. It is an asset base for leaders.
But more and more, emotional intelligence has been identified as a key asset in a business leader's toolkit. Combining self-awareness with empathy for others, emotional intelligence plays a crucial role in managing stress, fostering collaboration, delivering feedback and, ultimately, creating a happier, more productive environment for everyone.
6. Can it make for a happier Leader?
Studies show that those leaders and executives who have a high level of emotional intelligence are generally more content with their lives and experience less psychological and physical illness.
7. Can it help you become a better negotiator and dealmaker?
Dealing with internal and external stakeholders all day long and negotiating with your employees and important clients can lead to early burnout in one’s career. Emotional Intelligence helps individuals in key roles remain self-motivated, understand verbal and non-verbal indicators and needs from whoever they have to deal with and to deal with constant change and uncertainty.
8. Management and Emotional Intelligence
Managers with emotional intelligence approach their overseeing roles from a different perspective to authoritarian managers. They absolutely appreciate the importance of communicating effectively with colleagues, and of treating each one with respect. Those forward-thinking ones who wish to become futuristic executives and leaders would do well to develop a deeper understanding of the concept of emotional intelligence and apply it to all of their management strategies. When you take the time to focus on an employees' needs and make yourself accessible to them, that's exactly what you're doing.
Most employees respond best to the managers who treat them as individuals who deserve respect. This is high up on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and has been studied over decades.
9. Leadership and Emotional Intelligence
Managers who have outstanding leadership qualities tend to be the ones who possess strong emotional intelligence.
Leadership is often something that employees have often bestowed upon the most effective and productive of managers after all, and not simply an inherent part of being in a position of authority! It is indeed reserved in most cases for individuals who have high standards of integrity excellent communication skills and who are empathetic to what is happening around them. They walk their talk and all of these qualities contribute to their emotional intelligence. Actions do speak louder than words don’t they? Someone who is in tune with their own emotions is far more likely to be able to understand and empathise with the emotions that impact the attitudes and behaviours of others; hence the critical value of emotional intelligence for these people with managerial and leadership roles.
10. So how can Emotional Intelligence play a role in today’s business world and in the future?
It is highly likely that the importance of emotional intelligence will escalate in the coming years as it becomes more critical to retain highly prized talent and, in our global world, to improve the communication skills and visibility of everyone in it. Building relationships both nationally and internationally with all of its cultural differences is vital for business to flow and grow.
The world of work is getting smaller with A.I.(artificial intelligence) about to play a bigger role in certain fields and keeping the human element of key players happy and content is vital. Holding onto key talent is more important than ever and valuing them and helping them to achieve their hierarchy of needs is critical.
Keeping your key employees is tough in today’s world of work, so to keep them highly motivated, operational and functioning at their very best, emotional intelligence development as an ongoing process is both desirable but also critical.
Leaders managers and entrepreneurs can't let themselves lose sight of the fact that their employees are people, with real lives and emotions that impact how they think, feel, and act. Managers with emotional intelligence understand that colleagues are people first and employees second. This understanding guides how the best managers and leaders treat their employees at all times.
Emotional Intelligence is probably the single most valuable skill needed for effective management and leadership for anyone wanting to inspire, engage and retain their best talent. Emotional Intelligence ‘is’ business success, why wouldn’t any business need that?