Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace
Emotional Intelligence was coined as a term by Peter Salovey and John Mayer in their article “Emotional Intelligence” in 1990. In 1995 a bright eyed behavioural science journalist Daniel Goleman inspired by the article, then catapulted the term into the world publishing his book Emotional Intelligence. The term Emotional Intelligence refers to our ability to recognise and manage emotions within ourselves, and the ability to recognise emotions in others and manage those interactions effectively.
Human interaction is a major part of our daily lives. In the workplace we interact with the system of people around us, as we go about our day whether online or face to face. These interactions take multiple forms. We have stand ups, Slack messages, MSTeams calls, kitchen chats, boardroom meetings, 1:1s, client visits and the list goes on.
All these forms of interaction have a direct impact on us, on others, our mental health and our productivity and performance (individually and as a team).
Then there's the interactions we have with our biggest critic… ourselves. If we’re not interacting with others we are almost always having an internal dialogue with ourselves. In the recesses of our mind we are planning and problem solving our home and work lives, thinking about that last meeting, wondering about how we will support our team and sometimes telling ourselves off for something we did or didn’t do.
Finally there’s the consideration of the system around us. How do we ensure that whatever we are doing as an individual leader and team interacts with the system, the stakeholders, the clients, the industry and how do we strategically position ourselves in a way that allows for peak performance, advancement and the right placement.
As a leader if you want to be most effective you need to be able to gain and maintain focus on three specific areas: the Self, Others and the Systems within which you operate.
Focusing Inwards: The Self
It begins with the ability to focus inwards. This is the ability to recognise and understand your moods, emotions & drives, and to be able to then recognise how this might have an effect on others. That is, how this effect either motivates, demotivates and/or instills drive and gains support as you and your team set out to accomplish your individual and joint goals. To create and enhance this ability start with a focus on the following self confidence, your ability to realistically self assess, and your ability to approach your areas for development with a smile or sense of humour. Research suggests that these 3 things are the hallmarks to strong Self Awareness.
Once we are able to identify what’s happening for us we then need to manage this through our ability to think before we act by controlling or redirecting our disruptive moods or impulses. Research shows that those who are able to do this well embody and foster trustworthiness and integrity, display comfort with ambiguity and demonstrate openness to change.
We then should be looking at our motivation. What is it that drives you? More than money or status, what is the thing that gives you energy to pursue your goals with passion? What is that thing that lights your fire? Watching people who embody this is almost hypnotising. Others are drawn to them and tend to listen to what they have to say. We know from the research that those who embody this have a strong drive towards achievement, they remain optimistic even when faced with failure and demonstrate organisational commitment.
Focusing Outwards: Others
Turning our focus outwards on others is the next level of our focus. This means looking at how we empathise with others and our level of social skill. Those who empathise well with others are able understand the variability within people and are skilled at managing emotionally charged interactions towards productive outcomes. Research suggests that those who do this well demonstrate expertise in building and retaining talent, exemplify cross cultural sensitivity and are likely to receive high praise from clients and customers for their service.
You know the saying ‘you network is your net worth’? Well ultimately this ability to manage relationships, build networks, and the ability to find common ground and build rapport is an important part of our focus outwards and forms part of our social skill set. As leaders it’s the relationships we build and maintain that can really help us to thrive in our roles. Yes we have a lot of knowledge but who you know is important. We operate as part of a system and there are many touch points and people in between those touch points. Knowing and understanding those who form the various parts of your system often has its benefits especially when we are able to support one another for more efficient and effective ways of operating. Research shows that those who are able to build relationships and networks, find common ground with others and build rapport, are effective in leading change, exhibit persuasiveness and demonstrate expertise in building and leading teams.
Focusing Outwards: The System
Now we can use the first two levels to help establish a wider lens focus on the System and Structures within which you and your organisation resides and this will ultimately help to inform the strategy that you build and implement with your team/s.
Whilst you cannot be everywhere at once, it helps to know who needs to be where and when. This information provides leverage that supports you to think through the Systems and Structures when making key decisions for your teams. Where will you get this information from? Most likely people… that’s where all the work you put in on others will help get you and your team through.. together!
Whether it’s a decision, product or a simple task, you already know that it hurts to fail. Additionally the word is almost taboo in some places. But the truth is not everything works out in our favour at times and we need to manage how we respond. Knowing yourself is strategically the best thing. How? Because once you do you can deliberately choose to respond strategically to the situation and not react mindlessly. Thinking through the ripple effect of the next decisions and actions you take here will be an important strategic step. Here all the work you put in on The Self really helps to keep yourself and your team motivated towards success, remain optimistic, and embody trustworthiness, helping you strategically position yourself as a leader with integrity.
Looking for support with building & retaining talent? Building and maintaining your networks? Self confidence? Leading in times of uncertainty? Conflict management? Managing ‘difficult’ personalities? Or working strategically?
There’s no secret formula. It’s all here: these are skills that can be zoomed in on and developed. Work with a specialist coach to help you identify your own specific areas, have a program built specifically for you and focus on deliberate practice.
To find out how I could support you please enter your details in the form below: