Become Your Team’s Favorite Leader With This Trait
Emotional Intelligence – a topic which has been talked about a lot for years, yet its application in our professional lives remains significantly underutilized.
Throughout my two decades of coaching and hearing from my clients, I've encountered numerous instances that left me astounded by the lack of emotional intelligence in workplace interactions.
It tells two things about our workplaces.
1. We often care more about how hard we work or how skilled we are at our jobs, but we don't pay enough attention to how good we are at understanding and handling our own feelings or those of our coworkers.
2. As leaders in organizations, we tend to focus on easy fixes like communication trainings or doing team-building activities. But these actions might not be enough if we're not tackling the deeper underlying problems.
What we do not understand about Emotional Intelligence (EI) is that it is the foundation upon which effective communication, leadership, and teamwork are built.
Think of EI as the roots of a plant that everything else grows from.
So, if treating the branches and leaves (communication/leadership/team building training) isn't helping, check the roots (EI).
Many studies have shown a direct relation between stress with Emotional Intelligence. The more stress in a workplace, the lower the emotional intelligence.
This is when you’ll see employees blaming each other for problems at work instead of looking at their part.
Hence, in this edition, I aim to describe the aspects of Emotional Intelligence in simple words and some practical examples of how to identify the presence or absence of Emotional Intelligence in common workplace statements.
Five Core Pillars of Emotional Intelligence
Self-awareness OR Being Conscious of your Feelings
This is the foundation of EI, involving an understanding of your emotions, strengths, weaknesses, and recognizing their impact on others.
At workplace, self-awareness would mean recognizing and understanding one’s emotional responses, triggers, and values to navigate professional relationships and tasks more effectively.
2. Self-regulation OR Think before you Express or Act
This involves managing or redirecting disruptive thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.
At workplace, it involves setting personal standards for behavior, responding adaptively to challenging situations, and aligning actions with goals.
3. Motivation OR Driving Force Behind Human Actions
This means to be driven by internal desires and goals, showing resilience and optimism, rather than being motivated solely by external rewards.
Motivation at work refers to the reasons behind employees’ desire to perform well, including their enthusiasm, energy level, commitment, and creativity.
4. Empathy OR Feeling Others’ Emotions Deeply
The ability to understand and share the feelings of others.
Empathy at workplace involves recognizing and acknowledging emotions in others instead of ignoring them, showing a genuine interest in their well-being, and trying to see situations from their perspectives.
5. Social Skills OR Effective Communication & Collaboration
This means managing relationships and building networks through effective communication, influencing others, and conflict resolution.
At workplace, social skills refer to the ability of individuals to interact and work effectively and harmoniously with different personalities and work styles.
What Emotional Intelligence may look like in our conversations at work:
Talking about adapting to evolving technology
< Less Emotionally Intelligent: "It's part of your job to keep up with technology. Just learn it and get on with your work."
> More Emotionally Intelligent: "The fast pace of technological change can be overwhelming. Let's pinpoint important upskilling areas and provide the necessary resources for your learning and adaptation."
Talking about navigating layoffs
< Less Emotionally Intelligent: "Layoffs are unfortunate but necessary for the long haul to stay competitive."
> More Emotionally Intelligent: "The news of layoffs is troubling for all of us, whether directly affected or not. Let's have a discussion about any concerns you may have and explore how we can support each other through these times."
·Addressing Criticism
< Less Emotionally Intelligent: "People always find something to criticize. Let's not get distracted by every negative comment and focus on our work."
> More Emotionally Intelligent: "While criticism can be hard to hear, it's important for us to listen and reflect on any valid concerns. Let's create a space where we can discuss these issues openly and learn from them."
This simply shows that before we blame others or outside situations for problems, it's good to think about how we talk and react to things.
Emotional intelligence means understanding and empathizing with others, listening well, and handling changes smoothly.
It cuts down misunderstandings, makes changes easier, and stops conflicts from growing. It goes deep into what drives us.
Growing your emotional intelligence helps you and your work.
Here's to building a better workplace.
Stay curious,
Coach Meenu
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