Can you imagine a world where you couldn’t understand when a friend was feeling sad or a co-worker was angry? Where you couldn’t tell if your partner was happy or sad? The ability to monitor one’s own and others emotions, discriminating between different emotions and labelling them, has been termed by Psychologists as Emotional Intelligence (EQ), and is thought matter more than IQ when it comes to your health happiness, and life success.
As a psychological theory, Emotional Intelligence was developed in 1990 by Peter Salovey and John Mayer, and was defined as ‘the subset of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one’s and others’ feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this thinking to guide one’s thinking and actions’. Daniel Goleman popularised the concept in his 1995 best-seller ‘Emotional Intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ’, and Goleman identified the five domains of EQ as:
1. Knowing your emotions
2. Managing your own emotions
3. Motivating yourself
4. Recognising and understanding other people’s emotions
5. Managing relationships
Emotional intelligence impacts many different aspects of your daily life, such as the way you behave and interact with others. Goleman specifies that if you have high emotional intelligence, you can use it in ways to understand and manage your emotions in positive ways to reduce stress, communicate effectively, emphasise with others, and defuse conflict. He also considers that truly effective leaders are distinguished by a high degree of emotional intelligence which includes the five domains. The good news is that many researchers believe that EQ can be learned and strengthened; and gives rise to the numerous leadership and team development programs now including the psychological concept as a core aspect.
Raman Chadha, founder of the Junto Institute, cites that increased self-awareness and a heightened level of empathy; core aspects of emotional intelligence, allows you to respond better to day-to-day situations you face, such as poor customer service or road rage, leading to a shift in perspective and being able to connect better with others. As a leader, high EQ goes a long way to building strong relationships with colleagues and cementing your role as a strong leader, and can translate to optimal outcomes when faced with challenging situations such as contract negotiations and terminations.
Case Study
To illustrate the success of Emotional Intelligence leadership programs, FedEx Express at their Global Learning Institute integrated the psychological concept into a six-month process for new manager’s world-wide. The company looks to the future and sees that the people-side of leadership has grown more complex; and was thus committed to developing leadership capabilities to manage the changing workforce. FedEx wants leaders who are better at influence, make decisions that are both quick and accurate, and are able to build a culture where people feel the dedication and drive for exceptional performance in a way that is sustainable and creates real value for all stakeholders.
A core component of the training program for managers included a module on emotional intelligence using the Six Seconds Emotional Intelligence Assessment to support the impact leaders were aiming to have; ultimately, the legacy they were creating. The Six Seconds Model, which provided managers with their EQ profile, was used throughout the training program as a framework for using emotional intelligence on a day-to-day basis. The model offers a three-step process with specific, learnable, measurable competencies, which included:
Know Yourself – increases self-awareness of emotions and reactions (competencies: Enhance Emotional Literacy; Recognise Patterns)
Choose Yourself – shift from unconscious reaction to intentional response (competencies: Apply Consequential Thinking; Navigate Emotions; Engage Intrinsic Motivation; Exercise Optimism)
Give Yourself – align the moment-to-moment decisions with a larger sense of purpose (competencies: Increase Empathy; Pursue Noble Goals)
A mix of on-site and virtual training was provided to managers as a five-day course, and blended training and coaching approaches were utilised within the six-month follow up process to ensure that the implementation would go deeply into what drives people performance. Throughout the entire process, managers focussed on how emotional intelligence will assist them to show up as leaders by managing themselves first, and taking charge of their own emotions and behaviours so they can be effective role models and influencers. At the beginning of the six-month process, managers were debriefed on their EQ profile, which served as a framework for their goal setting. Specific competencies to improve, strengths to leverage from, and improvisation of people-leadership skills, were identified by the managers as focal points; and in collaboration with the coach, managers developed personalised goals that were made actionable.
The results of the program were extremely positive, and most notably, 58% of managers showed very large improvements in influence, and 72% did so in decision making. There were a substantial number of managers with very large improvements, including the competencies of ‘Apply Consequential Thinking’ with 54% of managers showing large increases, and ‘Exercise Optimism’ with 57% of managers improving from 10-50%. One of the most compelling improvements noted by managers was their Quality of Life, with 60% of managers showing major improvements.
The effects of the program have gone far beyond the workplace, and program managers have shared numerous stories about how using the EQ tools have helped them to cope with loss, reunite with family members, step up to become better parents, and even make dramatic changes to improve health and well being. FedEx has gained by having this program for all managers, by supporting them, and showing its people that the company puts value into action.
If you would like to access the full case study, Emotional Intelligence for People-First Leadership at FedEx Express, please click the following link: http://www.6seconds.org/2014/01/14/case-study-emotional-intelligence-people-first-leadership-fedex-express/