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Emotional Intelligence

By Daniel Goleman

This book is an oldie, though a goodie, as Jane Sunley explains.

Also known as 'EI' or 'EQ', emotional intelligence refers to the capacity to recognise one's feelings and those of others, for motivating oneself, and managing emotions. Successful leaders are likely to possess the maturity of well developed EI.

The name that immediately springs to mind in terms when discussing the concept of emotional intelligence is Daniel Goleman. His book was an overnight best seller, and has since been translated into more than 30 languages.

Goleman defines EI at Work as having five key components:

Self-Awareness; Self-Regulation; Motivation; Empathy and Social Skill.

Self-Awareness: Knowing the self is the foundation of understanding others. Feeling comfortable within one's own skin and possessing the confidence, humility and honesty to self criticise and constantly strive for self improvement are examples of self awareness. The self aware think about what they did well and what they could have done better and they use this information to develop themselves.

Self-Regulation: this is about self control. As an example, one of the leadership workshops we run covers the 'constant state of excellence'. It's about never having an 'off day', remaining calm and positive, whatever the situation. It's about being '100% role model material' at all times and never lapsing. We train our delegates to ask themselves very day 'If there was a leadership election, would I win?' Self regulation is a powerful thing at any level. Who commands the most respect - the person who shouts loudest or the one who gets the job done in a controlled way?

Motivation: the ability to maintain self motivation at all times and in all situations. The emotionally intelligent leader is able to see the opportunity in even the darkest situation, to pick back up again after the hardest knock, and to inspire motivation in others. It's obvious to say that most people realise that they get the best out of their relationships and interactions with other people if they are motivated to make some effort.

Empathy: the feeling or concern for others' situations and feelings. Understanding why others behave as they do is a valuable tool for influencing others. Leading with empathy can inspire people towards peak performance, loyalty and trust. Skills like listening and problem solving will come in here.

Social Skill: well developed social skills clearly allow people to progress more smoothly through life. It's not necessary to be 'the life and soul of the party' it's about being able to behave appropriately in a variety of situations and to interact well across a wide range of personality types.

Once you understand EI, you can begin to use it to real advantage. By increasing it, an individual can find out what makes them tick, how to become happier and more productive at work. Testing for Emotional Intelligence, can also reveal which employees will work best in a certain environment, how to motivate people, how to build strong and talented teams, how to make people enjoy work, and so forth. Developing EI in the workforce can have startling results.

Emotional intelligence helps people to be less reactive, more creative, more resilient, and more inclusive. It equips leaders, sales people and customer service personnel to increase performance. It is key to continuous improvement, for self regulation and for managing and accelerating change. Isn't it about time you checked how emotionally intelligent your top team and workforce are?

For EI testing, contact jodi@learnpurple.com

25 February 2007