I am excited this week to take a closer look at People skills and Emotional Intelligence the second in my grab bag of tools and tricks.

People skills and emotional Intelligence.

If this sounds a bit to gooey in the time of crisis, just remember Warren Buffet said, the best investment you’ll make is in the development of yourself. If it’s good enough for Warren, it’s good enough for me.

As leaders there’s a fair chance you are well aware of this, but it’s timely to go back to basics and remember the value of self-awareness and awareness of others.

Emotional intelligence is the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ emotions, to understand them, and to use that information to guide one’s thinking and actions (Salovey & Mayer, 1990).

Practical examples include being able to problem solve and put plans into action, being able to calm down or calm down others, being able to stay hopeful after a setback and motivate others to stay positive.

Having strong EI is a bit like a footballer who can read the play, be in the right spot at the right time, know when to stay out of the play and when to get involved to have the highest impact. Is it time to be attacking in the game or to be defensive. It starts with being aware of your own emotions as they are happening and to use that awareness to adapt your behaviour. You are not on the field alone, so you need to notice what others in your team and the opposition are doing and then manage those interactions to achieve the best possible outcome. Depending on the game, this could be to minimise a loss or make sure you get the win.

The good news is, EI skills can be taught and with effort can improve.

 

Some interesting findings on EI and management effectiveness and business performance include:

  • A strong correlation between management effectiveness and emotional intelligence with self-awareness is the most critical factor. One study concluded that a 1% change in EI score could amount to a 25% increase in management effectiveness.
  • EI can explain why one person’s intuition can lead to a better outcome than another’s. (Why some are always luckier than others). EI was highly correlated with Intuition on the MBTI scale.
  • Family firms with individuals exhibiting high EI were able to handle the complex dynamic of family and business more effectively.
  • A study of Welsh dairy farmers measured EI as well as, the traditional finance and production measures. The highly profitable farmers making 2.7 times the group average profit. (scored highly in the EI skills including teamwork and collaboration, conscientiousness, developing others, and leadership.) They used emotion and intuition to communicate, were relaxed and interested in employee’s well-being, planned well ahead, had succession in hand and had interests away from the farm.

Management of self and others impacts on success by helping us:

  • Focus on what we can control, while acknowledging what we can’t control and mitigating risk of those uncontrollable such as the weather and global markets and Corona Virus.
  • Manage uncertainty and make constructive decisions under pressure.
  • Understand and get the best out of our team.
  • Be organised and implement important tasks in a timely manner.
  • Seek advice from others, distil that advice and take ownership of the final decision.
  • Be less judging of ourselves and others and know when to give ourselves and others support.

For those of you who have chosen to create your own grab bag of tools and tricks, I hope this provides you with a clearer understanding of People skills and Emotional Intelligence and some additional support, especially during this ‘social distancing’ phase.

Stay tuned for my next BLOG – Weathering the Storm, using personal power to steer yourself and your community through uncertain times – a grab bag of tools and tricks – Part 4, where we can delve deeper into Maintaining Resilience, one of my most favourite tools.

Stay safe out there.