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DR WILFRED MONTEIRO (www.synergymanager.net) is India’s nationally acclaimed stalwart in the HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGMENT FIELD He is the fournder of META+COACH - the definitive model for executive coaching and mentoring for business scions and young entrepreneurs &a wide range of business professional like lawyers, architects, chartered accountants.technocrats etc. His coaching sessions have help people to find their & DEFINING MOMENTS at life and work. He has fostered THOUGHT LEADERSHIP through over numerous public seminars and conferences organised by India's leading Chamber of Commerce D He is a advisor to board of directors and a keynote speaker for international seminars & conferences

Tuesday, March 5, 2024

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE & THE 21CENTURY WORKPLACE

 

Why EQ Matters in the Workplace

Why is emotional intelligence such a valued workplace skill? In a survey of hiring managers, almost 75% of respondents suggested that they valued an employee's EQ more than their IQ.

Emotional intelligence is widely recognized as a valuable skill that helps improve communication, management, problem-solving, and relationships within the workplace. It is also a skill that researchers believe can be improved with training and practice.





People With High EQ

  • Make better decisions and solve problems
  • Keep cool under pressure
  • Resolve conflicts
  • Have greater empathy
  • Listen, reflect, and respond to constructive criticism

People With Low EQ

  • Play the role of the victim or avoid taking responsibility for errors
  • Have passive or aggressive communication styles
  • Refuse to work as a team  
  • Are overly critical of others or dismiss others' opinions

 

HOW CAN MANAGER  improve EQ?

It takes consistent effort and hard work to be more focused on your and others’ emotional well-being. Here are a few good places to start:

Practice understanding your own emotions.

Before you can understand and empathize with another person, you have to understand yourself. Keep a journal and regularly jot down how you’re feeling and why. Make small, measurable goals to increase your self-management, such as minimizing frustrated outbursts.

Connect with employees on a personal level.

When you demonstrate a willingness to help your employees and to recognize their efforts, you are leading with emotional intelligence, showing that you care about them as individuals. This act of caring builds trust between leaders and their employees.

Empathy has long been a soft skill that’s overlooked as a performance indicator. Our research, however, has shown that today’s successful leaders are showing kindness in the workplace and are more “person-focused,” making them better able to work well with people from varying teams, departments, countries, cultures, and backgrounds.

Unlock motivations.

As important as compensation and benefits are, we know they are not the only things that matter when it comes to keeping employees productive and engaged. These benefits are a part of a larger motivation equation.

Most of the time, understanding what motivates your employees is as easy as asking them — and really listening to their responses. Once you understand your employees’ motives, you can boost employee engagement and motivation, increase job satisfaction, and improve retention

Ask more questions and really listen. 

Asking questions is one of the best ways to learn about the people around you. But only if you listen. Try to ask employees questions such as, “How are you really doing?” or, “What can I do to make your job easier?” Listen to their

When you have one-on-ones, make sure employees are talking 80% of the time and you’re only talking 20% of the time. Employees need to feel comfortable opening up to you.

Listen closely and withhold judgement.

It all starts with having strong active listening skills, and striving to try to see the world as others see it. Really listen to, and consider, their perspective, keeping your attitude as open as possible to create a safe space for sharing and a sense of psychological safety at work.

Work to understand the other person’s feelings and reflect them back to the person. As you listen, pay close attention to the values and emotions behind the facts themselves. Communicate your understanding of that person’s feelings to assure people that their feelings and values are really understood.

 

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Seek to understand more about others and yourself.

Leading with emotional intelligence requires managers to harness the power of their employees’ diverse experiences and consider people’s different lived experiences to help their teams achieve their full potential.

Your ability to understand where your employees are coming from — including their social identity and how their experiences may have informed their perspectives — demonstrates a willingness to see the world as others see it, without standing in judgment.

Even if you have high emotional intelligence and leadership effectiveness, it’s not easy to get to know every employee below the surface. It’s challenging to see the world as others see it and to accept a variety of perspectives in a nonjudgmental way.

Building those skills requires understanding how aspects of identity can affect the way you lead, and a willingness to learn and recognize your own emotional triggers and weaknesses. Leader effectiveness is constrained or amplified based on how well leaders understand themselves, their awareness of how others view them, and how they navigate the resulting interactions.So, intentionally increasing your self-awareness is sure to help you improve your emotional intelligence and leadership effectiveness. 

Help employees achieve their goals. Even if you struggle to understand the feelings employees have, you can still help them do what matters to them. If your employees are passionate or interested in any sort of work-related goal or improvement, do what you can to help them accomplish it.

Ask for and welcome feedback. As a leader, you need to understand how you’re perceived by others. Three-hundred-sixty-degree feedback is a great way to see what you’re good at and where you can improve.

 

A FINAL WORD

Emotional intelligence is central to the success of any organization, team and individual leader – and can be an especially beneficial characteristic during challenging times. Managers and leaders need to learn how to really listen to, empathize with, and support their employees. As we strive to improve our emotional intelligence, we will be better leaders.

One other reason that leading with emotional intelligence is so important: when an entire organization is full of people leading with emotional intelligence front and center, it can create a stronger culture.

Conversations, even hard ones, are more honest, productive, and respectful. Everyone feels a strong sense of belonging and ownership. Empathy and inclusion are particularly imperative for organizational diversity initiatives to be successful.

So, are you and your organization investing in developing the critical “soft skill” of leading with emotional intelligence?

With best wishes

Dr Wilfred Monteiro

FOUNDER META+COACH MODEL


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