Helping Your People Develop Emotional Intelligence Creating a Positive,
Balanced Team
[image: Smiling woman and team.]
Improve working relationships by helping team members develop emotional
intelligence.
© iStockphoto/aldomurillo
Imagine that you've just hired a new team member to work on an important
project. Jim was a star employee in his last organization, and now he's
joined your team.
Unfortunately, Jim is having a hard time learning some of the new skills he
needs.
He's used to being able to do his job perfectly, and starting from the
ground up in some areas is making him uncomfortable.
Instead of becoming irritated or shutting him out, your people step up and
increase their efforts to support Jim. They slow their pace to match his,
they encourage questions, and they even stay late to help him finish some
of his work on time. As a result, Jim's morale goes up, and he quickly
becomes a high-performing member of the team.
For some leaders, this situation might sound too good to be true. But, if
you're leading people with high emotional intelligence, this may sound like
a natural and obvious way for people to behave.
By focusing on increasing your people's emotional intelligence, you can
reap many benefits from improved teamwork. In this article, we'll look at
what you can do to help your team members develop this important quality.
The Many Benefits of Emotional Intelligence
Emotional Intelligence, also called EI, is partly the ability to recognize
and control your own emotions, and understand what those emotions are
telling you. EI also means that you can recognize the emotional wants and
needs of others and respond appropriately. Put simply, EI determines your
self-awareness and your people skills.
EI is necessary for building trust, creating a sense of identity and
efficacy, solving problems with others, cooperating, and participating
productively in a group.
When emotionally intelligent people work together, they have the ability to
sweep aside minor conflicts in order to focus on the team's interests. They
can deal well with more serious conflicts, and they can grow from any
disagreements that may arise.
While it's possible for people without emotional intelligence to "go
through the motions" and experience some of these benefits, they ultimately
lack the trust that comes with high EI. This means that they can't realize
their full potential as individuals, or work well within a group.
Research suggests that there are many important benefits of EI. For
example, a study published in The Leadership Quarterly shows that people
who have high EI perform better and experience more job satisfaction than
those with lower EI.
Furthermore, when people with high EI come together as a group, there are
numerous benefits. A study published in The International Journal of
Organizational Analysis found, as you might expect, that EI competencies
were positively correlated with team cohesiveness. Another study, published
in the Human Resources Management Review, found that teams with higher EI
perform better, quicker, than teams with lower EI. EI really matters!
Building Emotional Intelligence
EI might sound as if it's something you're born with.
However, research shows that you can develop your team's emotional
intelligence, even in just a few hours.
Start With Yourself
One of the best ways to help your people develop EI is to lead by example.
So, start by making sure that you're leading with emotional intelligence.
This means staying aware of your own thoughts and feelings, and managing
them, so that you affect other people positively.
Communicate the Benefits
Your team members might be more open to developing their EI if you
communicate the benefits that they can expect.
For example, sales professionals who have higher Emotional Intelligence
often achieve better sales than colleagues with lower EI; professionals
with higher EI typically have a higher income and experience greater job
stability throughout their life; and, high EI makes work and professional
relationships more rewarding.
Let your team members know how developing their EI will benefit them, both
personally and professionally.
Develop Self-Awareness
Self-awareness is the most important aspect of EI. People who are
self-aware understand their own thoughts and emotions, as well as
understanding how their actions affect others around them.
Encourage your team members to keep a daily journal – even writing for just
five minutes a day can help people develop self-awareness.
You can also help team members build self-awareness by asking for their
opinions on decisions – this is especially important for quieter people,
who might not speak up that often. When you ask about a team member's
thoughts and feelings, it makes them stop and examine how they really feel
about an issue, and this can lead to increased self-awareness over time.
It's also important to set aside time to talk about difficult situations or
issues, and to address the resulting emotions. This can take place
one-on-one, or informally over lunch. The more you encourage your team
members to open up and talk about what they're thinking and feeling, the
more likely they are to develop self-awareness.
Strengthen Communication
People with high EI typically have excellent communication skills. Develop
better communication in your team by teaching people to understand body
language.
Good communication also means knowing how to deal with negative emotions.
Give your team avenues for "venting" negative emotions – or frustrations
about setbacks – in a constructive way.
For example, if people are upset, set aside five minutes of each meeting
for complaints and frustrations, and let your team know that their
criticisms won't be frowned upon. You can keep this lighthearted by using a
stopwatch; when five minutes are up, then your team members should move on
and focus on an action item, or something that they can control. Try to
create fun ways to acknowledge and deal with stress or tension.
Another important and often overlooked communication tool is listening.
Teach everyone on your team to use active listening skills, and to respect
other people when they're speaking. When people are obviously not
listening, call them out on their behavior.
Last, if you think that your group doesn't discuss and analyze decisions
fully, make sure that you question decisions and avoid Group think. Play
devil's advocate and force a discussion about the issue at hand. Ask why
everyone is agreeing, and, again, encourage quieter team members to speak
up.
Build Optimism
The ability to think positively is an important part of EI. You can help
your people think positively by stopping self-sabotaging behavior or
statements. For instance, if you hear someone say "I'm not very good at
writing reports," or "I'll never be able to make a presentation in front of
the group!" remind them of their strengths and thank them for the good work
that they're doing.
Keep in mind that positive thinking doesn't mean ignoring bad news and
avoiding issues. It means acknowledging bad news and rationally deciding
how to handle it, as well as searching for the good in each situation and
learning from every mistake.
Encourage Healthy Conflict
People with high EI know how to engage in conflict in a healthy way, where
everyone's perspective is respected when they communicate their views. This
type of conflict can strengthen people individually and within a group, and
can lead to personal growth.
Teach your people good conflict resolution skills. Make it clear that
conflicts should never get personal, and that whoever "has the floor" gets
the full attention of everyone else in the room. Set ground rules, so that
everyone knows what is and isn't fair behavior.
Set Specific Learning Goals
Your team members will have different strengths and weaknesses when it
comes to their own EI. For example, some people might be poor
communicators, others might have little self-awareness, and some might be
lacking in empathy.
First, help each person discover their strengths and weaknesses. You can do
this by performing a personal SWOT Analysis. It may be necessary to provide
extra support and guidance for team members with low EI, as they may have
low self-reflection.
Next, set clear, specific goals to help each person work on their
weaknesses. For example, one person might be a poor listener, so, his goal
could be to use active listening techniques four times per week for the
next four weeks. Personalized goals like this will keep each person
motivated.
Last, make sure that you provide constructive feedback on each person's
progress, but remember to do this sensitively for team members who may have
low EI. A word of encouragement or a helpful observation will go a long way
in keeping your team members motivated and moving forward.
Key Points
* Emotional intelligence, or EI, is the awareness of your thoughts and
emotions, as well as of the emotional wants and needs of the people around
you.*
* Research shows that people with high EI are often more satisfied with
their work, have better work relationships, and experience higher
productivity than people with lower EI.*
* You can help your team members develop their EI if you help them
strengthen their communication skills, think positively, and engage in
conflict in a healthy way. It's also essential to lead by example.*
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*வாழிய செந்தமிழ்! வாழ்க நற்றமிழர்!*
*வாழிய பாரதமணித் திருநாடு!*
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