Have you ever met someone who is “book smart” but not “street smart,” or maybe seems to lack “people skills?” The phrase “emotional intelligence” was not part of the public lexicon 10-15 years ago, but Daniel Goleman’s 1995 book, Emotional Intelligence, moved the phrase from academia to the general public. Today, in the world of business and leadership, it is well understood that high intelligence (a high IQ) does not necessarily mean that the person has high emotional intelligence (a high EQ). There are certainly some very smart people who are not in touch with their own emotions or the emotions of others. When we talk about social and emotional intelligence, we are referring to the ability to be aware of our own emotions and those of others, in the moment, and then using that information to manage ourselves and our relationships. In essence, social and emotional intelligence is about awareness of ourselves and others while being able to manage ourselves and our relationships with others. Managers who are lacking in social and emotional intelligence are often called “bullies” and “jerks.” They can be angry, hostile, and emotionally immature. Leaders who lack social and emotional intelligence induce stress in the workplace and cost their companies in both productivity and talent. Research from Stanford University, and from the Center for Creative Leadership, has found that some of the top reasons for executive derailment include poor interpersonal relationships, rigidity, and the inability to work with a team -- in other words, poor social and emotional intelligence. On the flip side, leaders with high social and emotional intelligence tend to be more successful. In a study of 2000 managers in 12 large organizations, it was found that 81% of the competencies that distinguished outstanding leaders were related to social and emotional intelligence. In an additional study of 15 global businesses, it was found that 90% of the difference between the average and best performing leaders was in social and emotional competencies. One of the 26 social and emotional intelligence competencies is trust, and high trust teams outperform low trust teams by 300%. The good news for leaders, managers, organizations, and even individuals just looking to improve their skills is that the social and emotional intelligence competencies are both measurable and learnable. It all starts with awareness, and to best understand your current social and emotional intelligence level, that means taking an assessment. Once you know your areas of strength and weakness, you can improve your social and emotional intelligence through coaching, training, and (perhaps most importantly) practice. Moreover, these skills are easiest to improve and produce the best ROI when the methods for improving social and emotional intelligence are integrated into organizational culture. How can social and emotional intelligence coaching and training help organizations? Sheraton Hotels and Resorts introduced social and emotional intelligence training and coaching with the goal of building a service culture. They were able to increase their market share by 24%. Sanofi-Aventis trained a group of sales representatives in social and emotional intelligence. The training resulted in an 18% increase in social and emotional intelligence over the control group. Furthermore, the trained sales representatives outsold the control group by an average of 12% ($55,200) each per month. At Pepsico, social and emotional intelligence programs generated a 10% increase in productivity and an 87% decrease in turnover. Social and emotional intelligence training can work for both individuals and organizations of all sizes. These programs have a proven positive return on investment and benefit employees throughout all levels of an organization. Are you interested in learning more about social and emotional intelligence assessments or training programs? Aspen Edge Consulting can help make your organization happier and more profitable.
Traditional intelligence vs. Social and Emotional Intelligence. What’s more important?
Most positions require a certain baseline IQ. It’s the price of admission. This is especially true when thinking of positions like physicians, engineering, and the like. However, once you reach an average IQ, then social and emotional intelligence can become the differentiator for your career success. You may have the IQ that’s required to get into medical school, but if you want to go from being a good physician to a great one, you have to have social and emotional intelligence. It’s difficult to become successful without social skills. According to Daniel Goleman, often referred to as the father of Emotional Intelligence, 80% of “adult” success comes from emotional intelligence. Having healthy relationships at work can have a huge impact on a person’s performance and those around them. If an employee at work doesn’t understand how they impact others, if they are causing friction, you will see the global morale of the office drop. If they are customer, facing the impact can be even more catastrophic. Another study by The Center for Creative Leadership says “75% of careers are derailed for reasons related to emotional competencies, including inability to handle interpersonal problems; unsatisfactory team leadership during times of difficulty or conflict; or inability to adapt to change or elicit trust.” What exactly is Emotional Intelligence? There are many definititons but simply It’s the ability to be aware of our own emotions and those of others, in the moment, and to use that information to manage oursevles and manage our relationships.
If you are a manager, can you see the value of investing in your leaders who report to you, and gaining increased social and emotional intelligence benefits from them? Imagine them complaining less, being more productive, and increasing revenue. Not to mention being easier to work with!
Emotional intelligence becomes even more important as you move up in the organization because you are responsible for more people and that can have a big impact across the organization. Increasing Emotional Intelligence among your leadership can have these positive benefits for organizations:
• Increased retention of strong performers
• Reduced turnaround time
• Increased sales
• Expanded market share
• Increased employee engagement
• Increased customer satisfaction