What is Emotional Intelligence?
Emotional Intelligence (EI) or emotional quotient (EQ) is a set of skills that help us better perceive, understand and manage emotions in ourselves and in others. Collectively they help us make intelligent responses to, and use of, emotions. These skills are as important as your intellect (IQ) in determining success in work and in life. Everyone, no matter what job function, has interactions with other people. Your capacity to understand your emotions, to be aware of them and how they impact the way you behave and relate to others, will improve your ‘people‘ skills and help you ultimately be more satisfied and successful.
Applied Emotional Intelligence – The Difference It Makes
In the workplace, emotional intelligence underlies our self-awareness, empathy, leadership and resilience. In our world of ‘do more with less’, where continuous change is the norm and effective collaboration is essential, these skills are fundamental to our success. People who have been through our programs feel better at work, facilitate more productive work environments, and better lead and engage others.
The rise in focus and popularity of emotional intelligence
The World Economic Forum has strongly promoted the top 10 skills you need to thrive in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The second social skill on the list is ‘Emotional intelligence’.
The Jobs of the Future Report, from which these skills were identified, talks about emotional intelligence as a core competency for people entering the workforce and people in the workforce in the future. This encapsulates being able to:
manage ourselves through complexity, high workloads, stress and high work demands
tune in to the needs of others in the workplace
respond when we experience strong emotions
express ourselves effectively, and
navigate through difficult conversations.
EI in today’s workplace
As discussed in our article, How to survive in a workplace causing low EI, many decades of organisational research has shown that longer work hours, constant change and uncertainty result in elevated stress levels and a greater daily experience of negative emotions. This, in turn, causes our thinking to be narrowed, our perspective to be limited and a greater preponderance of reactionary behaviour. We become more easily defensive or aggressive in our responses, more problem-focused and we more readily forget the bigger picture.
When hiring or developing leaders, their ability to navigate through high demand, stressful working conditions and change in the workplace and to lead by example, is now a strong predictor of organisational performance. This is particularly applicable in industries where high emotional labour exists.
In any organisation that is customer facing, sales, for example, emotional intelligence is a high predictor of an employee’s emotional resiliency, their ability to cope and succeed in a high-pressure environment.
A powerful starting point in anyone’s journey to become more emotionally intelligent in the workplace is to understand our own emotions, be reflective and gain feedback to understand how people are seeing our behaviour and what may be causing it.
The Genos model of EI
A powerful tool that can be used to explain the effects of low emotional intelligence and to compare those with what it would be like to display a high level of emotional intelligence is the Genos model of emotional intelligence.
The competencies of the model help leaders “be” the productive being states on the right side of the model, as opposed to the unproductive being states, that we can all be at times, on the left side of the model.
The ability to understand where we are on the model at any point in time is the most important stepping stone to develop emotionally intelligent workplace behaviour.
The outcomes
People who are feeling more:
Relaxed are more solution-focused
Purpose-driven are more engaged
Valued promote your organisation’s brand
Cared-for have more buy-in
Informed are more accountable
Consulted have more buy-in
Empowered show more discretionary effort.
The way we feel influences the quality of our decision making, the behaviours we demonstrate and therefore how we perform overall.
Integrating Emotional Intelligence into Selection and Talent Management
Organisations using a holistic approach to integrating emotional intelligence into recruitment are using an EQ psychometric assessment to help identify candidates with high emotional intelligence in the initial screening. Then, to assess the short list, candidates are interviewed or then complete role-play based simulations. Successful candidates are then on-boarded, with an EI self-assessment to introduce them to expected behaviours within the workplace. This is then followed by confirmation to ensure the employees are demonstrating EI sufficiently in the business using a 180° or 360° assessment. Embedding into talent management and identification gives organisations the opportunity to benchmark their talent with the external market. The Genos assessment not only provides talent with a benchmark, but also a development opportunity.
In terms of managing talent, the Genos EI Leadership 360° degree assessment ensures organisations are being led by emotionally intelligent leaders, identifies leadership or behavioural issues at an early stage, and drives a sustained culture of emotionally intelligent leadership.
The Genos Development Assessments
Genos emotional intelligence assessments measure how often individuals display emotionally intelligent workplace behaviour that underlie success. They are supported by a wealth of peer-reviewed research and are accompanied by beautiful reports that provide accessible and practical development suggestions.
How to use the Genos EI Assessments?
A Genos EI Certified Practitioner is required to run a Genos EI Assessment and to debrief the results of the reports with participants.
Emotionally Intelligent Workplace Behaviour Assessment
The Genos Emotionally Intelligent Workplace Behaviour survey measures how well you demonstrate emotionally intelligent workplace behaviours in comparison to others. The better you demonstrate the behaviours measured, the more effective your relationships and work should be.
About the Trainer
Mathy Randhawa has been inclined to Human Resources training with various established organizations locally and internationally. She has vast experience in the training field and specializes in Soft skill and HR related training. Recently, she spoke on a local radio station, Business FM on Key Traits To Break or Make A Leader. She has established herself as a consultant and a facilitator in modern Business Writing, Technical Writing and Communication Skills.
Mathy has conducted training interventions in various industries; oil & gas, banking sector, hotels, small scale industries, minor & major manufacturing industries, government units, public sectors, colleges & other educational institutions. She brings to table a proven expertise in identifying training needs, designing training content, developing assessment and executing them.
Recently, she has completed the Genos Emotional Intelligence Certification Program and sharing the above information copyrighted by Genos International Pty Ltd for our better understanding and awareness of our clients who may benefit from the program.