.png)
Organizations are feeling the pain of people leaving due to the way they are mistreated by their bosses. Many studies are chalking this up to the manager’s lack of Emotional Intelligence (aka EQ).
But what is emotional intelligence, and why is it so important?
“Out-of-control emotions can make smart people stupid.”
- Daniel Goleman, Working with Emotional IntelligenceAccording to Dictionary.com, emotional intelligence is the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one's emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically. The definition goes on to explain that "emotional intelligence is the key to both personal and professional success."
It’s pretty evident why we need emotional intelligence just by that definition!
And I couldn’t agree more. In the majority of the executive coaching, leadership development and management workshops that I facilitate, emotional intelligence is where we focus most of our time! It is the key to higher employee engagement.
Let’s look at nine very practical management reasons why having emotional intelligence (EQ) is so important:
Keeping control of your emotions so you don’t spread the toxicity
Not flying off the handle and adding to the already high disengagement percentages
Better at connecting and relating to your people
Avoid backstabbing and power struggles and it builds trust
Can better notice and probe when a person is giving non-verbal signals
Helps make your people feel understood and appreciated
You get more loyalty and productivity from your people
Gets the team to better gel and creates efficiencies
It is much easier to inspire your team to be accountable
Managers with higher emotional intelligence have more optimism and perseverance (aka GRIT), and this has a direct impact on their teams.
Like any management skill, some people are just naturally good at EQ. But the majority of people need to hone their emotional intelligence.
Stay tuned over the next few weeks for more on emotional intelligence!
Want to get started right away? Check out Leading With GRIT on Amazon, in Kindle or hardcover format).
Let us know what leadership topics you think would help managers the most - just share in the comments!
Cheers,