EQ: Always a Factor.
Whether aware of it or not…Emotional Intelligence (EQ) plays a significant role in every business interaction.
Gradually the volume increases…then the tone and tempo. It barely registers as you stare, locked in on the screen in front of you. You are determined to finish this part, your part of the project and get it to the client before days end. But your focus seems to be interrupted ever couple minutes by a muffled shout from the conference room next door. You quickly refocus, but soon the muffled exuberance has spilled into the hallway as one of your employees is shouting intensely at his two colleagues, who are still in the room.
It takes a moment for it to register. Your mind shifts from the project you were intently working on, to the situation unfolding before you. You naturally begin to assess: is he angry? Is he excited? Is he leaving quickly because he is in a hurry? Or because he is angry and needs to get out of the heated situation?
This assessment, answering these questions well, takes emotional intelligence.
This heated situation, and how each employee is responding, also takes emotional intelligence.
Emotional intelligence (EQ), according to Heather Anderson at Leading Challenges LLC, is “a set of emotional and social skills that influence the way we:
1. Perceive and express ourselves
2. Develop and maintain social relationships
3. Cope with challenges
4. Use emotional information in an effective and meaningful way.”
I’m sure that you, like most business leaders, can immediately think of a dozen daily situations that engage our EQ. Weisbeck Consulting likes to ask leaders, “How aware are you of the role your EQ plays in each client and employee interaction?”
This awareness is huge. Like most things in life, being aware is the first step. Once aware that EQ plays a role in each and every interaction, you can begin to assess which EQ skills you tend to use most often and their overall effectiveness. Various EQ assessments are available, but Weisbeck Consulting prefers EQ-i 2.0 from Multi-Health Systems. This self-assessment provides a great foundational awareness of your developed EQ skills, your underdeveloped EQ skills, and everything in-between. Like most assessments, it explains and defines each skill. This assessment outshines its peers in detailing: 1) What this score means for you, 2) the impact this skill has for you at work, and 3) strategies for action – how to improve and/or best use your EQ skill.
Heather’s greatest analogy, when describing these EQ skills, was that the skills were like the 14 clubs in a golf bag. You can be a pretty good golfer by knowing how to use only a few clubs very well. However, you will only be the best golfer (best leader) if you utilize all 14 clubs!
Many business owners call EQ “social awareness,” being good at “reading a situation,” or “knowing what to say when.” Those are all true and pretty valid descriptions of EQ. Nonetheless, they tend to solely emphasize the need for experience, and that experience is the only teacher of these valuable skills and situational awareness. It’s true that there are few substitutes for experience. Experience is a great (but often harsh) teacher. And it’s also true that you can learn through studying and developing skills – so why not take a two-pronged approached at increasing your EQ and effectiveness in business communication. Experience will happen through attendance, but studying and development take a driven, dedicated individual.
In summary: first become aware – realize that EQ plays a significant role in every business interaction (positive or negative). Second, take a self-assessment to learn about the different EQ skills and how you (specifically) excel in or struggle to use each. Third, begin the life-long journey of studying and developing these skills.
