There is nothing ‘Nice to Have’ about Emotional Intelligence.

“Success in Business is all about people, people, people. Whatever industry a company is in, its employees are its biggest competitive advantage”. Richard Branson

We often focus on the What we do – great products, great strategy, and pay too little attention to the Why and the How. The Why being our belief in our role and the How being the way in which we conduct ourselves. I had a boss earlier in my career who was very fond of sound bites and one or her favourites was ‘If you can’t do people, you can’t do business’. I have never forgotten this easy to say, but hard to do lesson. But is it so hard? Some context around culture and a definition of Emotional Intelligence may help.

What Emotional Intelligence is and why it matters

A pretty good definition is from Peter Salovey & John D Mayer as far back as 1960. “the subset of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one's own and others' feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one's thinking and actions".

To my mind it’s the effect you have on your self and on others – the impact of behaviour. As we know, good, indifferent or bad behaviours significantly affect those around us. Workplaces are communities of people – these people need to feel good about each other and whom they work for.

According to Salovey & Mayer there are 4 key components of emotional intelligence:

Perception: The ability to read other people’s non-verbal cues. Body language, facial expressions, reading the room. How many times have we all blasted ahead with what we are doing and failed to read subtle changes in how people are reacting?

Reasoning: Knowing yourself. What triggers your behaviour? What motivates you and grabs your attention. Knowing yourself is vital – because that has an impact on how you operate.

Understanding: The ability to see things from somebody else’s point of view. For example if somebody is angry, aggressive, unreasonable – Understanding gives us the ability to think about what’s driving that person to behave in this way, increasing likelihood for a better outcome.

Managing: Regulating your own behaviour to create the best impact and outcome for others.

Emotional Intelligence = Behaviour = Culture

Booz and Allen Change Management survey suggests that 84% of senior and middle managers say culture is critical to their organisation’s success. In addition, 60% see it as a bigger success factor than either their strategy or their operating model. So it’s big for business.

Culture, I believe is the culmination of people’s behaviour, essentially, how things are done around here. The trouble with culture being that it is a hard thing to control, develop and change. I hear people talk about the culture of an organisation or team in very reactive terms, as if ‘it is what it is’. Where culture and behaviour sets are deliberately thought through, strategically set up and managed by leaders, they become key tools for individual and organisational success.

Barriers to changing emotional intelligence

Changing behaviour is challenging. The biggest single barrier is that we are dealing with the core of who we are, what has been learned subconsciously over many years. Many of us lack the tools and insight to effectively change what we have learned since we were very young. It’s not surprising when we resist somebody looking to change who we are!

The good news is that it can change – but it needs time, thought and focus. Within an organisation, the strength of the Why or purpose of the organisation helps set the guidelines.

Value of values

Values are critical tools for the business. They help to create belief in why things are done this way – i.e. the culture. Leaders who use the values to set standards for their own behaviour will be setting expectations for others around them. If it feels right, we generally conform – we want to fit in, to be part of the tribe. Over time using value sets to support clear business strategy and vision, leaders can create the boundaries for effective and collective behaviour.

5 ways to driving business growth through Emotional Intelligence

1. Create integrity against values, live them and hold yourselves accountable. These act as an effective filter for decision making. Combined with a clear vision it underpins a powerful growth strategy.
2. Engage and empower your staff. They are your best resource. Use the 4 principles explained above to allow them to feel connected and impactful in what they do. Connected staff will do wonders for your business and customers.
3. Recruit clearly against value sets. Get the right people in the business. Short cuts on recruitment and selection cost big time later on. You need to surround yourself with the best – in behaviour and skills.
4. Reward and manage on behaviour KPIs as well as business KPIs. If you mean it, then show it. Giving clear feedback and reward, says you take this seriously. Then staff will believe it too.
5. As leaders – lead the way – show how great values and behaviour combine to create positive outcomes for people. Staff will follow your lead.

Emotional Intelligence is good business. Those leaders that pay lip service to this may be in danger of being unable to obtain and keep that precious thing – Sustainable Competitive Advantage.

Jim Parry is the owner of So-Brand, helping business leaders create a customer focus for sustainable growth. www.so-brand.com.au