Are you a corporate leader or entrepreneur who has difficulty controlling and appropriately expressing your emotions, while managing interpersonal relationships empathetically? If so, it’s time to be more coach-like by gaining a greater degree of emotional intelligence.
The best leaders garner higher influence when connecting with team members emotionally. They have great social skills, communicate effectively, and manage their emotions to defuse conflict. By developing your emotional intelligence, you’ll also prevent negative emotions from influencing your decision-making professionally, as well as personally. Moreover, emotionally intelligent leaders are comfortable demonstrating that they care about the people who they serve, because they have balanced egos, self-awareness, and a passion for creating a work environment that is conducive to success.
As a leadership consultant and executive coach who’s evolving in our new business world, I am committed to enhancing my client’s emotional intelligence, as well as my own self-regulation.
You may wonder, how to coach on emotional intelligence without having employees raise their guard. As leaders we must lead by example here by developing great working relationships with trust as the foundation. Listen to comprehend; not to respond. Develop our own self-awareness and not practice avoidance when there’s an opportunity to reduce conflict.
a) Ask interview questions to gauge EI and build a culture that fosters camaraderie. Speak with references!
b) Consider (the right) assessment tools.
c) Identity each team member’s strengths and weaknesses.
d) Team building exercises are effective and create a fun way to role play to enhance EI.
e) Allow team members to have a voice, manage stress and constructively express their emotions.
f) Every conversation is an opportunity to coach on EI or other areas of development, even if done informally.
Lastly, partner with a coach (trusted advisor) who can be objective, while creating a safe place for team members. Too often organizations throw professionals into a classroom expecting behavioral change, but it takes practice and reinforcement to develop this important skill.
By Octavius Gould (CEO, Executive Coach)
The Gould Rush 