A highly-experienced group of Organizational Development specialists asked me to facilitate a session on Emotional Intelligence (EI) for a professional development network session in Chicago. The purpose of the group is to share information and learn from one another. The opportunity to draw upon their experience prompted me to develop a highly-interactive session with the purpose of identifying the significance of Emotional Intelligence in the workplace .
I provided the group with some background information by defining Emotional Intelligence and providing a few examples of results obtained from our applied EI skill-building programs. I then requested that the consultants break into three smaller groups. Each group was asked to identify issues or problems they experienced in their organizations that could be improved by enhancing Emotional Intelligence skills. After about 10 minutes of discussion, I asked the groups to share their results. In all, the group identified 45 areas. Below is a representative sample of 15 of those workplace issues.
- Change management
- Communication
- Customer satisfaction
- Developing leaders
- Employee satisfaction
- Goal setting
- Group interaction
- Leadership
- Patient safety
- Performance management
- Process improvement
- Sales/revenue
- “Silo” mentality
- Thought clarity
- Workplace violence
The list above provides some insight into the significant impact that improving EI skills can have on an organization. I can’t think of any other intervention that has the potential to positively affect so many organizational challenges at the same time. And the effect is far-reaching. Developing EI skills goes beyond just improving leadership competencies or management skills. Participants in our programs have reported significant improvements in a number of issues. They have experienced improvements ranging from 20% to 35% increase in personal productivity, 15% to 35% increased teamwork, 20% to 40% reduction in stress and worry and similar improvements in work/life balance, creativity, personal motivation, management of emotional reactiveness and more.
I’m always conservative when gathering information and presenting results. But let’s look at the above data from a more conservative perspective. Cut the above ranges in half. What would a 7% to 17% increase in teamwork, a 10% to 20% reduction in stress and worry or a 10% to 17% increase in personal productivity mean to your corporation? Since we know that stress impacts health, we can conclude that there may well be an indication of reduced health care costs which, in turn, directly and positively impacts the company’s bottom line.
Whether or not I’ve listed them above, let’s examine some specific areas our group of experts identified in relation to results reported by our participants. Once of the identified areas is grievance resolution - one of the toughest challenges organizations face today. However, despite its difficulty, one of our participants reported a significant reduction in step 2 grievances by using simple, proven EI techniques. Another particularly difficult area where participants have experienced improvement is employee engagement. One participant shared that by using the techniques he was viewed as more accessible by his direct reports. As a result he was presented with an idea that saved the location an equivalent of 10 people a year, representing a return on investment in savings of about $300,000.
And this testimonial from a participant in the transportation industry provides insight into the power of applying EI techniques. When asked about resolving or managing conflict, our participant stated, “This is huge! I used to thrive on the conflict. Now I avoid it. It’s a daily issue. ? Now we’re not yelling and throwing stuff. It would get ugly sometimes - wresting matches at times. ? I was always the first one to step up. This hasn’t happened in awhile. Arguments don’t break out now. I let people vent and explain why (the issue is they way it is) or I don’t say anything (just let them vent and be heard).”
The key point is that helping people at all levels of the organization to improve their Emotional Intelligence abilities helps improve or resolve many challenges and issues. It is far more effective to leverage scarce resources with Emotional Intelligence skill-building as opposed to focusing on targeted, narrow interventions such as change management or communication or conflict management.
About the Author
Byron Stock, a former engineer and director of corporate education has focused in the area of Emotional Intelligence Training for over a decade. He guides individuals and organizations toward excellence by helping them develop their EI as a powerful tool to lead change, achieve strategic objectives and create resilient, high performing organizational cultures. Learn about Byron?s quick, easy, proven techniques to harness the power of your Emotional Intelligence in his new book, SMART EMOTIONS for Busy Business People available through his website www.ByronStock.com
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