Welcome to the July issue of A New Leaf!

The mid-point of each year provides all leader's with a natural time to assess the performance of their organization and team.  A detailed analysis of actual vs. plan variances helps provide insights as to what needs to be addressed to make the full year a success. Your leadership direction is critical to bringing focus to those internal and external challenges confronting your organization. How you communicate these challenges is as important as what your message is.      

This issue's leadership review deals with the evolution of Emotional Intelligence (EQ) as a critical element of successful leadership communication and development. While IQ and technical skills are important aspects of all roles, a high level of EQ is mandatory for leadership effectiveness.

See Change Management has enjoyed the opportunity to work with six organizations so far this year in addressing challenges of leadership, culture and planning, including financial restructuring and executive coaching. Every one of these organizations benefited from the leader growing their personal EQ.

Best of luck in increasing your understand of EQ and how you can improve upon it. The success of your organization depends upon it.

Mike

Leadership Review: The Evolution of Emotional Intelligence

Daniel Goleman pioneered the concept of Emotional Intelligence (EQ) in his groundbreaking book "Emotional Intelligence".   Based upon his research of nearly 200 global companies, Goleman concluded that intelligence (IQ) and other "hard" leadership skills were insufficient alone to leadership success. Truly effective leaders were found to be distinguished additionally by high degrees of "soft" skills comprising EQ.  Goleman defines these skills as the "capacity to recognize our own feelings and those of others, to manage our emotions, and to interact effectively with others".  The key components of EQ as originally defined by Goleman are:

Since the time of his groundbreaking research, Goleman has continued to explore all dimensions of EQ. Based upon this review, he has recently expanded his initial model of the five components above to include the following four domains and twelve competencies:

The competencies above reflect those traits that companies have indicated distinguished "top performing" from more "average" performers at leadership levels. These competencies have continued to be proven to lead to higher levels of performance in numerous studies as Goleman referenced in his April 2017 article "Emotional Intelligence Myth vs. Fact". Some of the research findings related to key competencies include:

• Emotional Self Awareness: Korn Ferry Hay Group found that among leaders with multiple strengths in this competency, 92% had teams with high energy and higher levels of performance
• Emotional Self Control: Australian research confirmed that leaders who manage emotions well had statistically better outcomes
• Adaptability: In a study of financial service executives, the more adaptable a leader was resulted in greater effectiveness as evidenced by revenue and sale growth in addition to overall team performance
• Empathy: Research at the Center for Creative Leadership found that empathy is a strong predictive measure for better job performance for managers and leaders
• Positive Outlook: Research at the University of North Carolina concluded that those leaders who experience and express positive emotions more frequently are more resilient,  more resourceful, more socially connected and more likely to function at optimal levels.

Goleman additionally highlights in his February, 2017 Harvard Business Review article "Emotional Intelligence Has 12 Elements. Which Do You Need to Work On" that "in order to excel, leaders need to develop a balance of strengths across the suite of competencies. When they do that, excellent business results follow".

The good news is that, unlike IQ, EQ can be learned and developed. In addition, EQ increases with both age and experience. An excellent starting point to identify your personal areas of improvement is to simply review the twelve competencies and self assess where you may need to develop. In addition, a number of tools exist, including 360 degree EQ assessments that will assist any leader in identifying those competencies requiring improvement.  Once developmental needs have been identified, Goleman offers that coaching is the most effective method for improving in areas of EQ deficit. "Having expert support during your ups and downs as you practice operating in a new way is invaluable."

EQ is important at all levels of leadership. Moving up the ladder does not make change any easier. Goleman concludes that the learning "process is not easy. It takes time and, most of all, commitment. But the benefits that come from having a well developed EQ, both for the individual and for the organization, make it worth the effort".  Now that the domains, competencies and process for improvement have been defined, what is your next step to taking your EQ to the next level?