Social and emotional intelligence for life and business.

Emotions are part of every interaction and every decision, whether you know it or not. In fact, emotion is data, just like the numbers on a balance sheet.

Unlike vague, inexact definitions of emotion suggested by many – Emotional Intelligence simply put: Emotions are our physical reactions to actual stimuli.

 We feel them in our bodies, and they help us identify reality, attune ourselves to constant change, avoid danger and choose places where we can feel safe.

Becoming emotionally savvy is based on the existence of natural emotional skills that enable us to attune ourselves to reality and to respond to its stimuli. These emotional skills enable us to create, at any moment in our lives, a sense of safety that helps us cope with natural death anxiety that threatens to paralyze us.

As an Executive know the impact of social and emotional intelligence in life and business.

Executives often find recovery of challenges and difficulties such as addictive behaviour, habits or thoughts process, sometimes thought of a taboo or simply difficult to discuss. Genovieve is well-versed in addiction science and her years of experience and clinical training offers exceptional support. Genovieve provides Executive Clinical Coaching or Supervision using proven psychological techniques such as EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing) and CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy).

At the foundation of superior performance is: good decision-making. And that’s where your emotional intelligence (EQ) comes in. Emotional intelligence has the capacity to have you be aware of, control, and express one’s emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically.

Talking about emotion is not an accepted norm in all businesses. Too often people attempt to eliminate emotion in their decision-making processes. Yet emotion is part of every interaction and every decision, whether you know it or not. In fact, emotion is data, just like the numbers on a balance sheet.

The Bottom Line:

To influence and work confidently with others and to contribute successfully to the growth and performance of an organization, leaders need to know what is happening around them, understand what they are experiencing in the moment and recognize what it might be like to be in someone else’s shoes. Crucially, leaders need to learn how to tune in to their inner signals and understand how their emotions affect them and those around them and the impact on performance.

Executive, Leaders are not infallible in making a mistake. They too, react inconsiderately to situations rather than taking the time to be self-strategic. The simple act of taking a step back to read before you lead will result in more interactions where you achieve your desired results. The most encouraging part about emotional intelligence is that the skills can be learned.  You’ll find that if you take even small steps, the ROI on your effort will be substantial. “Emotional intelligence” is the key to both personal and professional success”.

Executives are unique; successful executives get to where they are by driving results but once they get to the top, a shift is necessary. They now need to achieve results through others. Their focus moves from their personal accomplishments to a wider vision and strategy aimed at growing the competence and confidence of their people.

Having substantial Emotional Intelligence can bridge the performance gaps of: high lighting awareness, manage skill weaknesses, and leverage talents. The greater ability executives and leaders have to receive feedback, understand themselves, their people, and their situations, the more likely they are to choose an approach that will create the best result for their organization. ASK FOR FURTHER SUPPORT… The Executive Mind Team.

CASE STUDY

FedEx is the world largest cargo airline with over 290,000 employees moving seven million packages each day with 600 flights a day.  One of the top 20 Fortune “Most Admired” for a decade, FedEx stands among the world’s successful enterprises.

While founder Fred Smith was focused on logistics and speed, from the start he believed that people were the key to business, and that leadership is about continuous growth: “Leaders get out in front and stay there by raising the standards by which they judge themselves – and by which they are willing to be judged.”  This vision has translated to the “PSP Philosophy” – People-Service-Profit – which drives FedEx Express today.

To measure leadership performance, FedEx Express administers “SFA,” an annual survey where every employee can provide feedback about managers.  SFA themes include respect, fairness, listening, and trust – leadership responsibilities that are all about relationships and emotions.  This commitment to people-first leadership created an interest in “emotional intelligence” as a learnable skillset that would equip managers to deliver the FedEx way.

 ASK FOR FURTHER SUPPORT OR A LEADERSHIP PERFORMANCE TEST… The Executive Mind Team

Importantly, leaders need to learn how to tune in to their inner signals and understand how their emotions affect them and those around them and the impact on performance.

Executive leaders have the added pressure of being paid big bucks to have all the answers. When the stakes are high, successful people maintain their poise and perform. But pressure situations can either empower or imprison; we all know what it’s like to have the perfect answer pop into our head 20 minutes after an important conversation.

There are people who can face all kinds of conflict and seem to know exactly what to say. Faced with an uncooperative employee, an angry customer or a tense negotiation with a competitor, they are confident in their response. They remain calm and don’t get upset.

Executives and Leaders with high emotional intelligence have the ability to wait until their emotions pass so they can chose their response rather than react with gut feelings. The simple act of taking a step back to read before you lead will result in more interactions where you achieve your desired results. The most encouraging part about emotional intelligence is that the skills can be learned.  You’ll find that if you take even small steps, the ROI on your effort will be substantial. “Emotional intelligence”  has the potential to improve personal and professional success”.

There is clear evidence suggesting that on average higher EQ is associated with better leadership outcomes, and among the vast majority of leaders who are disengaging and alienating their teams and companies, lower EQ scorers are certainly overrepresented. However, an intellectually responsible and data-driven account of EQ must accept that under some circumstances lower scores may not be so problematic, and perhaps even useful. People have a tendency to dichotomize everything and classify things in a categorical way — either good or bad. We have low tolerance for ambiguity and little patience for nuances.