EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
It is
indeed sad when amongst the language used by some Managers and Supervisors we
still here the words, "Do you know who I am, I am the boss, do as I say.” The world including Saint Lucia has moved
from the Industrial Age into the Information/Knowledge Worker Age for quite
some time now. That term was first
coined by the renowned Peter F Drucker in 1959. Drucker at the time advised
“you cannot lead knowledge workers by telling them what to do. You must treat them with respect and dignity,
and provide opportunities that they would not be able to have on their own”.
We are in
an age of enlightenment, a time when changes in the economy, in business, are
taking place at such a rapid rate where the business environment is so
dynamic. This environment dictates that
one person at the helm cannot do it all. It requires that all hands be on deck.
It calls for the collective input of all parties in the workplace and the role
of the leader is therefore to develop the tools, knowledge, skills and abilities
that will enable him or her to inspire excellence in all team members to bring
together the collective abilities of the team in the achievement of the shared
goals and objectives of the business.
I would be
the first to agree that to get to this state you must first recruit right. This subject I will deal with in more detail
in a future article. As Leaders,
Managers, Supervisors, Team Leaders, we must ask ourselves whether we are
interested in engaging the whole person, body, mind and spirit or whether we
are interested in pushing and pulling a shell of a person who has left their
passion, skills, and talent at the entrance to the building –the door way - on their way to their desk or place
of work.
The aim of
management should always be to strive for total employee engagement. We employ
people with certain skills and abilities and it is incumbent upon us to ensure
that we utilize the competencies of each individual to contribute to the
organization achieving it shared goals and objectives. For these goals to be shared we must get
buy-in and we must develop strategies to bring out the best in each individual
on our team, in effect to inspire them to do what needs to be done.
The one
size fits all approach is counter productive. We must recognize that as Leaders,
Managers or Supervisors we are interacting with different behavioural styles
and different personalities. It is therefore important that in addition to the
technical skills and know-how that the Manager or Supervisor may possess that
the development of people skills is an imperative. It is about inspired Leadership, to borrow a
phrase from Steve Covey. Regardless of
how good you are with strategy, if you do not invest in your people and
developing your own people skills you are well on your way to total frustration. Literally knocking your head against a brick wall.
The level
of technical know-how and IQ is important but we must also develop our level of
Emotional Intelligence to be effective leaders. Emotional Intelligence is one’s
ability to identify, assess and control their emotions and the emotions of
others. It involves recognizing the meaning of emotions and the ability to
reason and problem solve on the basis of the emotions you recognize.
Although
Emotional Intelligence is considered by some to be an inborn characteristic, it
has been proven that it can be learnt and strengthened through practice. The five dimensions of emotional intelligence
which we must develop are; 1. Self-awareness - do you understand
yourself, are you aware of your own emotions and how these impact your
behavior, your actions and your decision making; 2. Self-Management or Self-Regulation – do you know how to handle
your feeling; can you keep calm in stressful situations; can you remain
positive under pressure, how flexible are you; 3.
Social Skills - are you able to get
along with others regardless of their behavior traits; how good are you at
being a team player; can you get along with other regardless of their station
in life; can you mix with the pauper as well as the prince; 4. Self-Motivation – Are you able to
set your own goals and work towards them; can you persevere regardless of
frustrations at home and in the work place; how persistent are you, do you
complete tasks; can you determine what needs to be done and just do it; 5
.Empathy - can you put yourself in
someone else’s shoe; how good are you at reading body language – do you
understand what you are seeing; can you see thing from another person’s
perspective.
At
Celestial Self Development Centre we offer a wide range of courses in Leadership and
Management. See our website www.celestialsdc.com for our 2014 Training Schedule. Emotional Intelligence, Customer Service and or Customer Experience
and Performance Management are amongst our signature courses. We invite you to give us a call at 453-1924
to determine how we can assist you in developing a dynamic and productive team.
We offer our services in all the OECS Islands.
Thecla C. Deterville
Managing Director
Celestial Self Development Centre
Sans Souci
P.O. Box 835
Castries, Saint Lucia
Telephone: 758-453-1924
E-mail: celestial@candw.lc
Website: www.celestialsdc.com
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