In this blog I would like to take you to the exciting topic of Emotional Intelligence and with this present a leadership mentoring and coaching performance framework. There are several types of intelligence that human beings are equipped - with some more, with some less. Most leaders believe that the logical-mathematical type of intelligence (the IQ rating that many people focus on) has the most impact on whether you have success in their leadership. That is absolutely wrong. If you want to do something that can really help you improve the quality of your leadership style (in every way) - there is one thing that comes first: strengthen and cultivate your emotional intelligence as much as you possibly can.
Research has revealed that being successful or being a peak performer can be learned. We know that many organizations have a small number of peak performers carrying the main responsibility for revenue targets for the entire team or company. Peak performers can be made and replicated. Their skills, attitudes, and habits can, by mentoring and coaching be taken to new heights. We initiated exploratory research with 1500 leaders: one-third executives, another third directors or managers, and the rest primarily business owners and consultants.
The research revealed our findings of average emotional intelligence scores for different job titles. The sharp decline for director titles and above reveals the incredible deficit in emotional intelligence among senior leadership in organizations.
For every title above, emotional intelligence has more influence on job performance than any other skill. Furthermore did the research revealed three important things:
1. The personalities of leaders directly and significantly influence employee satisfaction and job performance
2. When employee satisfaction is high, positive business outcomes result
3. When employee satisfaction is low, negative business outcomes result
In addition we asked participants to choose the five most and least valued leadership competencies from a list of twenty, which included items that reflect both Emotional Intelligence and general leadership competencies. This study finds that leaders consider Emotional Intelligence competencies (such as Relationship Building and Adaptability) more important to leadership success than traditional leadership competencies (such as Planning and Financial Acumen).
Major Findings
Striking Agreement
Participants in this study were asked to evaluate a set of standard leadership competencies, including both Emotional Intelligence competencies, such as relationship-building and self-awareness, and non-Emotional Intelligence leadership competencies, such as execution and financial acumen.
l Vision topped the list of critical leadership competencies – across nearly all levels, experience, and personality types. Also ranked in the top five are Strategic Thinking, Relationship Building, Execution, and People Development. Our respondents, then, view successful leadership as a combination of Emotional Intelligence and non-EI skills.
l Emotional Intelligence competencies are viewed as essential to successful leadership, especially the complex competencies of Vision, Relationship Building and People Development.
l Of the remaining items, leaders rated all the EI competencies– including Adaptability, Optimism, Empathy, and Self-awareness – as more important than all other general leadership competencies presented.
Findings: What’s Important to Successful Leadership
All Respondents (n=1500)
Some Notable Differences
We did find, however, that differences in job classification and level, leadership experience, personality type, and gender reveal important distinctions regarding the competencies seen as crucial to successful leadership.
· Experienced leaders rated certain competencies somewhat differently than leaders at earlier stages in their careers. For example, the more experienced the leader, the more value placed on Change Leadership and Optimism and the less value placed on Execution.
· Women and men ranked items quite similarly, with just a few differences. Women rated Strategic Thinking and Relationship Building more highly than did men, who rated Achievement Drive more highly.
· While participants from all job levels valued EI competencies, they varied in which ones they consider important. For example, of all job levels, far more Executives (34%) valued Optimism as a leadership competencyy than did Managers/Directors (14%), Founder/ Owners (18%), or Consultants (13%). At the same time, far fewer Executives (31%) valued Relationship Building than did Managers/Directors or Consultants (50-70%).
Our study found a strong correlation between business performance and EI, but no information on how leaders themselves view elements of EI relative to other aspects of leadership and thereby how your managers and executives mentor and coach their team.
Here some other research examples that come to the same conclussion:
· 70% of employees’ perception of the organizational climate is associated with the emotional intelligence of the leader (Goleman, 2008)
· Positive mood of the leader promotes worker productivity and retention (George & Bettenhausen, 2003)
· Team members tend to share moods whether positive or negative with more positive moods associated with increased performance (Totterdell et. Al, 2008)
· A study by National Insurance Company found that agents low in EI sold policies of $54,000 compared to those high in EI worth $114,000 (Hay McBer, 2009)
For your company culture of how your managers and executives mentor and coach their team and how your teams perform, is symbiotic. It will be illustrated how each part of value the enterprise delivers to a customer, employee or shareholder, comes from how an manager and executive has mentored and coached their employees to handle or optimize the processes. There is scientific proof between the relationship of poor employee, team, department and company performance. This is reflected in a recent study by the International Coach Federation. The report documents improvements for those who received professional mentoring and coaching from their managers:
· Increased productivity awareness 68%
· Enhanced communication skills 40%
· More balanced work life 61%
· Lower stress levels 57%
· Enhanced innovation 53%
· Increased employee satiesfaction 52%
· Improved quality/less mistakes 43%
· Better goal setting/operationel excellence 62%
All in all mentoring and coaching from the leader is reported to produce more than a 500% return on investment and significant intangible benefits to the business as well.
The factors that Makes a Leader:
- Effective Leaders are distinguished by a high degree of EI
- Identifying individuals with the “right stuff” is more an art or a science
- Without EI, a person can have the best training, an incisive, analyitical mind, and an endless supply of smarts but still won’t make an effective leader.
- The list of ingredients for highly effective leaders ranged in length from 7 to 15.
- Intellect was a driver of outstanding performanc
- Cognitive skills such as big picture thinking and LT vision were important
5. The erhe rank of a person considered to be a star performer, the more EI capabilities showed up as the reason for their performance.
6. Star performers compared to average ones had 90% more attributes of EI.
7. EI increases with age and experience; sincere desire and concerted effort
- Self Awareness- the ability to recognize and understand your moods, emotions and drives as well as their effect on others. Self confidence, self assessment, sense of humor
ü Will be frank in admitting to failure
ü Are comfortable talking about their limitations/ weaknesses as well as their strengths
ü Have a thirst for constructive criticism ( thick skin)
ü Can be easily recognized
- Self regulation- the ability to control or redirect disruptive impulses and moods; to suspend judgment; think before acting. Trustworthiness, integrity, OK with ambiguity
ü Everyone has bad moods and impulsive emotions at time but find ways to control them
ü Are able to create an environment of trust and fairness easily
ü Politics and infighting are sharply reduced
ü T/O in the organization is sharply reduced
ü Enhances integrity this strengthening the organization
- Motivation- a passion to work/ achieve for reasons that go beyond $ or status, hi energy, strong desire to achieve, persistent, does not fear failure
ü The one trait ALL effective leaders have
ü The drive to achieve beyond expectations is “over the top”
ü Forever raising the performance bar for themselves and the organization and keeping score
ü Always remain optimistic regardless of the situation
- Empathy- the ability to understand the emotional make-up of others. Sensitive to others needs/ emotions
ü Is the most easily recognized
ü Thoroughly consider EE feelings along with all other factors when making decisions
ü Important for the growing need to develop and retain good people
ü Cross cultural dialogue can sometimes be easily misunderstood
ü Creates an effective ability to manage relationships
- Social Skills- proficiency in managing relationships & build a strong network. Change agent, lead people where you want them, wide circle of acquaintances
ü Friendliness with a purpose
ü have a wide circle of influence
ü get work done thru people
NO LONGER A “NICE TO HAVE” IT IS NOW A “MUST HAVE”, for increasing your Emotional Intelligence can truly help you improve in all areas of leadership; in all aspects of communication, negotiation, and objection handling as well as the important motivational abilities.
I know that when we talk about the Leadership mentoring and coaching performance framework, that these are very psychological soft skills we are talking about and as you can read from my different article, do I strongly believe that leadership excellence is made, not born. That's why I actually wanted to create this Blog and Forum and I'm dedicated to helping you leadership grow beyond where you are today. If you need help in better understanding and exploit your potential in order to turn you into action mode and help you break through self imposed limitations that are holding you as an organization or leader back from the power, balance, growth, and success that you strive for. Let’s us talk about how I can help you explore how it is possible to build new levels of performance - helping you to remove the mental and emotional obstacles that are limiting your leadership and professional growth, power and leadership development.
If you are interested in a course that can strengthen this ability this could be an option:
1) www.rosenteam.com/leadership-performance/emotional-intelligence-in-leadership/
2) www.rosenteam.com/leadership-performance/become-a-mentor-and-coach/
3) www.rosenteam.com/leadership-performance/advanced-leadership-coaching-program/
If you have any questions please feel free to contact me via email: mvr@rosenteam.com
Regards your moderator
Mark von Rosing
