Month: February 2020

Leadership Development – Role of a Leader in Crafting a Shared Vision

Julie Straw and team in their book The Work of Leaders discussed three steps of leadership – Crafting a Vision, Building Alignment and Championing Execution. In this article, we discuss the importance of not just crafting a shared vision but also the role of a leader in crafting a shared vision.

To begin with, people like their leaders to have two distinct characteristics – being forward-looking and futuristic and being credible or trustworthy. To get extraordinary things, people must work in the present and focus on the future into the whole realm of possibilities. All things are created twice – once in the mind and then in reality. A leader’s job is to continuously envision new products and services and new business ecosystems that can take the organization towards success.

Leaders must focus on creating long term value for the organization and its customers while focussing on the present for delivering results. By focussing on the future, leaders can provide a sense of meaning and purpose to the organization that binds its people together and inspire them to work hard. By continuously seeking clarity of vision and then enlisting others, leaders create a sense of shared vision.

Motivation theories provide a business case for creating a shared vision. As we know, motivation is essentially of two types – extrinsic and intrinsic. Extrinsic motivation stems from the external environment, for getting rewarded or when we must achieve certain goals set by others. External motivation creates compliance and in some cases defiance. Externally controlled people could stop making efforts once rewards disappear.

Extrinsic motivation is difficult to sustain. However, the second type of motivation – intrinsic motivation is about what one wants to achieve internally. Not set or controlled by others, internal motivation is about our own interests, passion and desires. It gives us tenacity to see through rough times and work with tangible rewards. By enlisting people in the process of shared vision, leaders play on intrinsic motivation of people. By offering a shared vision that everyone feels intrinsically inspired by, leaders create a rich environment where employee engagement and performance are enhanced. The role of a leader in creating a shared vision is in enticing the intrinsic motivating of the people and in building consensus.

Role of a Leader in Crafting a Shared Vision

Self-Reflection

One of the first steps in crafting a vision is to do some self-reflection and articulate as much as possible one’s likes, passions, interests and inspirations. Because the process of envisioning is more art than science, more emotional than a sequence of activities, it is important to start by articulating what drives and inspires the leader. The role of a leader is in not just self-reflecting but also encouraging the leadership team in an exercise of self-reflection.

Direction

Second, by engaging with the larger team, where everyone shares in their values, inspirations, perspectives, questions, hopes and dreams, you could arrive at certain themes or directions that define the overall shared vision. Role of a leader is in engaging the leadership team in a structured process of deriving these idea directions.

Hindsight

Past provides a great way to start looking into the future. It is filled with experiences, data, perspectives, reality and most importantly learning. It gives a picture of what is possible and how long does it take for you as a company to do something new. It provides a good view of what can go wrong as well. While the past does not always portray the future possibilities of an organization, it provides a good way to extrapolate the success and assess what an organization may achieve. The role of a leader is in engaging the leadership team in a systematic process of sharing the highs and lows about the past and arriving at the key learnings form the past.

Present

By assessing the current business ecosystem, leaders can enable the creation of a shared vision. Recent research and surveys involve understanding how the organization creates value for its customers, what the current capability and shortcomings are and how people feel working in the organization. The juice of assessing, reflecting and articulating the current state of the organization is in knowing what must change and what must be preserved in the future.

Imagining the future

The final step of creating a shared vision, which the leader must drive is in imagining a bold future. A future that considers the unfolding market situation, trends and patterns in the buying behavior of the customers, technological advancements and disruptive trends. The role of a leader is in providing a psychologically safe environment for the team to share their version of the vision without the fear of loosing credibility.

Filed under: Leadership

Process of Executive Development Programs

Not surprisingly, people are most willing to attend training that has direct, concrete applications in their world – technical knowledge relate to their jobs. But when asked which would greatly increase their effectiveness at work, the number one answer, was executive development program.

Executive Development Program is basically leadership development program, and, in this article, we shall explain the three fundamental responsibilities an executive has. Leadership is a process by which an executive can guide, direct and influence the behaviors and working style of others to achieve the common goal of the organization. It is defined as the potential to influence and motivate others.

An executive has three fundamental responsibilities:

They need to craft vision, build alignment, and they should champion execution. There’s a lot of skills that goes into each of these responsibilities.

When leaders lack a clear vision of the group’s future, they are feeling their way through the execution process, relying on day-to-day revelations. Sure, they have a collection of goals, plans, and schedules, but they don’t see the underlying tapestry, how everything fits together. They’re much less likely to realize when priorities are misplaced or when opportunities are passing them by. Vision, however, is more than just the efficient use of time and resources. A truly great vision elevates our work. It sparks our imaginations. It touches on our human need to do something of value with our lives.

Think of difference between a beaver building a dam based on its instincts and a team of people building the Indira Dam. The vision of the Indira Dam involved reimagining not just a river but an entire landscape. That vision opened a whole awe-inspiring array of possibilities for the land and the community. Visions are designed to inspire us. They speak something that is uniquely human. Your executive development program should consider this factor.

Building alignment is the second responsibility an executive has after creating a vision. Building alignment is an act of gaining buy-in for the vision crafted and it’s critical in moving from imagination to reality. For an executive’s development, building alignment is as crucial as vision. It is people centric and is therefore as complex and unpredictable as human relationships. The full spectrum of human motivations, personalities, cultural understandings, perspectives, and needs is present in your workplace every day.

The people you work with may be seasoned employees or new hires, with vastly different experiences and levels of responsibilities. But building alignment means ensuring that every person understands his or her role in making the vision a reality. An executive also understand that alignment is not something to check off a to-do list. Alignment is dynamic, ongoing process that requires continual monitoring and realigning as conditions and needs change. By staying plugged in, an executive can quickly tell when alignment begins to wane, and they can then give the time and energy needed to revive it. Your executive development program should consider this factor.

At its most basic level, execution is making the vision a reality. And not just any reality, but the right reality, one that takes the imagined future and turns it into a real accomplishment. Execution is how organizations and teams take all the good ideas and tun them into results. While an executive may or may not be directly involved in day-to-day implementation and production, they are always responsible for ensuring that people have what they need to do their work effectively. Successful execution of a vision can’t happen without the deep commitment. Your executive development program should consider this factor.

For developing an executive, it is important that the executive have deep understanding of all these three responsibilities and therefore, while designing an executive development, one must keep in mind these crucial responsibilities.

Filed under: Leadership

Coping with Workplace Stress

Coping with Workplace Stress

Stress, which is essentially a physiological response to a disturbance in our equilibrium or homeostasis could be viewed as essential and good (eustress) when in occurs in levels that we can cope with easily and harmful when it occurs in excess (distress).

In this context, our engagement at workplace is a mixed bag and therefore, the understanding of workplace stress may vary. There are some aspects of work that could help us put in our best, provide us a cognitive and emotional treat while there could be other aspects which could be the source of distress or bad stress.

Stress doesn’t exist in the environment or in the individual. Instead, it exists in the interaction of the two, led by the cognitive appraisal of the events by the individual. When commuting through traffic, the noise doesn’t consist of stress. Traffic noise could be stressful for the individual who may either not be used to it or is overly aware of the traffic. It may be less stressful for someone who may be either habitual of the noise or is less concerned of the same.

Impact of an event or environment on a person varies based on the subjective interpretation of the event by the individual (cognitive appraisal) and the coping ability that they may have.

When we face a stressful situation at workplace, like say meeting scheduling a mid-year review with an unfriendly manager, the effect of the event will depend on our cognitive appraisal of the situation. In this case, there is a primary appraisal, which is our perception of the event. This may be positive (oh it’s time to get an extra bonus!) or negative (oh! I would have to justify all the errors and delays in my work) or may just be neutral. Our perception of the consequences of an event is what psychologists define as primary appraisal.

Secondary appraisal, on the other hand, is our perception of how well we can cope with the event. It refers to our confidence in our own abilities and coping strategies. These two forms of appraisal determine our emotional, cognitive and physiological response to an event. They together make an event eustress or distress! A person who is confident of the work they have put in and their ability to deal with different personalities, may not feel distressed by the same event – say, of having to get into a mid-year performance review conversation. Everyone has a different level of threshold stress that they can cope with confidently and predictably. Stress response is an individual characteristic.

Here are the top two contributors of workplace stress:

  1. Time stress – Workplaces are ridden with deadlines and schedules that invariably are the most common reason for stress. Because time is seen as money, and when multiple people work together, time commitments directly influence relationships, mastering one’s time is one of the most important skills to learn. By proactively planning, organizing and prioritizing work, one may remove the sense of urgency from their daily tasks. The key to reducing time related stress is in prioritizing and proactiveness.
  2. Relationship Stress – Because workplace is an outcome of people working together, the quality and richness of relationships is an important factor for success. Our relationships with various stakeholders – managers, leaders, sub ordinates, peers and partners may lead to stress. People are driven differently, have different emotional needs and behavioural preferences. By learning to deal with different personalities and accepting that not every relationship needs to be a close relationship, we can reduce relationship related workplace stress.

Finally, stress is our response to a situation and not the situation itself. By developing habits, skills and coping strategies for common sources of stress at workplace, we can experience a less stressful and healthy workplace!

Filed under: Training & Development

Learn the Art of Negotiation at Workplace

Negotiations skills have become one of the most sought-after skills for employees in the recent times. In a competitive market, tactful negotiations can help us gain a beneficial deal. Negotiation is a process where two or more parties come together to find a mutually acceptable solution. The need for negotiation emerges on the grounds that neither of the parties will be able to get everything they want. Realizing that there must be concessions, each party in the negotiation is required to embrace an attitude of understanding that they should get the most ideal deal in a manner which is adequate and acceptable to the other party. Good negotiators understand the importance of this balance.

By mastering the art of negotiating, one can contribute to business development and growth by:

  • building better connections and relationships
  • delivering quality solutions which is a win-win for both the parties
  • avoiding future conflicts and arguments that may damage long-term relationships

Understanding the other party’s inclinations and strategies is vital to great negotiation. Choosing a strategy that best responds to the other party’s inclinations and needs will help to achieve the best outcome. Your strategy for negotiation depends on whom you are dealing with and the type of relationship you hold with them.

One of the most powerful skills in the art of negotiating is that of active listening. It helps to understand the interests and need of the other party, frame our questions and responses and make better arguments during negotiation. Moreover, feelings and luck have no place in a successful negotiation. It is an art that must be mastered with practice.

Tips to Master the Art of Negotiating

  • The first and most important step in negotiation is of preparation. You should know well in advance about the party you’re negotiating with so that arguments can be crafted based on the needs and weaknesses of the other party. Preparation will have to build strategies and create work around, alternative plans.
  • Even with the best plan, you may not always be able to negotiate a successful result. You should have a backup plan if in case negotiations fail. If you plan well for alternative solutions, you can stay away from needless pressure and poor business results.
  • Changing the way, you think about negotiating is important to achieve better outcomes. Perceiving the reasons why individuals act the way they do and being able to communicate with a broad range of behavioural styles, offers the professional negotiator an edge over others to reach the desired goals.
  • Throughout the negotiation process, attempt to figure out what you accept to be an adequate outcome for the other party. Understanding the opposite side’s needs is similarly as significant as understanding your own, so make sense of what you would do, if you were in their shoes and present a solution that is a win-win for both. This will also help to decide on the face-saving formula, if any.
  • You’ll never get what you don’t ask for so be courageous in asking questions. Asking the right questions will help elicit more response from the other person which will further help to define the arguments and solutions better
  • Handling opposition in a right way by learning to deal with resistances and to make a team or other party agree to a common point is very important. The solution to this problem is to spend more time to effectively analyse the current problem areas. Preparation should include thinking about what could be the possible reasons of opposing to the solution and creating a counter-argument for the same.
  • Although we are talking about arguments, one must strive to bring honesty and decency in their conversations so that relationships are not damaged because of negotiation.
  • Lastly, developing a plan of action in advance of the actual negotiation gives the negotiator more confidence. Having a plan can likewise prompt better and progressively reliable outcomes for oneself and for the business. Also, ending the negotiation with discussion around the next action steps and follow ups is a good strategy to keep control of the situation.

The art of negotiating doesn’t come naturally to anyone. It comes with experience and practice. One must just be mindful of the tips provided above to start the basic practice and then further build on developing more advanced negotiation skills.

Filed under: Soft Skills

What does team coaching mean?

What does a team mean?

According to Katzenbach and Smith (1999), Team is ‘a small number of people with complementary skills, who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals and approach, for which they hold themselves mutually accountable.’

What does team coaching mean?

According to David Clutterbuck (2009), team coaching means, ‘Helping the team improve performance and the processes by which performance is achieved, through reflection and dialogue.’

Team coaching generally helps the teams to reach their goals, while creating a sustainable environment which leads to long-term excellence and success. It is done by aligning the team to a common purpose, share the vision, define clear roles, make powerful choices and take strong action.

Organizations which are new to team coaching may view it same as team building but there is a difference between the two. According to Schein (1999), team building works on the interpersonal relationship and helps the team members to strengthen collaboration to increase the performance and productivity of team. Whereas, team coaching focuses on skills and processes which are underlying like how the team communicate internally and externally, how they relate to tasks, etc. This usually takes much longer but has a lasting effect on the productivity of the team.

Team coaching helps to create a supportive and safe environment where people can express their ideas openly and expect them to flourish and take shape. When people feel safe, better and constructive decisions are made. Team coaching also helps in making people collectively aware i.e. team members develop the skill to deal with the already existing issues and also to deal with the new issues which will inevitably pop up in the future. Team coaching also enables team members to understand and appreciate each other’s unique strengths. This leads to synergistic results as well as a shared drive to succeed.

Who can benefit from team coaching?

Senior and mid-level management teams, cross-cultural teams, board of directors, human resource teams, educational teams, virtual teams, etc.

How can team coaching benefit the team?

Team coaching helps the team in the following manner:

When there is a cultural and communication gap, team coaching can help in understanding the root cause and help in finding the best solution.

  • To develop new strategies when team is facing burnout and distress.
  • To re-stabilize the teams during the time of organizational change, growth, merger, downsizing, etc.
  • To empower the decision making of the team.
  • To make diversity as a powerful tool which will help the team to move forward.
  • To solve the perpetual team conflicts.
  • To enable the team to reach its performance goals and deadlines.
  • To help a successful team to seek its next level growth.

These are some of the areas where team coaching can help to get the team better. Team coaching doesn’t always have immediate results because there is a lot of ambiguity when it comes to team dynamics which creates unpredictability. But team coaching does help in creating a long-term view for the team as well as for the organization which ultimately removes the ambiguity and creates a clearer vision for the future of the team.

Filed under: Coaching

Why is Mentoring Important?

Mentoring is a collaborative relationship that occurs between senior and junior employee for the reason of mentee’s growth in terms of personal and professional life. Mostly the mentor and mentee are internal to the organisation and mentor usually align mentee to organisational goals and culture. Mentor often act as role models for their mentee and help them to solve their problems and guide them to reach their goals.

There are various forms of mentoring i.e. formal or informal.

Formal mentoring means when the goals set by the mentor and mentee are actionable, achievable, specific, and measurable. Goals have a fixed timeline and mentor-mentee strive to achieve that goal.

Informal mentoring, mentees set goals which are usually not measurable. The environment for mentoring is informal and unstructured. There is no timeline set and the relationship between mentor and mentee is not formal.

Formal mentoring is usually preferred for the professional growth because the goals are aligned with the overall objective of the organisation and will help the mentee to step up the career ladder.

Why is Mentoring Important?

Mentoring is important because a good mentor helps the mentee to be more effective, clear and confident about his/her work. Mentoring helps the mentee to grow which ultimately leads to better job satisfaction, higher motivation, higher productivity etc. Mentor also helps the mentee to improve at personal life by helping him/her removing the roadblocks or understanding the situation with a better perspective. This will help the mentee to gain confidence and hence, be able to improve personal life.

Professional mentoring include expansion of generational and cultural perspectives, strengthening of skills like technical, interpersonal skills, empathy, leadership, communication, negotiation, etc. which will ultimately help in gaining new insights and continue to experience new ideas.

Different Types of Mentoring

  1. One-on-one mentoring – It is the most traditional type of mentoring. Only mentor and mentee are involved where a more-experienced individual paired with a less-experienced mentee or a younger mentee.
  2. Group Mentoring – There are several mentors with group of mentees. This is usually successful when there are lot of people and lack of time and resources. Institutes like schools, youth programs, etc often use this type of mentoring.
  3. Peer Mentoring – In this type of mentoring, participants and peer are from same role or the same department must have shared similar experiences whether in their personal and professional lives. Pairs often support each other to solve problems. It can be either group or one-on-one mentoring relationship.
  4. E-Mentoring – When participants connect virtually through online software or even through e-mails, then this mentoring will come under E-mentoring or distance mentoring.
  5. Reverse Mentoring – This is the flipped model of traditional mentoring where a junior employee mentors a senior professional. This relationship is usually for the junior professional to teach new skills or technology to the senior one.
  6. Speed Mentoring – It is a play on speed dating and usually occurs during corporate events or conferences. In this mentee usually have a series of a one-on-one conversation with different mentors and gain insights from them.
Filed under: Mentoring

Goal Setting Process: Principles and Characteristics

Setting goals, whether short-term or long-term, are ultimate ways to provide focus and direction in our lives. The process of goal setting is not a casual effort but a purposeful, explicit process that guides transformation. Along with providing direction, goals also help us to measure if we are succeeding and whether any course corrections need to be made along the way.

Since goal setting process is a conscious effort, one needs to ensure that the goals have all the characteristics needed.

The Top Five Characteristics are Abbreviated as SMART

    1. Begin with writing specific goals as they help to provide precision to the process. Be as specific with facts and data as you can. For instance, instead of writing “achieve business target by end of this quarter”, set goal as “achieve business target of 25 lacs by March 31st “
    2. Second, ensure that your goals are measurable. As mentioned earlier, goals help us to monitor how much have we succeeded. If goals cannot be measured, it will be difficult to assess how well are we doing in achieving it. A goal of “achieve business target of 25 lacs by March 31st “can be easily measured by matching the on-actual numbers with the projections. In case the goal is more subjective, say “Think more positively by the end of June 2020”, then assign a measurable unit to that. How would you measure if you have started thinking more positively? Maybe, get feedback from others or have positive outcomes to situations. So, adding the outcome of the situation or the number of positive feedbacks received can be a measurable approach to a goal.
    3. Third, apart from being specific and measurable, goals should be attainable. it’s good to be ambitious but goals that are not realistic and only ambitious can be demotivating. Such goals, no matter how hard you try, will be difficult to achieve. Check for resources and capability to attain the goal before writing it down. If the adequate resources are not available, then specific and measurable goals may not be achieved.
    4. Fourth step in the goal setting process is to ensure that the goals are relevant and must be aligned to our ambitions and plans for self. When goals are not relevant, we are not motivated enough to achieve it and the focus from it is lost along the way.
    5. Lastly, goals should be time-bound. Giving a deadline increases the sense of urgency to achieve the goal and makes planning effective. When setting deadlines, one must ensure that it is realistic. It should not be too rigid and stringent, and neither should it be too lenient and flexible. Assess the adequate time necessary for achieving the goal and then set the deadline.

Apart from these 5 characteristics, the following principles must be considered:

  • Goals should be of moderate difficulty level. Goals that are either too easy or too difficult do not motivate us.
  • We must write our goals. Just keeping it in our head will make us forget and lose focus from the goals.
  • Although goals are set with its characteristic of being attainable, one shouldn’t be hesitant to ask for help if there is any obstacle in reaching the goals. Therefore, having a plan B and listing back up resources to attain the goal is a good practice
  • Make it a habit to keep checking your progress on the goal and make course corrections whenever necessary. Schedule these review session and make modifications early in the process rather than later (closer to the deadline).

Following these simple principles and characteristics in the goal setting process can help us to be more focused, provide us a direction and transform our lives.

Filed under: CoachingTagged with: ,

What does developmental coaching involve?

Developmental Coaching

Developmental coaching is built on the framework which first aims to understand the ‘what’, ‘why’, and ‘how’ of the individual before starting the process of coaching. Most of the coaching processes don’t look at the root cause of the problems that the individual is facing. But on the other hand, developmental coaching looks at the problem holistically and this aspect creates the difference.

What does developmental coaching involve?

Developmental coaching, unlike traditional coaching, uses 360-degree feedback, standardised assessments, and past experiences to understand the stage of development that the individual is currently in. A developmental coach should focus on the characteristics exhibited by the individual because they reflect his/her developmental stage. No two individual of different age should be coached in the same manner.

Developmental coaching also focuses on the ‘mental age’ of the individual. Focusing on mental age is different from focusing on past experiences. Past experience will help in revealing the thought patterns that have existed in the past and mental age will help in determining how the individual has evolved into his/her current state of mind.

Developmental coaching pays attention to the experiences that have determined the person we have eventually become. Different degree of meaning that the individual attaches to a particular experience will dictate the action of the individual in future.

The process of developmental coaching

Developmental coaching doesn’t focus on the process of conditioning because true development comes when individual finds meaning itself rather than attaching it something and then change the behaviour. The motive of developmental coaching is not to bring changes in behaviour but to bring a change in the mindset which ultimately affect the behaviour and lead to desired results.

Developmental coaching is concerned with revealing the root of the mindset problem or insecurity and helping people with equipping themselves with the mindset to tackle the problems on their own. This type of coaching helps the individual to place himself/herself on a constant framework of development rather than focusing on a particular target.

Some of the techniques of developmental coaching are:

Integrated mental training is a process in which developmental coach influence individual’s emotional and cognitive states and helps in developing new perspectives and attitudes to cope with the problem. This technique pays a lot of emphases on unlocking alternative state of consciousness through images or visual stimuli. It also helps in improving the relationship between mind and body.

Coaching for prevention encourages constructive pattern of thoughts which helps the individual to think for the future rather than ignoring it. This technique ultimately attempt to solidify one’s goals for the future rather than focusing on the problem. If an individual is able to visualise a path for a particular goal, this is more constructive than making oneself equipped to deal with unforeseeable problem of the future.

These are the two techniques which are used in developmental coaching and helps in making it more effective. Developmental coaching is relatively longer in its process but definitely has a lasting effect on the individual and helps in making him/her equipped for the future.

Filed under: Coaching

How to Improve Your Emotional Intelligence?

Emotional Intelligence, known as a key determinant of life success, is the ability to effectively regulate emotions by accurately perceiving a situation and then understand, apply and manage one’s emotions. There is a difference in such ability across the population and this can be ascertained with psychological testing and perhaps enhanced with appropriate training.

While intelligence (traditionally measured with IQ) is related to one’s ability to learn, the pace of acquiring knowledge and problem solving, emotional intelligence is related to something more basic as decision making. There are many theories that point towards multiple intelligences and there is little consensus on one robust definition of emotional intelligence. In general, emotional intelligence relates to aspects related to the emotions and the way they interfere with our response to situations.

There is a difference between the elements of personality or behavioral preferences such as extraversion, optimism or assertiveness and the underlying capacity to be emotionally intelligent. At some level, emotional intelligence can be seen a skill that can be put through objective measurement and could be used repeatedly in coaching and enhanced through training and development.

Many psychologists and popular trainers linked life success to Emotional Intelligence. Many companies relabelled their behavioral training programs as emotional intelligence programs. While there is a connection between personality and emotional intelligence, what’s important to notice is that emotional intelligence largely relates to the capacity to regulate one’s emotions and not the preferences as purported by the trait’s theory and personality models.

Emotions tend to start automatically, alters our attention and thinking and creates certain physiological differences in the body. Emotions are temporary and prepare us for action. Ultimately, emotions help us survive in our environment. They contribute significantly to the choices we make, to the decisions we make on day to day basis and the responses we give in interpersonal situations.

To Use Emotional Intelligence for Success in Life, Consider the Following Four Points.

    1. The first aspect of emotional intelligence is related to our ability to identify the emotion. It’s the accuracy of perception that matters here. For example, by realizing and naming the emotion we may be feeling at a certain time or in a certain situation, we may influence how that emotion is influencing us physiologically. Because emotions are often related to people’s intent and their expected response, accurately identifying someone else’s emotions may be the key to better interpersonal relationships.
    2. And then emotions influence thinking. Positive emotions help us learn, reflect, be engaged in creative tasks and group tasks. Negative emotions may be more appropriate when we are looking for mistakes or errors and identifying risks. When people differ in their ability to regulate emotions, they may differ in their ability to generate the appropriate emotions for the task at hand. This creates a difference in the level of emotional intelligence of people.
    3. Earlier we talked about identifying emotions and labelling them. The ability to understand emotions assist us in not only labelling the emotions we experience but also understand how they will influence our thinking and how they may progress. There exists an entire vocabulary for emotions that could help us label emotions such as surprise, disgust, shame, guilt etc. By understanding how each one of them show up and how they progress, transmit and subside, we could regulate emotions better.
    4. Finally, regulating emotions is about identifying the emotions, understanding how they may influence our thinking and decision making, understand different emotions and their respective characteristics and staying open to integrating all the knowledge to cope or make the best of every situation.

This openness to adapt and the ability to integrate all the steps above to be more effective in intra and interpersonally defines one’s emotional intelligence. Many authors and psychologists have spoken about how emotional intelligence is a better predictor of life success than intelligence (IQ) in its traditional sense. To sum it up, Emotional Intelligence can influence life success tremendously and can fortunately be developed with appropriate training.

Filed under: Managerial SkillsTagged with: ,