Emotions

One weekend a few weeks ago, my wife and I were out with a few friends. Joan (not her real name) mentioned that she had been out of the office for a few weeks as she had a new grand baby she wanted to spend some time with. Joan works with fifty or more other people in the "Customer Care" department at the headquarters of a Fortune 100 company.

Of course the stories of the grand baby monopolized the conversation as did many pictures. But as the evening wore one, my friend shared what happened upon her return to work.

On Monday she walked into an empty office. The room had been cleared of all cubicles and equipment, except for hers. Mystified, my friend sought out her boss whose job title is "Care Coach." He told her that on Thursday morning the group was told about the move. By Friday they were moved.

It took three days before my friend and her equipment were able to join her coworkers. Coming back to an empty office was upsetting enough, but my friend was most upset when it took over a week for her boss, the "Care Coach," to stop by to check if she made the move and how things were going.

The Gallup organization, through their work with business people, identified twelve questions that, if responded to positively, would increase the probability that an organization's best performers would stay with the company. One of those key questions that relates to this story is, "Does your supervisor or someone at work seem to care about you as a person?"

It seems that, despite the job title of "Care Coach," my friend's boss did not understand that people want to be cared about, not just as assets, but as individuals. The "Care Coach's" behavior seems to indicate that he is lacking in emotional intelligence (EI) skills. Recent research indicates that people who possess EI skills can positively impact teamwork, performance, leadership and more.

And here's another of Gallup's questions, "In the last seven days, have you received recognition or praise for doing good work?"

Recognizing performance is a powerful tool to providing people with incentive to continue to do good work. The IT department of a global fast food restaurant chain had their new international team attend my emotional intelligence skill-building program. A year later, another IT group was targeted to attend that same program. Of interest was the difference in the employee commitment scores of the already trained team and the as yet to be trained team. While the untrained group's scores had a 1.9 point improvement over the year, the trained team's scores had a remarkable 13.1 point improvement.

The Director felt that the Emotional Intelligence training and the International team's use of the techniques they learned were the factors responsible for such a significant improvement in employee commitment scores. He indicated that he consistently used the technique he learned for appreciation and encouraged others to use it during the team meetings.

Expressing care and appreciation may seem deceptively simple. But they are powerful for motivating people, improving productivity, increasing morale and retaining your best performers.

Emotional intelligence is different from regular intelligence. It is not measured in the same way. Emotional intelligence basically understands the meanings of emotions and how to handle relationships and problem-solving on the basis of them. It is just how people manage or control their emotions in different situations or with different people.

Emotional intelligence scoring is now used by many companies. Employers have realized that hiring someone with a high emotional intelligence is much more important than hiring someone who has a high IQ. The reasoning is employers have more positive experiences with employees.

Employers have listed their reasons for wanting people with high emotional intelligence scores. One reason is these people are more likely to remain calm under pressure. Every job comes with its own kind of pressure, and it is important that people be able to handle it no matter what the situation may be. The second reason is that employees should be able to handle conflict effectively. Work is no place for drama, and employers do not need to spend their time babysitting people who do not get along. Reason number three is employees should be able to be empathetic to other employees. Being able to understand the reasons coworkers do or act the way they do is important in any job. The fourth reason is that employers want people who lead by example. Hiring someone who has an emotional outburst every time something goes wrong, will only lead to others thinking it is acceptable. The last reason is that employees should make thoughtful business decisions. People who come to work hung up on their own problems cannot separate that it is not the right time and will not be able to contribute as well as other people.

People with high emotional intelligences have similar traits in common. For instance, they are able to admit and learn from past mistakes. In tough situations, they are able to keep their emotions under control and be able to discuss what is bothering them. These people take criticism well because they understand it is not an attack but a chance for improvement. Last, they handle pressure with ease. Under tense situations most would not be able to tell that the pressure is getting to them.

Employers can also use emotional testing to get an idea if the person may be suffering from some form of mental disorder. It is not possible to know what kind, but studies are now being conducted on low emotional testing scores and what is going on in the brain to cause this. Employers may want to keep from being involved in the person's problems, and this type of testing is a good indicator.

Emotional Intelligence is still a very skeptical science when it comes to intelligence. However, employers cannot deny that this type of testing has been beneficial. People looking for jobs should be aware of these types of tests and learn to handle their emotions if they want to succeed in their career.