EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE, Personally Know Your Employees

Emotional intelligence and engagement are increasingly prominent terms I hear in business. While often used interchangeably, they have distinct meanings and impacts that warrant separate treatment.

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I discussed in "Engagement, Acknowledging Employees," how a diverse workforce can become a predictable business asset through culture. Gaining a willingness to conform to business culture stems from meeting human needs, as outlined in Maslow's and Herzberg's Theories.

Here, I advise leaders to go further and specifically connect at the “belonging,” “esteem,” and “motivation factors” of employees.?Doing so fosters the nearly priceless benefits of loyalty and commitment to you and your vision.

As an example, in sports there is a level beyond being a talented athlete or team.?That next level is "being in the zone."?It is nearly an unstoppable ethereal realm of performance where even a mediocre athlete or team can beat a stronger and more talented opponent.?Emotional intelligence can create this same unstoppable culture and competitive advantage in business.

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Daniel Goleman's 2011 book "Working With Emotional Intelligence" shares evidence of this significance based on research.?Consider these two excerpt principles:

1.?In management, all are accepted as cognitive or technically capable, and as such, is only 10% of a leader's differential of success. Within this small cognitive window, only "big picture" thinking distinguishes leaders as star performers.

2.?Emotional competence is twice as important as cognitive abilities, contributing to 90% of leader success. Goleman concludes, "For success at the highest levels, in leadership positions, emotional competence accounts for virtually the entire advantage."

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Most businesses rely on human beings as a core resource. Physical, intellectual, and emotional considerations therefore are real. Addressing basic workplace satisfaction needs allows higher-impact intellectual and emotional contributions to emerge and dominate.

Engagement activates employees' will and skills, even if somewhat impersonal. However, personal involvement changes everything:

1.?When leaders know employees' names, remember personal details, and show genuine concern, it hits at the heart of being human. It fosters devotion, loyalty, and commitment. While you promote work-life balance, employees will give extra effort, creativity, and problem-solving because they know you care.

2.?Having developed emotional intelligence, you understand employees’ inner-being. They open up to resolve issues quickly, you really know their strengths, how to develop them, and more. They respond with loyalty and conviction.

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Emotional intelligence takes leadership beyond mere engagement. By personally connecting with employees, leaders gain a workforce "in the zone" that is willing, skilled, and deeply committed, driving unprecedented business success.