So what is Emotional Intelligence (EQ)? Some very useful questions to ask yourself (and your team)

“The ability to understand the way people feel and react and to use this skill to make good judgements and to avoid or solve problems”. And…“The ability to understand and control your own feelings, and to understand the feelings of others and react to them in a suitable way”.*

* The Cambridge Dictionary - https://dictionary.cambridge.org

At Successfactory? we explain emotional intelligence by using the 5 Ss:

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Self-Awareness:

The ability to know one’s emotions, strengths, weaknesses, drivers, values and goals and recognise how they impact on others while using gut feelings to guide decisions.

Questions for self-awareness:

1.??????? Do you know your emotional triggers?

2.??????? Do you know your strengths? These are your natural strengths and not what you force yourself to do because it says so on your job specification.

3.??????? Are you open and honest about your weaknesses? Your ego may be pushing them under the carpet as it does not want to admit them to anyone else (more on ego at the end).

4.??????? What values do you live by?

5.??????? How much do you consider other people when setting your own goals?

Self-management:

Involves controlling or redirecting one’s hindering or unhelpful emotions and impulses.

Questions for self-management:

1.??????? What tools and techniques do you employ to control your emotions and behaviours?

2.??????? Do you find that you react differently to different people? If so, why, and what impact does this have?

3.??????? Do you operate on impulse or are you more self-controlled and give thought to everything you do? What is the advantage and disadvantage of both?

Social Skills:

The multi-faceted skill of interacting with different people and managing relationships to move people in the desired direction.

Questions to ask about social skills:

1.??????? Do you ever stop and analyse how you interact with others?

2.??????? Does the way you use your social skills have a helpful or hindering effect on the team?

3.??????? How could you possibly improve your relationships?

Below is a useful visual tool to start the ball rolling. Jot some ideas down.

Social Awareness:

Empathy, considering other people’s feelings especially when making decisions.

Questions to ask about social awareness:

1.??????? Do you stop and really make a point of understanding what is going on around you?

2.??????? Do you listen to words only or do you try and read between the lines?

3.??????? Do you care about people’s feelings or is it all about the task?

?Social Adaptability:

Willingness to change your approach to drive desired outcomes, to re-prioritise when business needs override your own.

Some questions to ask about social adaptability:

1.??????? Do you tend to use a one-stop-shop approach?

2.??????? Do you always understand the business needs?

3.??????? How could you be more adaptable with your approach?

Some final questions for you to consider:

1. Do you every analyse your own level of emotional intelligence?
2. How could you improve your EQ?
3. Do you understand how your own ego drives how you operate and interact with people?
4. How do the different egos in the team work together?
5. How can you use knowledge about EQ in your team to shape a helpful culture?

Cheers

Dave