Shaping A Positive Emotional Culture – A Leader’s Role In Well-Being.

Many business leaders are aware that to be effective in the workplace, management should lead with high emotional intelligence. What ought to be better understood, though, is that to be cohesive, teams need high emotional intelligence too. But before a leader can nurture a team’s emotional intelligence, they must be working on maintaining their own EI – nurturing emotional self-awareness, practicing self-management, engaging in effective communication, nurturing their own social awareness, and applying effective conflict resolution skills.  

Psychologist Daniel Goleman, author of the book Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ, believes group emotional intelligence can help teams function better. However, he believes it is not as simple as assembling a team where every member is emotionally intelligent. Together, as a unit, the team needs to be emotionally intelligent.  

What are the signs that a team is emotionally intelligent? 

Here are 5 attributes of emotionally intelligent teams in line with Goleman’s insights:  

1. Cohesion.
   In a cohesive team, not only is each individual working toward their own goals, but they are also supporting each other’s goals, while sharing the common goal of successfully delivering quality work, reaching targets, and completing projects.
2. Trust.
   Team members in a high EI team acknowledge and trust each other’s strengths. They are open and comfortable with acknowledging their weaknesses.
3. Humility.
   Humility underpins every element of emotional intelligence. According to Goleman, the ultimate in humility is when team members can acknowledge when a certain team member should lead, and they should step aside.
4. Conflict resolution.
   High EI team members know how to actively listen and communicate with empathy and diplomacy to resolve conflicts among themselves. And when conflict cannot be quickly resolved, leaders can step in and have effective conflict management solutions in place. 
5. Achievement recognition.
   Within the team, peers both champion each other’s success and celebrate project milestones together.  

Group emotional intelligence starts at the top 

Leaders who live out EI principles are better equipped to monitor and maintain a healthy and productive team environment. But creating a positive team culture is only the first step to building an emotionally intelligent team. Nurturing emotional intelligence within a team is ongoing and intentional work.  

Here are 5 strategies to foster an emotionally intelligent team: 

1. Become a respected leader 

On top of practicing emotional intelligence in the workplace, leaders should also work on being respected by their team members. Here are 10 common traits of respected business leaders: 

• Respected leaders have vision and the ability to inspire others.  

• They ensure the company has a mission so that everyone has a sense of purpose. 

• They are accountable, learning from their mistakes. 

• They demonstrate ethical behaviour.  

• They are decisive yet adaptable, showing a willingness to learn and grow.  

• Beyond active listening, they ask for employee feedback. 

• They treat everyone in their team with common courtesy. 

• They are available and willing to lend a helping hand whenever someone in the team needs it. 

• They focus on employee development. 

• They demonstrate a deep understanding of their industry.  

2. Build team norms 

Norms are the written and unwritten social rules of work. It is important for a team to reach agreement on their norms or individuals may behave and expect behaviour from others that was acceptable in a previous work environment but that is unacceptable in their current team context. Team norms establish clear, agreed-upon behaviour as to how work will get done and what team members can expect of each other. To cultivate a high emotional intelligence team, you can establish team norms that encourage open communication, active listening, empathy, self-awareness, and constructive feedback. This will allow team members to understand and manage their own emotions while also being sensitive to the feelings of others within the group.  

3. Understand team members’ weaknesses and leverage their strengths
Your team is made up of unique individuals who each have diverse strengths and weaknesses. You can grow the group’s emotional intelligence by harnessing strengths for the good of the group. Each employee has different talents, skills, and knowledge to bring to the team. Getting to know each person means looking beyond first impressions, understanding what each person can contribute, encouraging peer learning and letting your team members share their knowledge and strengths. Offering individual and team rewards and recognition for quality work and contributions to the team is a powerful tool in building unity. People stop holding back when there is mutual trust, rooted in emotionally intelligent interaction. Plus, teams are most creative when their members collaborate wholeheartedly. 

4. Allow team members to have a voice
Having a team with well-developed communication skills and the latitude to voice their opinions and ideas are musts when building an emotionally intelligent team. Team leaders can help in developing stronger communication skills by having the team intentionally work on active listening and gaining a better understanding of non-verbal communication. It is also important to give the team a formal channel to air their frustrations or concerns. This should be used constructively so that your team can solve problems together rather than degenerating into negativity. Additionally, the team should have a forum for sharing their ideas.  

5. Build resilience in your team
Emotional intelligence supports a team’s adaptability and resilience during challenging times. Emotional intelligence and resilience are closely linked and individuals with high EI tend to be more resilient because they can effectively navigate challenging situations and build strong support systems to effectively cope with stress and setbacks. Thus, resilient teams are able to use challenging experiences as a springboard to learn and grow. They collectively develop a growth mindset and are better equipped to handle stressful situations.  

In conclusion  

There are many benefits to building a team with collective emotional intelligence. High EI teams communicate more effectively, creating a more collaborative atmosphere and reducing the chance of misunderstandings. When conflicts do arise, individuals in a high EI team seek to understand the other person’s perspective and all parties strive to find a mutually beneficial solution. When it comes to collaboration, colleagues who feel trusted and valued are more likely to contribute their ideas and best work. They are more resilient and can manage their emotions in challenging times. Team members with well-developed emotional intelligence rise in the ranks to become leaders with EI who in turn nurture emotionally intelligent teams.  

RESOURCE

Over to you for sharing your comments and experiences.