26/11/2020
Emotional Intelligence in Our Current Crisis
These troubled times, with such great uncertainty and so much work done at a distance, certainly calls for us to handle our own emotions and to show empathy. Some tips:
Employees who are the most frazzled can be helped greatly when their boss shows them empathic concern. This might take a one-on-one conversation, ideally about the other person – how they are doing, what they hope for these days, and, perhaps, how you can help them.
Emotionally intelligent leaders inspire others to give their best. They can surface and help settle conflicts effectively. Tellingly, they see themselves as coaches and mentors for those who report to them – a performance review, for example, does not mean a harsh judgment, but rather an opportunity to give realistic feedback while offering ways for the person to improve.
Remember leadership in crisis starts with managing your own emotions. When psychologist Sigal Barsade, now at Wharton, was at the Yale School of Management she did a series of studies showing that when a team leader was in a positive, upbeat mood, members of the team caught that mood and performance went up. When the leader was downbeat, that mood spread on the team, too, and performance went down.
Emotionally intelligent leaders see themselves as team players, collaborating toward a common goal. The urge to get ahead for oneself, so powerful when people are individual contributors, gives way as you get a leadership position to shared, organizational goals
