Improve Emotional Intelligence To Inspire Peak Performance And Accelerate Leadership Success

By Linley Watson, CEO Peak Performance International

When it comes to achieving peak performance – both personally and professionally, there is a set of social and emotional competencies that play a key role. Commonly referred to as emotional intelligence, emotional quotient or EQ, these abilities or skills enable a person to manage their own emotions well and influence the emotions of other people toward positive outcomes.

I was doing my best to channel the emotional intelligence skills of self-control and optimism when taking the above photo from the window of a small plane flying through The Remarkables mountain range in the awe-inspiring South Island of New Zealand. As you can see, we were flying between the mountains (not above them) and at times it appeared as though we were headed straight for them as the occasional "terrain, terrain, terrain" warnings confirmed. I had to stay cool despite feeling a bit nervous and show confidence that all would be well, especially as my children were also along for the ride.

Like a business leader, the pilot had to plan and plot the course to the destination, change direction as obstacles emerged and adapt to the changeable conditions. He also had to demonstrate technical, emotional and social skills to ensure his customers enjoyed the journey and got to the destination safely.

Emotional Intelligence In Business Leadership

Since becoming popularised by Daniel Goleman in 1995, in his book Emotional Intelligence, there have been hundreds of research-based articles establishing a clear link between emotional intelligence (EQ) and leadership success. Organisations and leaders operating with high emotional intelligence have been proven to achieve better financial results, happier workplaces, higher retention rates, increased creativity, and improved sales performance.

As organisations re-emerge and reinvent themselves after the challenges of the past few years, emotional intelligence is enjoying a resurgence with EQ among the most sought-after leadership skills. Improving the ability to manage one’s own emotions and lead and influence others effectively, especially in a complex, hybrid work environment, has never been more important.

Evaluation of Emotional Intelligence

My exploration of emotional intelligence began in the early 2000’s and I have used various EQ tests over the past 20 years. To help our clients and for my own development, I recently updated my knowledge and became accredited in the world’s most advanced assessments for measuring and improving emotional intelligence in leaders – RocheMartin’s Emotional Capital Report (ECR), the ECR 360 and the Emotional Capital Workshop. The ECR assessments were specifically developed in the organisational context and are based on analyses of more than fifteen years of scientific research.

Benchmarked against some of the world’s best-performing leaders and taking just 10-12 minutes to complete, the ECR emotional intelligence assessments have a multitude of applications including leadership development, selection and recruitment, team building, stress management and reshaping culture.

The insights uncovered in the Emotional Capital Report are the catalyst for coaching conversations and training to support leaders in becoming more aware of how emotions in themselves and others drive behaviours. Guided by the coaching strategies, emotional advisor tips and an action plan to improve emotional intelligence, leaders can develop a high EQ, if motivated. Over time, the science of neuroplasticity confirms that it is possible to 'rewire' the brain's neural pathways and create new more emotionally intelligent behavioural habits.

The Emotional Capital EQ Model

Emotional capital represents the value created by the positive morale, engagement, and commitment demonstrated by employees and customers. It lies in the hearts of everyone connected with the organisation and eventually shows up in financial performance. Hence the name emotional capital.

Developing emotional capital is based on these principles:

• Leadership is a set of skills and abilities that can be learned

• Everyone can learn to be a better leader

• Outstanding leadership follows the regular practice of 10 EQ leadership competencies

• Outstanding leadership begins with self-leadership/personal mastery

• Outstanding leaders motivate and inspire others

Leaders who possess high levels of emotional capital are known as Emotional Capitalists.

Drawing on the emotional and social competencies identified by Daniel Goleman (1995) and Reuven Bar-On (1997), the RocheMartin Emotional Capital Model comprises three focus areas (inner, other, outer) and 10 emotional intelligence competencies that drive leadership success, as outlined below:

Find out more about the Emotional Capital Report in this short video where Dr Martyn Newman co-author of the ECR and clients discuss how the ECR emotional intelligence assessments add value in a business context.

Select the RocheMartin Emotional Capital Report to Improve Emotional Intelligence

When considering the various emotional intelligence assessment tools to help Peak Performance clients improve EQ in the workplace, several things stood out about the ECR including:

• It is based on up-to-date and rigorous scientific research. There's a 150+ page technical manual for those into the theory and details!

• The ECR has been developed and normed as a specific measure of EQ in leadership, not as a general measure of EQ, so it's more relevant for business leaders.

• It is quick and easy to administer and answer. Taking less than 15 minutes to answer means it's not an onerous exercise for raters in an EQ 360 context.

• The authors, Dr Martyn Newman and Judy Purse are from Australia and leaders from Australia and New Zealand made up 30% of the normative sample, ensuring it is appropriate for the local business environment.

• The report and coaching debrief are invaluable for leaders to understand their signature EQ strengths as well as how to improve their emotional intelligence. They can immediately apply specific techniques to drive genuine behaviour change to enhance their leadership performance.

Emotions are involved in everything an organisation does and they are core to the employee and the customer experience. There is a compelling business case for equipping leaders with the 10 dynamic EQ emotional intelligence skills that distinguish the best leaders from the rest.

ACTIONS:

Click here for 50 tips on how to improve your emotional intelligence.

Contact Peak Performance if you’d like to find out more about the RocheMartin ECR emotional intelligence assessments and accelerate the practice of emotionally intelligent leadership in your organisation.

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