Foundationally, our self-concept drives everything. Feeding our regard for others is how we see ourselves – positively, negatively or somewhere in between. I like to use JCA Global’s Emotional Intelligence Profile (EIP) to help leaders and their teams
better understand themselves and each other. Through the EIP, participants get data on how they see themselves, how they think about other people, and also about their behaviors. The data are juxtaposed to others in their demographic profile, and with this comparative information, participants can begin to see themselves a little more clearly in the mirror.
This sets up a fun and healthy conversation about how these things show up at work – usually accompanied by the groans of recognition from within the group! And some periods of healthy laughter…
Spoiler: I’ll address some of these misconceptions in the workshop I run:
- “You’re born with it. Or not.”
- “Women are naturally more emotionally intelligent.”
- “This is just ‘soft skills’, with a different label.”
- “You just have to be nice to people.”
- “Oh boy. Now we have to let out all our feelings. All the time.”
The good news is that emotional intelligence is something you can actually learn to harness, to tune in, and to leverage to improve your relationships with others, and ultimately the performance of your team.
Even if they are just riding from London to Brighton! Want to know more? Contact us!
(Image is from a fundraising ride for the British Heart Foundation, from London to Brighton – 2012. I’m in day-glo orange!)
