The Impact of Emotional Intelligence to Business Growth

Telling a Private Equity firm that you “just have a good feeling” about your business idea is probably not going to get you the investment you need to grow your business. Emotions and their intelligence are not the only skill needed as we prepare to start an amazing business, deliver on our goals, or even achieve a lifelong dream. Still, high performing companies continue to show us that emotional intelligence remains a core skillset that is overlooked by mediocre businesses all over the world. Why is this?

People Drive Companies, and Emotions Drive People.

Everyone know that people drive companies.  Your people are your greatest asset, and you want them operating at peak performance to realize the business objectives of the company.  Whether it’s building an excellent customer experience in products and services, or serving up an positive experience with your partners, or attracting top talent, the ticket to success is how well your people perform.

So where do emotions enter in? Everywhere. You don’t have to look far to see how emotions are affecting your company’s performance. Just start with yourself. Think about a recent example when your emotions got the best of you.   Whether you lashed out in anger at a peer, had an overly defensive posture with a customer that you later lost sleep over, or found yourself shrinking like a violet when insecurity got the best of you during a spirited discussion. Each of us experience emotional responses as part of our human makeup.

I, too, have emotions crop up on a regular basis. I spent many years suppressing emotions as a female executive. There are many examples in my career when I worked harder at suppressing my feelings than just doing the job in front of me. With the “will to win” attitude instilled in my by my C-Suite father, I worked more at fitting in than risking sticking out. It worked really well for awhile, until those feelings caught up with me, as they will do.

Emotions catch up with everyone because they are a core part of our makeup. Brain science proves to us over and over again, that we have three layers of the brain that are programed to produce emotion based on sensory information, to provide us with a way to understand our circumstances. Those emotions then form thoughts, that lead us to use logic and reason to make decisions and act.

The Proof is in Emotional Intelligence.

Emotional Intelligence is not as simple as knowing that feelings impact our ability to reason. It also does mean that high performing companies allow emotions to run rampant in their corporate culture. Rather, emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive emotions, to access and generate emotions so as to assist thought, and to understand emotions so as to promote emotional and intellectual growth. There are powerful factors, or competencies involved including self-awareness, self-management, social management, and relationship management.

It’s not IQ that leads to success… EQ is more important: emotional intelligence, social skills, how you relate, can you get things done. That’s what makes a difference, especially in management.

Jamie Dimon, President and CEO, JPMorgan Chase

Since the mid 1990’s scholars and scientists continue to show how companies that deliver operating models and programs focused on developing emotional intelligence in their teams and people, perform far better than those that don’t. In the Business Case for EQ, published by 6Seconds, the following studies yielded bottom-line results:

• L’Oreal increased sales by $2.5 million after investing in high EQ sales people.
• Sheraton Hotels helped to increase market share by 24% after completing an EQ initiative across the organization.
• The US Air Force uses EQ to screen Pararescue Jumpers which resulted in a $190 million savings.

For more insights, check out: The Business Case for EQ and The Business Case for Emotional Intelligence (EQ)

In a ground-breaking study conducted by Langhorn [2003] at Whitbread in the UK, it was found that that the emotional intelligence of restaurant managers significantly impacts annual profit growth. Based on this study, the EQ factors found to be the best predictors of productivity include emotional Self-Awareness, Interpersonal Relationship skills, and Social Responsibility. t was also found that restaurants managed by managers with high emotional intelligence showed an annual profit growth of 22% versus an annual average growth of 15% for the same period.

E-Version (eiconsortium.org)

The Impact On Our Current and Future State

In today’s landscape, I believe there are a few factors we are facing in business that offer reason to invest in emotional intelligence methods in areas of leadership, sales, and operations.

• Digital Innovation. The speed of innovation with AI and Machine Learning leaves many companies asking “where do people fit in?” I love the purpose statement of Accenture, LLC, an international consulting company: Deliver on the promise of technology and human ingenuity. Successful companies are solving for the ‘human experience” as much as the technical one. EQ helps leaders reimagine what it means to innovate, collaborate, and make a difference in this new landscape.
• Leadership and Burnout. Articles are a mass about stress and burnout these days. High EQ leaders will have their tough days too, but what they have above others is practical skills to maintain balance and perspective amid uncertainty, fear, and doubt. They are the leaders that see the approaching burnout, and use their skills in self-awareness to take care of themselves, rejuvenate, and stay in the game. At the same time, they are able to actively listen, support, and motivate teams to collaborate and execute.
• Remote Work. If you have a job in Corporate America, you most likely have had experience of what remote work looks like, at least for a time. Being able to work productively in teams, innovate, and motivate other to align on a shared goal, is hard enough in the office. EQ programs teach your people interpersonal skills to cope in times of stress by learning how to navigate emotions, pause vs. act, increase self-care to avoid burn out, empathize for the benefit of the team, and maintain a positive perspective to do their best work.

“A leader’s intelligence has to have a strong emotional component. He has to have high levels of self-awareness, maturity and self-control. She must be able to withstand the heat, handle setbacks and when those lucky moments arise, enjoy success with equal parts of joy and humility. No doubt emotional intelligence is more rare than book smarts, but my experience says it is actually more important in the making of a leader. You just can’t ignore it.”

JACK WELCH, CHAIRMAN OF GENERAL ELECTRIC
SPEAKING TO THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Where To Begin?

Are you ready to take a few steps toward helping your company achieve some of the many benefits that emotional intelligence offers? Here are a few suggestions:

1. EQ Assessments. Find out what you’re dealing with in your organization by investing in Emotional Intelligence assessment of your leadership team. One of the best assessments for business includes a 360 assessment, where the leader completes an assessment, and his or her peers, supervisor, and direct reports all provide input as well.
2. Educate. Unlike IQ, emotional intelligence can be learned over time. Invest in EQ training for your organization to raise awareness and help other learn and begin to practice core skills in self-awareness, self-management, social-management and relationship management.
3. Target Approach. Identify an area in your company that is struggling. If your sales are low, this might be a good place to start. If employee conflict and attrition is mounting in your product department, perhaps that is a great place to begin. Invest in a consulting and coaching program with a direct focus on improving performance.

I recommend Six Seconds (6seconds.org), as a credible resource. As a non-profit, they partner with organizations who help companies all over the world increase their performance. Global Network – Partner with an EQ Expert • Six Seconds (6seconds.org). Check out their client list here: Who are our Clients • Six Seconds (6seconds.org)

I’d love your thoughts on this article or any other. Feel free to reach out to me through my blog, or on LinkedIn!