Emotional Intelligence for effectiveness in the

workplace

Ros Cardinal – Shaping Change(CAHRI, member of AITD & AusAPT)

Accreditations:

• MBTI Step 1 & 2 (APP 2006)

• Political Intelligence (DG 2006)

• 4Mat – LTM, HMI, LBI (4Mat System Aus 2008)

• TEQ (DG 2008)

• LSI / GSI (Human Synergistics 2009)

• Leadership Impact (Human Synergistics 2010)

• MSCEIT (ebpsych 2012)

• OCI / OEI (Human Synergistics 2013)

• Human Instincts (Hard Wired Humans 2014)

About emotions: We all have emotions and we all have moods.

Whether we like it or not, emotions impact our thinking and our behaviour.

There is a strong link between the PFC and the limbic brain – emotions can stop us from thinking clearly.

There is no such thing as good or bad emotions. Fear or anger can save your life.

Emotional Intelligence

Important to success

Recognised and measured

Distinguishes performance in various work settings

Evidence supporting this Emotional intelligence positively affects the company’s bottom

line: Jobs with low complexity (e.g. mail clerks) -

3 x the output Jobs with medium complexity (e.g. mechanics/ sales people) –

12 x more productive Jobs with highest levels of complexity (e.g. physicians and account

managers) –

172 x more productive (Hunter, Schmidt & Judiesch, 1990)

The Origin of EI

EI dates back to Darwin

Mayer and Salovey are the originators of the theory of emotional intelligence.

They define emotional intelligence as “the ability to reason with and about emotions”

MSCEIT is the original, scientific concept of EI

The Mayer and Salovey Model

The Mayer and Salovey model is guided by three key principles:

Emotions are critically important to success

People vary in their emotional skills

These emotional skills can be measured objectively

Emotional abilities

Recognising Emotions

Do you know how you feel?

Recognising Emotions

Recognising emotions is a core skill – how does your team feel?

It is fundamental to conflict – is it escalating or de-escalating?

Emotions are functional. They enable our survival and enable us to be effective.

Emotions help us communicate, they tell us about what we value

Being good at recognising emotions makes you more flexible

Common Facial Emotions –Dr. Paul Ekman 50 years of research

Found emotions are universal. Japan, Iceland, PNG – anger, sadness – across cultures all the same – both ‘how’ and ‘what’

Broke down expressions into specific muscular components –universal use and causes of the same muscles

Recognising Emotions Emotions in the environment:

Emotional abilities

Using Emotions

Mood / Task matching

A shift in mood can lead to innovative solutions. A great example of this is people who get their best ideas while exercising, or in the shower.

Emotional abilities

Understanding Emotions The ability to understand how emotions escalate and

change and to understand that people can experience conflicting emotions

People with this skill have a rich emotional vocabulary and can accurately describe emotional states.

They understand how people might feel, they make accurate predictions about how people might react to situations.

Understanding Emotions

Emotional abilities

Managing Emotions

The ability to manage emotions doesn’t mean putting emotions on hold, ignoring them or never acting emotionally.

People who are good at this are able to think clearly when experiencing strong emotions.

Their emotions are inputs to decisions and behaviours, not drivers.

They value emotions without overvaluing them.

Managing Emotions Some principles:

Emotions are time linked (they pass)

Emotions are important, but transient (you don’t need to buy into them)

Emotions are useful (what are they telling me?)

Emotions can guide decisions (what is the best way to act as a result of my emotion?)

Emotions are how we feel, they do not define us (you don’t have to fuse with your emotion)

Managing EmotionsSome tips on managing emotions:

Try some short term strategies - the most effective are

exercise and social support.

Drinking, eating, oversleeping or procrastinating can

make you feel temporarily better but are not helpful.

Journaling about emotions is highly beneficial. Use

causal words like “led me to” and insight words like

“understand”.

Managing Emotions Long term emotional management takes three

things:

Be open to emotion – even when it is uncomfortable

Develop the meta view

Develop an active management strategy directed at the actual issue and that is workable. What do I do with this feeling? What do I want to happen?

EI and Effectiveness

Stress and change trigger emotions and emotional responses (flight or fight)

By recognising, using, understanding and managing our emotional responses, we can choose our behaviour

Emotional IntelligenceWhat are some practical ways to leverage emotions? Setting yourself up for success. Check in with

yourself at the beginning of your day. Ask yourself the following questions:

How do I feel at the moment? What is my thinking style right now? How do I need to feel for the rest of

the day to be most effective? What strategies can I use to move

myself into that emotional head space?

Questions?

Purchase a signed copy of my new book