GDS – Trucon Consulting Group

Emotional Intelligence

 

First of all, know yourself. Know what makes you angry or happy. Perhaps set up a scale for yourself. Explain how difficult it is to be objective about yourself.

Take the Strengths Finder 2.0 test – Followed by a DISC, Meyers Briggs and Sally Hogshead Fascinate

Think about how your demeanor impacts you, your associates, your prospects and customers. How you react emotionally and physically. That’s individual emotional intelligence.

Social EQ is how well you know and recognize emotions in others to help you understand and coach them to work in their area of strengths.

It’s the tangible intangible that helps you demonstrate self-control, navigate social complexities, and make personal decisions that product positive results.

It’s an important concept to understand because our brains are designed to feel an emotion first before we logically process it. Hence, the old sales adage, sales is about a combination of emotional and logical persuasion.

Psychologists tell us that every event or thought has an emotion attached to it. Obviously, some emotions are much stronger than other emotions and have different levels of behavioral impact.

The impact in productivity is significant. People want to know you care and have their best interest in mind. However, do not allow every whim that crosses an associates’ mind to direct company policy.

Bradberry and Greaves wrote in Leadership 2.0 that 90% of the most successful leaders are high in Emotional Leadership. And the good news is that you can learn emotional leadership. (Remind listeners about their DISC scores. For some the learning curve may be steeper.)

Leaders high is social awareness are remarkably clear of what they do well that motivates and satisfies them, and which people and situations push their buttons. (Remember H.A.L.T. acronym)

As self-awareness increases, people’s satisfaction with life, (as defined by achieving their goals at work and home-skyrockets)  

When you are self-aware, you are far more likely to pursue the right opportunities, put your strengths to work, and keep your emotions from holding you back.

How many times have you been told that management has an important communication for you, and it simply turns out to be another directive from “on-high.” It’s not for you at all unless you take a long-term perspective that what’s good for the company is ultimately good for you. That becomes an element of trust.

As a sales manager, you are tasked with productivity. That involves knowing the products, your industry, selling skills and company policy. However, for you as a manager, it should involve far more that these basic fundamentals. You will be wise to start purposefully developing and engaging your emotional intelligence.

I remember a story from my very first sales job with 3M. We had two sales teams in the regional office. Both had capable managers, productive salespeople and the DFW area was growing. The future looked bright for everyone involved.

However, on of the best producers, Chris, a high energy, happy go lucky young man had just gotten the shock of his life. His wife, who was a stunningly good-looking woman, had just informed him she wanted a divorce.

Now Chris had become a bitter, lonely, low energy, non-producing member of the team. This is a clear example of a non-job life situation that was having a huge impact on Chris’s lively hood and the company income. The emotional impact on him was self-evident, but in other cases it may not be so clear.

Be sure to be aware of the macro and micro events in your workplace. Practice purposeful visits and inspections to monitor morale factors. Learn more about people reading skills. Energy, voice and tone inflections, body language, a drop off in quality.

Have an involvement process that says we care about you and your mental health.

In Chris’s case what would you do?

Ø  Ignore it, it’s none of your business

Ø  Refer him to the company insurance paid counseling program

Ø  Step in as a concerned team member to listen and encourage him

Ø  Chew him out because he’s not producing – Tell him to be a man and suck it up