Understanding "Emotional Intelligence" (or EQ) to Build Great Teams

Let me tell you… This has been my favourite subject of all! Not that I may want to do research in psychology but understanding people and how they behave so differently in different situations - just puts me in awe!

So… What is EQ?

A very nicely written post from psychcentral (Psych Central Link) aptly explains EQ as well as its 5 categories (or components), which are –

1. Self-awareness
2. Self-regulation
3. Motivation
4. Empathy
5. Social Skills

With even more detail, positivepsychologyprogram (Positive Psychology Program Link) provides even more details with the 4 dimensions of EQ, which for ‘emotions’ are –

1. Perceiving
2. Using
3. Understanding
4. Managing

For further exploration on EQ, starting with Wikipedia (Wikipedia Link) is a great idea, since it also talks about the 3 models of Emotional Intelligence (or also referred to as EQ). The above 5 categories are coming from the “Mixed Model”.

I am quite influenced by the ‘Mixed Model’ than other models. It is much more comprehensive and connects with a 360-degree assessment. EQ is a great helper when doing appraisals for employees, but ONLY if it is done in the correct-way! Please await a separate write-up on this one.

For the 5 categories given above, a common and important trait of “awareness” runs across.

You shall find many trickles of this trait in the below paragraphs.

Why is EQ so important to build great teams?

In many articles online, I see one common conclusion – ‘EQ is more important than IQ’. In our daily work, when two or more people form a team, they need to work closely to resolve many issues, share knowledge to enrich and create a high-quality outcome. This cannot happen without an environment, that promotes –

1. Respect for individual viewpoints and ideas
2. Ease and openness of communication
3. Freedom to individuals, and trust with responsibilities
4. Ethical responsibility and actions
5. Learning of new domains, processes and technology

Such an environment can be created, only with individuals who have the right ‘EQ’ (or attitude / mindset) for growth. A culture of positivity and growth is extremely important for individuals to give their best and remain motivated.

How can understanding ‘EQ’ help build great teams?

Many organizations look for leaders (and visionaries), who help create an organization culture, that promotes the kind of environment given above. Such leaders inspire and put the team ahead of them to achieve a common goal.

Some of the most important pointers to build great teams, that I have experienced are –

1. Nurture leadership or hire leaders, who ‘walk-the-talk’ and understand their team based on their temperaments. Individuals come with a domination across the four personality types (Sanguine, Phlegmatic, Choleric and Melancholic). A mix of these provide clues of their dominating behavior. A matured leader understands this and behaves appropriately.
2. Get individuals in a team (when hiring or moving), with a good variation in the number of years of experience. This helps the group do self-management (to resolve conflicts, build credibility, learn from others experience and get the right challenges forming inter-personal relationships).
3. Provide strong support systems (processes and technology), that can strengthen the foundation of an enabling environment.
4. Accept failures from individuals as a stepping-stone, for everybody to learn and move forward. Evaluate the ability for individuals to come-out and do better after failures. A smart use of failures to create organization-level best-practices indicates a culture of positivity and growth.

- Written by Anand Nanavati (SupraDigit Solutions)