What Works: Emotional Intelligence and Business

Each Monday morning, I host a show called Drive Time: Your Motivational Drive in the Morning on KNVC 95.1 FM. This morning, considering President Trump’s latest tweet to the president of Iran, I found it appropriate that the topic I had prepared for today was emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence, in short, is how you manage yourself and how you interact with others.

In the show, I equated emotional intelligence to playing with a beach ball. You breathe into your life, and business, the emotions you have and then you have a choice. Emotions may not be a choice but what you do with them is all in your court.

— Play nicely with others regardless of the quality of the air in the ball.
— Hold the ball underwater, suppressing the emotion.
— Hold that ball under the water for a long time until your arms get tired and it pops up out of the water, hitting you in the face. Even then, after the ball hits you in the face, you have a choice.
— Reach out to others and play nicely.
— Spike the ball and smack someone in the face.

This little game of ball happens all day at work. As a leader, you may witness a variety of dynamics during the day. Communication is the key to knowing where the beach ball is with each of your team members.

As a communication expert, I look at what happens before the communication happens, while communicating is going on, and the aftermath. Organizations are particularly fun because there’s more at stake when communicating. There’s a project, a deadline, and even a consequence to the ball hitting the ground.

So how do you use emotional intelligence to maximize productivity?

1) Create a learning organization. This morning, I was speaking to Amber Barnes, of StartHuman in Reno, about what it takes to keep an organization emotionally intelligent. In short, your organization has to be OK with learning. Being OK with learning means it is just fine NOT TO KNOW. What this does its it saves productive time lost when employees don’t know. Employees feel safe to ask, therefore, asking happens quicker and the work gets done faster.

2) Encourage your employees to be radically responsible. Barnes also mentioned the idea of radical responsibility. This means employees are accountable for their actions and it’s not only OK not to know, its OK to mess up. Companies which encourage solution-driven reporting of issues create a culture of transparency. Transparent cultures are ones in which the communication is two-way and the top is not afraid to gain insight from the rank and file. This results in more ideas, fewer secrets, and more trust.

3) Laugh. Companies that encourage laughter reap a bevy of benefits. The positivity ratio states that three positive thoughts are required to overcome one negative thought. Laughter and fun supercharge positive thoughts and, according to OfficeVibe.com is good for business in that it keeps employees engaged and attracts top talent. Check out OfficeVibe for some examples of top companies with fun cultures.

All in all, if you want to encourage emotional intelligence with your company, you want to encourage people to be self-aware and other-aware. Train your employees to communicate in a way that encourages learning, is accountable, and positive and your organization’s output will surely increase.

How does your company encourage emotional intelligence? The floor is yours, Carson City.

SAY HELLO AND LET’S GROW TOGETHER
Listen On Your Radio or Streaming: Start your week off right by listening to “Drive Time” with Diane Dye Hansen on KNVC 95.1 FM from 6 am to 8 am on Monday mornings. Happy, motivational music, positive spins on negative news, interviews with people in the community who can bring joy into your life. Email diane@whatworksconsultants.com if you would like to be featured as a guest and have GREAT inspiration to share on non-commercial public radio. Stream past episodes or listen live at www.knvc.org

Business Leaders and Entrepreneurs: Spring into action on your business! Entrepreneur’s Assembly, Carson City chapter meets Wednesday, August 8, 2018 in The Studio at Adams Hub for Innovation and every second Wednesday of each month. Free mastermind group. The Carson City chapter was voted Entrepreneur’s Assembly Chapter of the Year 2017. 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

NEED GUIDANCE? GET IT FREE: Motivation Monday is back at Adams Hub for Innovation with NEW HOURS – 10:30 am – 2:30 pm each Monday. Email diane@whatworksconsultants.com to schedule two free 30-minute sessions or one free hour to help you with your business – Brought to you courtesy of Adams Hub for Innovation. If your company is in transition (of any kind), please take Diane’s offer for this help.

ABOUT DIANE DYE HANSEN
Diane Dye Hansen has more than 20 years of experience in communication and change management gained in the sectors of government, non-profit, healthcare, publishing, advertising, entertainment, and technology. Her Critical Opportunity Theory helps organizations turn challenge into opportunity.

She is the president and founder of What Works Consultants, Inc., a consulting firm which helps business leaders and those who lead government and non-profit organizations understand the people who matter most and communicate to them in a strategic and meaningful way.

This is done through research, strategic communication planning, change management consulting, human resources recruitment and training. She is the host of Drive Time – Your Motivational Drive in the Morning on KNVC, Carson City Community Radio, a regular columnist on CarsonNow.org and volunteer mentor at Adams Hub for Innovation, and on the board of directors for Proscenium Players, Inc, Carson City’s longest running theater company.

And, to answer your question, yes she does sleep. To meet her and learn how she and her team can help your company, visit What Works Consultants, Inc. online at www.whatworksconsultants.com.