Byron Stock

Emotional Intelligence Skill-building Can Impact Many Workplace Issues



Posted: Monday, January 12, 2009

by
Byron Stock & Associates LLC

Not long ago, I was invited to facilitate a professional development network (PDN) session of the Chicago Organizational Development Network.  The group, comprised of seasoned consultants from large organizations, gathers with the purpose of sharing information and learning from one another.  As is my practice, I designed a highly interactive program.  The objective was to identify how significant the development of Emotional Intelligence (EI) skills can be for the workplace.

After defining Emotional Intelligence and providing some examples of the results obtained from our applied EI skill-building programs, I asked the group to divide into three smaller groups and note on flipcharts what issues or problems could be improved within their organizations by increasing EI skills.  The groups spent about 10 minutes identifying and discussing the issues or problems, then reported on their lists.  The composite, alphabetized list below details the 45 issues identified by the group.
It's quite eye opening to see this expansive list which is, most likely, not all-inclusive. I can't think of any other organizational improvement intervention that has the potential to positively impact so may organizational problems concurrently.  Development of Emotional Intelligence skills does not just improve leadership competencies or management skills.  It has a far-reaching effect.  Our clients have experienced dramatic improvements. Program participants have reported improvements that range from 20% to  40% reduction in stress and worry, 20% to 35% increase in personal productivity, 15% to 35% increased teamwork and similar improvements in personal motivation, management of emotional reactiveness, work/life balance, creativity and more.

As always, I like to be conservative when conducting impact interviews to gather results.  However, let's cut the above ranges in half and be even more conservative.  What would a 10% to 17% increase in personal productivity, a 7% to 17% increase in teamwork or a 10% to 20% reduction in stress and worry mean to your organization?  Because it's well documented that stress impacts health, we can assume that a reduction in stress and worry may well impact health care costs which, in turn, positively impacts the organizational bottom line.

Let's examine a few of the other issues identified by our group of experts. One of the toughest issues on the list is grievances. Yet, one of our participants, using simple, proven techniques, reported a significant reduction in step 2 grievances by resolving them at the first step in the process. And in another specific example, a participant reported an increase in employee engagement. As a result of applying the techniques, he was viewed as more approachable, and his direct reports presented an idea that, when implemented, saved the location the equivalent of 10 people per year. The impact on the bottom line is a savings of about $300,000.

People in the transportation industry always have interesting stories. When asked about improvement in resolving or managing conflict, one participant stated, "This is huge! I used to thrive on the conflict. Now I avoid it. It's a daily issue. Now I will talk between dock guys and drivers. Now we're not yelling and throwing stuff. It would get ugly sometimes - wresting matches at times. Drivers are rough around the edges and can get pushy/feely. I was always the first one to step up. This hasn't happened in awhile. Arguments don't break out now. I let people vent and explain why (the issue is they way it is) or I don't say anything (just let them vent and be heard)."

The point is that helping people at all levels of the organization to develop their EI skills helps improve or resolve multiple problems and issues. It is far more effective to leverage scarce resources with EI skill-building as opposed to focusing on narrow, targeted interventions such as conflict management or change management, or communication.

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Tailoring the art and science of Emotional Intelligence (EI) to your needs, Byron Stock focuses on results, helping individuals and organizations enhance EI skills, leadership competencies and core values. Visit www.ByronStock.com to learn about his practical, user-friendly techniques to enhance Emotional Intelligence skills.

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