Emotional Intelligence A Major Factor For Companies Competing In A Downturn

Emotional Intelligence A Major Factor For Companies Competing In A Downturn
Emotionally Intelligent Managers Are Better Equipped To Lead Their People Through the Economic Turbulence ? Claims Management Expert

A leading management expert has warned corporate managers that a lack of ?emotional intelligence? in their leadership styles could spell financial disaster during the economic downturn.

Scott Watson, managing director of Summit Consulting and Training, which has trained thousands of business people in the UK, Europe and the Arabian Gulf region, claims that managers without emotional intelligence risk ending up with under motivated, disengaged staff who lack commitment and whose productivity nosedives.

Unfortunately, emotionally intelligent managers are rare, Watson says. Most highly qualified business managers lack the mature interpersonal skills required to motivate staff through hard times. They often make the false assumption that their technical skills, or dazzling academic records, will make them strong managers.

?Academic institutions and most corporate training programmes don?t promote or teach personal qualities such as resilience, optimism and empathy,? Watson said. ?Managers are expected to find their own way, and they can go badly wrong. Academic prowess will not guarantee success. Technical competence needs to be partnered with personal character,? he said.

So what is ?emotional intelligence? in a leader and how can it be acquired?

?Our research over 10 years with over 10,000 people shows that nearly all employees value high levels of trust, collaboration, credibility and empathy in their managers,? Watson said.

The survey demonstrates how much employees are motivated towards better performance by credible and emotionally engaging bosses. From a manager?s point of view, too, the benefits of emotionally intelligent leadership are enormous.

?Striving to achieve a higher level of personal, team and company effectiveness is far more worthwhile than thinking that success or failure is at the mercy of external forces so it s not worth doing anything but drift into oblivion, or bankruptcy,? Watson said.

While a mature level of emotional intelligence in leaders is always valuable, it is crucial in a downturn when employee motivation tends to flag without regular encouragement.

?Feel good factors naturally develop when profits are growing and costs are reducing,? Watson said. ?But when times are tough, employees are full of fears and anxieties that they won?t meet targets, or that their job is on the line, making it harder to stay focused. Employee engagement is one of the major success factors for companies, but in a downturn the need for personal survival often takes over.?

Strategy aside, companies who have managers with high levels of emotional intelligence are far better equipped to survive the downturn, Watson said.

?When times are hard, that?s when you really find out how effective or ineffective your leaders and managers are,? he said.

?The good news is that emotional intelligence can be learned. And while there are many tools and tests available to find out where you could develop, improving your emotional intelligence is not rocket science. If managers are willing to be honest with themselves and to look at how they deal with challenges and with staff, they can make great strides in becoming more effective and ultimately, better managers,? Watson concluded.


management training emotional intelligence management consultancy, leadership
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