The Missing Ingredient to Professional Success

Do you know some perfectly smart people who keep getting in their own way of professional success? Maybe the guy in logistics who’s really great at his job, but consistently offends just about everyone around him. Or, how about the brilliant woman in IT who never says “no” to anyone, resulting in her working 24/7 to get all of her work done and doesn’t understand why no one works as hard as she does. Maybe you’ve had that feeling for years that “something’s gotta give,” but can’t figure out what that “something” is.

So, what’s the solution? Improve Social and Emotional Intelligence (S&EI).

Dr. Laura Belsten from the Institute for Social and Emotional Intelligence defines S&EI as “the ability to be aware of our own emotions and those of others, in the moment, and to use that information to manage ourselves and manage our relationships.” Unlike IQ which is relatively fixed, it has been proven that almost everyone is capable of raising their EQ (emotional quotient). In his article “What Makes a Leader?” (Harvard Business Review, January 2004), Daniel Goleman reports that after analyzing psychological studies of highly effective leaders, “emotional intelligence proved to be twice as important” as technical skills and IQ in distinguishing star performers.

Belsten identifies four main areas of S&EI, two related to ourselves and two related to relationships:

Personal Competencies – determine how we manage ourselves

• Self-Awareness - Knowing one’s internal states, preferences, resources, and intuitions
• Self-Management - Managing ones’ internal states, impulses, and resources

Social competencies – determine how we handle relationships

• Social Awareness – Other Awareness – Awareness of others feelings, needs, and concerns
• Social Skills – Relationship Management – adeptness at inducing desirable responses in others

How do you improve S&EI?

Step 1 – raise your awareness of your EQ. One of the easiest ways to do this is to use an assessment like SEIP™ to get your S&EI profile. The assessment can be taken by an individual, members of a team can each take one, or there is the option of doing a 360 version where multiple people assess one person. By understanding how you rank on 26 S&EI attributes, you can focus on strengthening your weaker areas.

Step 2 – after you have identified areas that could use some strengthening, work with a coach who is trained in S&EI to change your patterns. A trained coach has the tools and techniques to shed more light on an area, help you find new ways of approaching your beliefs and emotions, and keeping you on course for sustainable change.

Ready to put S&EI to work for you and your business?

Contact me today to schedule an assessment and review of your SEIP™ at Info@CoachSJ.com