What is emotional Intelligence?

Emotional intelligence or EQ are the non-cognitive skills that make us personally and socially more competent and successful.  One can think of Emotional Intelligence as being made up of 4 areas that all begin with the letter S:

Self Awareness- Awareness of one’s emotions and using it to guide one’s behavior.  It is awareness of strengths and weaknesses and being confident in working towards goals.

Self Management- Ability to handle anger and frustration in a positive way and to put off immediate gratification in pursuit of a larger goal.  It is the ability to deal with stress without falling apart and to cope in healthy ways. It is adapting to changes easily and expressing motivation and optimism in the face of obstacles.

Social Awareness- Ability to see things from another’s point of view and to see a situation accurately.  It is also one’s involvement and willingness to work with others for the common good of the group.

Social Skills- Ability to develop and maintain close relationships which involves honesty and trustworthiness.  It is one’s skill in working with others: communication, cooperation, assertiveness and negotiation of differences. This area of EQ includes the leadership skills of influencing and developing others.

Why is it important?
                                    
One’s IQ can predict how successful one will be in school but not in life.  In the 1990s Daniel Goleman wrote 2 books, Emotional Intelligence (1995) and Working with Emotional Intelligence (1998) in which he popularized how important these skills are in career success.  He documents years of research and examples on how these personal and social competencies are better predictors of personal and career success than one’s IQ.

Research performed on college campuses showed that students with high emotional intelligence were more likely to achieve a GPA of 3.0 and above as well as complete their degree (J.D. Parker, 2004).   It appears that high emotional intelligence enables students to use their IQ, education, and talents to excel above others.

Living in an emotionally intelligent way is being authentic and genuine.  If you have EQ it will follow in all areas of your life.  Emotionally intelligent leaders live their values and value their employees, thus inspiring them to bring out their best.

In his research at nearly 200 global companies, Goleman found direct ties between emotional intelligence and measurable business results.  He also emphasized that the best method for increasing one’s emotional intelligence is through coaching. (Harvard Business Review, 2004).
                                         
A random survey of 248 U.S. based Human Resource Managers demonstrated that 55% of their organizations use formal coaching as an employee development method (Society of Human Resource Management, 2005).

LINK:  To review more research on emotional intelligence go to:  www.eiconsortium.org

How is emotional intelligence measured and developed?
                       
Emotional intelligence can be measured using a tool such as the EQ – i which is a self assessment that can be taken online and produces a report that gives an EQ or emotional quotient score as well as 15 sub scores on the components that make up one’s EQ.

The subscales are:

The EQ – i report shows strengths and areas to improve to be more effective on the job as a performer, manager, or leader, thus achieving greater success for oneself and for the company.  A coaching plan can be developed to target growth steps, outline action steps and evaluate progress.

This assessment takes less than 30 minutes to complete which is followed by a 45 minute phone based coaching session to discuss report results and outline strategy to further develop skills. The assessment must be interpreted by a certified trainer.   Other shorter self scored assessments are available for group coaching or staff workshops. 

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• Companies wanting to improve communication and team building to enhance internal and external relationships
  
  
• Companies wanting to develop emotionally intelligent leaders to build teams, develop employees, and drive organizational goals
  
  
• Companies who want to provide staff development opportunities in this area for professional growth
  
  
• Executives who want to develop targeted skills and review business concerns and strategies with a confidential and objective partner
  
  
• HR managers who need coaching assistance to further develop key mangers and supervisors who are lacking in areas such as stress management, impulse control, interpersonal skills, etc. which directly impact team performance
  
  
• High schools and colleges who want to provide emotional skill development to enhance students’ academic success or teachers’ effectiveness
  
  
• College leadership groups who want their students to develop EQ skills to prepare  for their career and to set them apart from other graduates
  
  
• Individuals who want to sharpen their interpersonal skills for interviewing, presenting, and to strengthen their career performance
  

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• Enhanced employee and team effectiveness
• Higher productivity which leads to business results
• Improved morale through companies promoting personal and professional growth and maintaining leaders who know how to effectively manage their people
• Quality leadership which leads to quality organizations
• Improved self management skills in high school and college students which leads to better grades and retention in programs
• Build trust, collaboration, and communication which are all essential to good business
• Learning is experiential which individuals are more likely to retain and use after the training is completed

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• Seminars – educational and motivational
• Staff development workshops with individual, self scored assessments
• Training programs developed to target company needs and goals
•  Emotional Intelligence Assessments, including 360 and group reports
• Career and Leadership Assessments
• 1 on 1 Coaching
• Group Coaching

Proposals with pricing are developed based on particular needs and interests of companies and are available after the initial consultation.

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Pre and post test evaluations and/or assessments
Achievement of specific goals as established by client/company
Job performance measures
Feedback on evaluations given to subordinates, supervisors, team members 

~ “Dynamic speaker…easy to listen to.”
 
~ “Program was full of information-no wasted time.”
 
~ “Lisa has a great facilitation style. I felt very comfortable. I wanted more.”

~ “Lisa clearly modeled EQ!”

~ “I thought the most meaningful part of the workshop was on how I can improve my scores.  At such a young age there are many areas of my life that can be improved. By using her suggestions, I will be able to improve these areas.”

~ “I really liked the graphs and the 5 areas Lisa talked about. It was a powerful way to evaluate myself honestly.”

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