Gabriel Medina* says building an emotionally intelligent team is not as simple as bringing emotionally intelligent individuals together.
Photo: Meo
When the concept of emotional intelligence was first introduced, it caused a massive change in the way managers perceived their role.
The term emotional intelligence (EQ) characterised what many leaders had already felt about the way teams interacted.
This caused people to perceive the difference between the role of EQ and IQ in a productive work environment.
Consequently, this led to a transformation in the way managers executed their responsibilities and managed their teams.
Today, there have been numerous studies conducted into discovering more about emotional intelligence.
Researchers have been able to gather a lot of information surrounding many aspects of emotional intelligence.
Studies on emotional intelligence have made several positive contributions to helping organisations achieve higher productivity.
What is emotional intelligence?
According to Daniel Goleman, emotional intelligence in individuals is the ability to manage one’s self and one’s relationships.
This means the ability to understand and manage one’s emotions.
And the ability to understand and influence the emotions of others.
In his book, Emotional Intelligence, Goleman talks about the five main pillars for developing emotional intelligence in individuals.
These five pillars are self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills.
He states that in order to be an emotionally intelligent individual we should work on improving all five of these areas.
Benefits of emotional intelligence in groups
Emotional intelligence is not the same in groups as individuals.
In groups, there are more dynamics that contribute to changes in the way people interact.
Learning to manage these dynamics is key to having a collaborative and productive team.
Building an emotionally intelligent team is not as simple as bringing emotionally intelligent individuals together.
You must learn to develop emotional intelligence within the group that fuels growth for each of the individuals involved.
The benefits of doing this can result in higher productivity, improved quality of work, and greater overall satisfaction with other team members.
Here are some of the most common benefits of developing emotional intelligence in teams or groups.
More work is achieved by emotionally intelligent teams
A study conducted by Cross, Rebele, and Grant reveals that collaboration among individuals at work has increased by over 50 per cent in the last 20 years.
This means that learning to work well with others is a crucial part of being productive in today’s society.
Groups that are emotionally intelligent tend to perform better on collaborative tasks.
They tend to get more work done and achieve meaningful results as a team.
Greater contribution from team members
The same study found that in most cases 20–35 per cent of the value added to a project came from only 3–5 per cent of the team members.
This means that the majority of contributions came from only a few individuals.
Groups who possess high levels of emotional intelligence tend to receive more contributions from individual team members.
Team members are more likely to participate and add value to the project in a number of different ways.
Improved relationships among individuals
Individuals who are a part of emotionally intelligent groups also tend to have better relationships.
Several of the dynamics that cause emotionally intelligent groups to work together contributes to the overall happiness of their team members.
Individuals who participate in these groups experience more inclusiveness, constructive feedback, and the opportunity to make a positive difference.
This results in team members feeling understood and appreciated.
How to develop emotional intelligence in groups
In a breakthrough study conducted by Vanessa Urch Druskat and Steven B. Wolff, they were able to find a reliable model for developing emotional intelligence in groups.
During their research, they studied hundreds of different organisations looking for a model that contributed to emotional intelligence among groups.
Eventually, they were to find a company, IDEO, that possessed a reliable model for developing emotional intelligence among their team members.
They found three main conditions that were essential for promoting group effectiveness: trust among members, a sense of group identity, and a sense of group efficacy.
Whenever these three factors were present in a team or organisation the individuals performed better.
They were more likely to get along and to produce a higher quality of work.
Now, this doesn’t mean that group members can’t participate and cooperate without these conditions.
However, they are less effective in accomplishing their goals.
A key finding from this study also reveals that it’s necessary to establish norms to promote emotional intelligence within groups.
Norms help to establish an environment in which group members are respected and can participate.
Establishing norms that encourage self-awareness around member’s emotional status, strengths and weaknesses, modes of interaction, and task processes have been shown to improve group efficacy and emotional intelligence.
Druskatt and Wolff found five methods that contribute to establishing norms within groups.
These five methods are formal team leaders, informal team leaders, courageous followers, training, and large organisational culture.
Having a strong combination of these five factors encourages emotional intelligence within participating groups.
Last, Druskatt and Wolff found three levels of interactions among groups.
These three levels of interaction are the individual’s emotions, group emotions, and emotions outside of the group.
Learning to establish norms across these three levels of interaction is essential for developing emotional intelligence among group members.
Developing emotionally intelligent groups is essential for every organisation.
Promoting emotional intelligence among team members can produce higher levels of productivity, better results, and greater camaraderie.
Together, these fuel innovation and problem-solving skills that are necessary for any institution to be effective.
Learning to develop emotional intelligence among your group members can help you to bring out the best in your team members and achieve greater quality results.
* Gabriel Medina helps people start and grow profitable online businesses.
This article first appeared at medium.com.
