"We cannot solve the significant problems of today with the same level of thinking we used when we created them."  A. Einstein

The Challenge

Organizations and leaders on the cusp of effectiveness understand the concept of Emotional Intelligence (EI) and the critical role it plays in getting people to achieve, develop and produce at levels that result in the achievement of business objectives. Those leaders who fail to understand the importance of EI are at significant risk of failure as leaders and therefore become high risks to the effectiveness of their organizations. Leaders who understand, embrace and apply EI as a people management strategy have high potential for being effective leaders. They also become highly valuable to the future development of the organization they serve.

The Strategy

One of the first orders of business then is for effective leaders to ensure their front line supervisors have an Emotional Intelligence Orientation. Some people come by this orientation naturally; others must learn the rudiments of it to be effective on the job with their people. The fundamental characteristics of an EI Orientation include the following:

1. They must have a good understanding of themselves and an appreciation of how and why they bring value to their people and their organization. This includes having healthy personal values, knowledge of fundamental leadership principles and the ability to manage and conduct themselves in honorable and ethical ways.
    

2. They must agree with the principle that everyone, in general, has the ability to make important contributions to an organization. They also need a sense of how to go about finding out just what those contributions look like. This presumes an inclination toward highly developed interpersonal communication skills, including the ability to key in on the encouragements that reinforce the self-worth of individuals.
    

3. They also need an uncompromising determination to employ a variety of leadership styles as best fits the situation at hand. Daniel Goleman has identified the following styles typically employed: Coercive, Authoritative, Affiliative, Democratic, Pacesetting and Coaching. He concludes that "leaders who have mastered four or more - especially the authoritative, democratic, affiliative, and coaching styles, have the best climate and business performance." (Ref: Daniel Goleman, Harvard Business Review Reprint, March-April, Reprint Roo204. To acquire a copy of this important article, go to my web site www.jimjoseassociates.com, click on Links, then Harvard Business Review.)

In short, supervisors should be determined "people managers," who appreciate that the people with whom they work on a day-to-day basis are the most important resource of their organization and therefore must receive corresponding attention. Supervisors must ensure their people are developed and trained to do their job, given all of the resources they need to achieve the business objectives served by their tasks, and they must be made aware of the consequences of their performance, positive and negative. And, their performance must be managed deliberately and strategically. For a useful tool and format for managing performance go to www.jimjoseassociates.com, click on Strategies & Solutions, then Managing Employee Performance Through Performance Contracts, 13 January 2003.

Finally, supervisors must enroll their people in the strategic visioning of their organization. The next issue of Strategies & Solutions from Jim Jose will be devoted to this topic. Watch for it in mid-August. The September-October issue of Strategies & Solutions from Jim Jose will be devoted to Leading through Accountability. Look for it in late September.

Final Thoughts

Contact me to discuss designing and implementing a strategy for ensuring your supervisors have an Emotional Intelligence Orientation. E-mail me at jim@jimjoseassociates.com OR call me at 520 / 825 - 8015.

Also, you are invited to share your thoughts and opinions on this issue of Strategies & Solutions and, most of all, let me know the results after you've tried this strategy / solution.

Finally, please feel free to forward this Strategies & Solutions to your colleagues and encourage them to sign up for their own complimentary subscription at www.jimjoseassociates.com.

EDITOR'S NOTE

Strategies & Solutions is published by Jim Jose Associates LLC to help you develop more effective people, leaders and processes to positively impact your core business. Jim Jose, Ph.D., SPHR, is an organizational effectiveness and leadership strategist whose results-oriented, people-focused approach is valued by both public and private clients throughout the western US. For more information, visit www.jimjoseassociates.com

Copyright (c) 2004 Jim Jose Associates LLC. All rights reserved. We encourage you to reprint with appropriate credit.