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Emotional intelligence or EQ isn’t just an attribute; it’s a set of skills that anyone can learn through proper training and practice. Emotionally intelligent leaders are better at building stronger relationships, having more positive interactions, and communicating clearly to achieve their goals, whatever they may be. Want to build a community of emotionally intelligent leaders in your organization? Here are some suggestions on how to get started. 3 key traits of emotionally intelligent leadership Before you can build a community of emotionally intelligent leaders, you need to understand what makes such leaders. Research shows three key traits of emotionally intelligent leadership: Developing others, trustworthiness, and social sensitivity. If you want to know if your leadership operates with emotional intelligence, ask yourself these questions: Do I encourage people to succeed? Do I recognize their contributions? Do I help them grow? If so, you’re on your way toward becoming an emotionally intelligent leader. But what about you, as an individual? It’s not just about how you relate to others at work; it’s also about how you lead yourself. Are you trying new things in your job—and constantly pushing yourself out of your comfort zone? Are you open to feedback and constructive criticism from colleagues and those who lead you? And do you seek to understand before being understood? If so, then congratulations! You’re already on your way to developing emotionally intelligent leadership skills. Step 1: Embed emotional intelligence in your leaders First, it’s important to have an individual-level focus on emotional intelligence. You need to start by ensuring that all employees understand what emotional intelligence is and why it is important. It means providing learning experiences for each member of your organization so they can realize their strengths and weaknesses when it comes to emotional intelligence. It is key that leaders who model effective behavior toward their peers also receive similar training so they can share those skills with others in their team or community. The most successful organizations use peer assistance leadership programs where individuals train one another. These are proven models to help spread emotionally intelligent leadership throughout an organization quickly and effectively. Step 2: Embed emotional intelligence in your community members What’s interesting about Star Factor Coaching is that it doesn’t just teach people how to understand themselves and their co-workers better. It also helps them develop a deep awareness of their strengths and weaknesses as leaders and coaches them on when to step in or back off in certain situations, depending on what they do best. On top of that, Star Factor Coaching relies heavily on peer assistance leadership. In other words, group members help each other through various challenges by sharing insights gleaned from successes and failures at work (or elsewhere). The result? A better understanding for all community members of how everyone fits into a healthy team dynamic— – and what needs to change to make that happen. Step 3: Embed emotional intelligence in the way you communicate with everyone If your goal is to build an emotionally intelligent community, you need to focus on three key areas: Your tone with everyone Your word choice in conversation Your general disposition toward people You can watch how you’re coming across by videotaping yourself and your team. Then, use some tips from Dan Goleman’s book Primal Leadership or Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves; both will help increase empathy in an organization while also bringing out strong leadership skills within everyone on staff. Read, Marc Brackett’s Permission to Feel. It is a delightful, informative book that will deepen your understanding of our emotion skills and how we use them. Once you know and understand what makes an emotionally intelligent leader and what traits they should have to effectively lead others, you can build a community of such leaders.

Janet Patti, Ed.D. is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Star Factor Coaching, a leadership development organization grounded in the latest science and practice of emotional intelligence. Star Factor Coaching has been working with leaders, schools, and organizations for over a decade. In Janet’s role, she leads design and delivery of programs for leaders in Education, Healthcare, Business and related fields. Janet has been featured in a variety of articles and resources, some of which are listed here. Effectiveness of a Leadership Development Program that Incorporates Social and Emotional Intelligence for Aspiring School Leaders Personal, Professional Coaching: TransformingProfessional Development for Teacher and Administrative Leaders Creating Emotionally Intelligent Schools Leading With Emotional Intelligence Citizenship Competencies in Colombia: Learning from Policy and Practice

Team building is an essential part of any organization. Today’s leaders lead with authenticity and thrive on establishing a healthy work culture that encourages teamwork and collaboration. With a supportive, motivated team, you can inch closer to the organizational goals rapidly. Team building activities for employees can help you in this endeavor. Here are 4 team building activities you can try to boost your team’s spirit at work: #1 Tied together This activity promotes teamwork and develops active listening and problem-solving skills among employees. You only need a few cloth strips or shoelaces, and you’re good to go. Ask your team members to create a circle while standing facing each other. Now, tie their ankles to their neighbor’s ankles and ask them to complete a task within a time limit. It can be anything from wrapping a present to a group walk. See them doing things together and develop collaboration while having fun. #2 Blind drawing Another excellent activity to promote collaboration is blind drawing that requires two people to work in sync to finish the task. Divide people into small groups of two. Give a picture to one person and a pen and paper to the other. Ask the first person to elaborate it to the other and get it drawn on the paper without precisely defining the picture. For instance, if a man is eating a burger in the picture, the person cannot say “a man eating a burger.” This activity develops leadership skills in the person guiding the other person and improves communication. #3 Suddenly It is one of the most efficient team building activities for employees that can prepare your team members to face new challenges arising in projects all of a sudden. The best part is that you require nothing to conduct this activity. Ask your team to stand or sit, creating a circle. Pick a famous story and narrate the first three lines and say “suddenly.” As you do this, the person sitting next to you will again continue the story to the following three lines and pass it on. Keep everyone thinking and listening while teaching them how to face challenges they come across suddenly. #4 Flip it over If you’re looking for a more creative option with minimal preparation, this one’s for you. Get a tarp of the size of a table cloth and build teamwork and problem-solving skills in a fun manner. Ask your team members to stand on the tarp and flip it without getting off the tarp. Want to make it more challenging? Ask them to use their feet only! This game makes the participants look for creative ways to perform a task together. As you see, all the team members have to make sure that none of them gets off the tarp. In a nutshell An organization thrives when its team members work in sync and come together to achieve a common goal. To ensure this, it is essential to develop effective practices that keep employees engaged and motivated at work. The above team building activities for employees can help bring your team members closer and develop essential communication and interpretation skills.

There is no doubt about the fact that the business world has become quite competitive and intense in today’s time. Managers and leaders need to have qualities such as integrity, courage, vision, humility, etc., Education is always challenging, in that educators are entirely overwhelmed and burnt out. Healthcare’s demands on nurses and doctors, especially during a worldwide pandemic has perhaps made this the most challenging field of all? To successfully lead teams and departments toward the objectives requires an investment in emotional intelligence However, it is rather surprising to observe that in spite of its significance, many leaders do not invest time in learning about emotional intelligence. It is good to have intelligence, skills, knowledge, and expertise about your business. However, if you lack the ability to connect with your own emotions and the emotions of others, all the aforementioned qualities would not be enough to make you a top leader. In simpler terms, you need to possess the ability or capacity to be aware of your emotions, know how to control them, and express them effectively. It also includes knowing how to deal with interpersonal relationships judiciously. In this blog, we will tell you some common mistakes that leaders make with emotional intelligence. Try to steer clear of them if you want to successfully lead your team. Let’s take a look at those mistakes. Becoming Inaccessible as A Leader Leaders who are not able to control their own emotional state will struggle to deal with their team members, mentees, and colleagues emotionally. Emotional intelligence is primarily about becoming aware about our own emotions. Once you become aware of them, you gradually start to regulate them and express them clearly. Yes, it is true that negative experiences in life may make us guarded and reserved but if you become that, you will unknowingly become inaccessible as a leader. Emotional intelligence is necessary in the workplace because it brings transparency, openness, and vulnerability, all of which are required in a leader. Assuming Emotional Intelligence Is an Innate Quality Some leaders make the mistake of assuming that emotional intelligence is a quality that only some people have. They think of it as an innate quality, which is not true at all. When you hold this view, you lose the ability to influence the EI of those around you. Anybody can learn emotional intelligence as it is a learnable skill. If you’ve learned it and wish to teach it to your team members or colleagues, firstly you shouldn’t assume they can’t learn it and secondly you should try to make an impact on them by demonstrating emotional intelligence. How do you do that? By becoming self-aware, controlling your emotions, showing empathy, dealing with conflicts calmly, and respecting others around you. Ignoring Or Putting Off Your Own Needs Again, emotional intelligence starts with you. Before you begin to positively influence others around you, you should first focus on yourself. As a leader, it is essential for you to take some time out once a day or at least every couple of days to sit down and ask yourself,” how am I feeling and why am I feeling this way”, without any judgement. You need to ask yourself whether my emotions are affecting others around me or not. Doing this is necessary because it allows us to become more aware of our emotions and control how it affects others around us. Now, it is important to understand that it is not easy to learn emotional intelligence on your own. You can try and you may even learn it, but it is always better to seek help from those who are experts in this intelligence. When you learn emotional intelligence from experts, you won’t make the above-mentioned mistakes. If interested, you can get in touch with Star Factor Coaching for social emotional learning and professional development training. Our goal is to bring out a leader’s best self. To know more about our services in detail, call us at 917-474-6952 or 914-8936-954.

No matter what field of leadership you work in, you’ve probably heard the word leadership tossed around quite a bit, but have you ever stopped to think about what leadership really means? Leadership skills are some of the most sought-after qualities in business professionals today, but the fact that leadership skills are in such high demand doesn’t mean they’re easy to come by. Leading a team can be challenging, especially if you’re not naturally inclined to take on the role and aren’t sure how to succeed in it. That being said, there are also some common myths about leadership that might prevent you from finding success in your endeavors as a leader, which is why it’s important to recognize and dispel these misconceptions before you start trying to lead your organization in the wrong direction. Here are a few myths about leadership that can make your transition to management more difficult than it has to be. Leaders are Born, Not Made There’s no doubt that some people seem to have natural leadership skills-they’re charismatic, assertive, and highly motivated to take charge. But contrary to popular belief, leadership is not a personality trait. Instead, it’s a skill set that can be taught and learned. If you want to become a leader in your field or just lead better in general at work or in your own organization, you’ll need to master specific skills of leadership, including communication (both verbal and nonverbal), giving effective feedback, and influencing others effectively and more. Resorting to professional leadership coaching is a great way to sharpen your leadership skills. Good Leader Know it All Too many leaders believe that they have to know everything before they take a leadership role. It’s fine to seek out expertise, but you don’t need to be an expert at everything, and you definitely don’t need to pretend like you are. This allows others in your team more opportunities to grow and gain confidence in their roles. As soon as you understand that it’s not about having all of the answers but rather guiding your team towards finding them, you can garner their confidence and trust while being an effective leader. Leaders Cannot Express Their Vulnerabilities One common misconception about leadership is that leaders must have a ‘tough skin’ or pretend to be very strong in front of others. This notion is false because being vulnerable helps your team trust you more. Hiding your weaknesses and mistakes makes it appear like you’re unable to grow or improve. If people believe they can be honest with you, they’ll feel more comfortable bringing problems or potential issues to your attention. If your employees can be open with you, then any conflict between departments won’t spiral out of control when you’re unaware of what’s going on behind closed doors. Leaders Should Always Lead the Way Many people believe that leadership means you should lead, or guide others, to accomplish a goal. While your employees may want you to direct them on how to complete a task, realize that when leading any team, it’s important to give people enough autonomy so they can take ownership of their roles. This way, your employees will be motivated and feel like they have contributed in some way toward achieving a common goal. In a world where everybody is trying to make their mark, leadership is often associated with bold, daring moves and aggression. However, being able to see through opportunities and risks instead of making hasty decisions can actually be a better sign of leadership. If you’re committed to inspiring your team and treading new paths in your professional life, get in touch with us today!