Twenty years ago, the idea of emotions having an impact on personal and professional success, productivity and performance was given a new name: emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence (EI), first defined in an article by psychologists Peter Salovey and John Mayer, is “the subset of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and actions.” Popularized and expanded by Daniel Goleman, EI or EQ (aka Emotional Quotient) has remained relevant in the fields of organizational development and leadership development. It is worth noting however that in terms of the evolution of organizational development, the concept of emotional awareness is still in its infancy.
Robert K. Cooper stated “Your emotional memory provides a high gear that stimulates forceful self-regulated action for making new choices that move you toward what really matters in life.” Being aware of your emotions means being able to manage them and manage them appropriately. While you can stimulate, inspire, and detect emotions in others, you cannot control their emotions. Only they can manage theirs, and you, yours.
When you are emotionally aware, you are conscious of others’ emotions and are more able to bring out the best of their behaviour and performance. When you are emotionally unaware, you cannot relate well to others and engage them, and you are more likely to cause dissatisfaction, conflict, and performance dysfunction.
In today’s knowledge-based organizations employees must use their higher-level brain function to achieve performance objectives, and higher-level brain function is not possible with low-level negative emotions. As a leader, not only must you be a master of your own emotions, you must also know and understand the emotional makeup of the people you lead.
The skill of Positive Presence is your innate ability to adjust for and create a positive and energized mindset through conscious thought processes and seeks to enhance the development of positive high-level emotions and drive productive behaviour patterns.
As leaders, it is your duty to be creating a positive and energized environment within which to work. Emotional awareness, Emotional Intelligence and Behaviour intelligence are just three of the many skills that we need for high-level performance in today’s knowledge-based organizations. The skill of Positive Presence and the Positive Presence Behaviour competencies are critical for any team, department, or organizational transformation.
CORPORATE HARMONY is grateful to Dr. Michael E. Frisina for his contributions to this entry.
Catherine is the President and CEO of CORPORATE HARMONY, providing virtual solutions for leadership development and organizational culture change. Her leadership and coaching experience as a Project Manager in an ever-changing, fast moving technological organization with unrelenting demands drove her to the realization that a positive mindset and strength-building behaviors are essential for today’s complex and chaotic organizational systems. CORPORATE HARMONY’s virtual platform of programs, coaching and performance measurement, is an innovative online technology of tested proprietary content. The world-class content of CORPORATE HARMONY’s Positive Presence Program develops the skill of ‘Positive Presence’ and the necessary ‘Positive Presence Behaviour Competencies’ for maintaining a positive and energized mindset and increased performance in today’s complex work environment, and leading to a culture of collaboration and connection. Catherine’s vision for Corporate Harmony is to bring the skill of “Positive Presence” to the corporate world as it becomes more complex, ambiguous and chaotic. Catherine is uniquely positioned to impact organizations’ productivity and long term success, with her powerful vision of eliminating bad stress from every workplace around the globe, bringing purpose into the people equation to promote healthy, productive and meaningful work cultures and turn the tide on the neglect of mental health on a global scale. Catherine is author of the book: “CORPORATE HARMONY – The Performance Link for Today’s Modern Organization” Catherine can be reached at: Catherine.Osborne@corporateharmony.ca or go to ‘contact us’ on our website www.corporateharmony.ca. Catherine is available for consultation, and can be reached by 519-695-3407.