Developing emotional intelligence
to achieve business outcomes
Dr Rob Yeung
Talentspace Limited
Armstrong House
11a Chancellors Street
London W6 9RN, U.K.
Tel: + 44 (0)20 8748 4764
www.talentspace.co.uk 19th February 2019
Dr Rob Yeung: evidence-based leadership and
performance advice
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Agenda
§ Appreciating the importance of emotions
§ Monitoring and managing emotions in yourself
§ Understanding and managing emotions in others
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Agenda
§ Appreciating the importance of emotions
§ Monitoring and managing emotions in yourself
§ Understanding and managing emotions in others
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To what extent do you agree/disagree with these
common beliefs about success at work?
Common belief Evidence-based reality
Being smart is enough Intelligence and technical knowledge “get you in the
for career success door” – and do not lead to better performance
Feelings don’t belong at We feel emotions constantly irrespective of whether
work we believe they should have a place at work
Feelings do not affect Emotions directly affect productivity; a leader’s
results emotions are contagious and do impact others
Successful individuals Successful people actively manage their emotional
thrive on pressure/stress well-being and therefore long-term effectiveness
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Ensure you can manage yourself before you try to
manage others
Relationship management
by influencing others and managing conflict
Other/social awareness
of other people’s energy and emotions
Self-management
of own energy, emotion, behaviour
Self awareness
of own strengths, limitations, emotions
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Agenda
§ Appreciating the importance of emotions
§ Monitoring and managing emotions in yourself
§ Understanding and managing emotions in others
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How many affective words can you name?
§ Understand that greater granularity helps you to be more precise
in identifying your emotions
– And ultimately helps you to manage your emotions better – as
well as emotions in other people
As an exercise, write down as many negative
emotions as you can.
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Develop your emotional granularity
§ Describe how you feel, e.g. “stressed”
§ Then push yourself to describe the feelings more specifically
– E.g. “stressed” becomes “anxious and resentful” or “happy”
becomes “satisfied and eager”
§ Work out the underlying reason(s) you feel that way
– E.g. “John blamed me for something that wasn’t entirely my
fault” rather than “John and I don’t get on”
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Use affect labelling to dampen negative emotions
§ Use the phrase “I am experiencing a feeling of…”
§ Do this to remind yourself that you are not your emotion – and
that it is transient and will pass
– Or try: “I am experiencing a feeling of… – but I know that it is
temporary and will pass.”
Consider that this simple act has measurable effects
on activity within the amygdala.
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Become more aware of your emotions and their
impacts using the traffic light method
§ RED
– Stop! Label the emotion you are feeling
§ AMBER
– Consider what the emotion is making you want to do or not do
§ GREEN
– Reflect on a more helpful way of responding
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Agenda
§ Appreciating the importance of emotions
§ Monitoring and managing emotions in yourself
§ Understanding and managing emotions in others
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Consider that there are at least ten distinct positive
emotions
§ Joy § Pride
§ Interest § Amusement
§ Serenity/calm § Inspiration
§ Hope § Awe
§ Gratitude § Affection/care/love
Aim gently to nudge others into these positive states.
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Reflect regularly on the emotional nature of your
interactions
§ For your lengthiest one-on-one interactions each day, evaluate:
– What were the main emotions the other person felt?
– What emotions did you feel?
– To what extent were you in sync with that individual? Rate
yourself from 1 to 10 for level of sync
At the end of a week, reflect: what might you do
differently?
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Consider common mistakes in managing others’
emotions
§ Be careful not to nudge another person into a less negative
emotion too quickly
§ Be mindful of both words and non-verbal communication (body
language, i.e. tone, facial expressions, behaviour)
– Try to validate / allow space / show compassion
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Agenda
§ Appreciating the importance of emotions
§ Monitoring and managing emotions in yourself
§ Understanding and managing emotions in others
§ Final thoughts
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Consider that gains in your emotional intelligence
will be proportional to your investment in it
§ To improve your emotional skills (and therefore your performance
and leadership effectiveness), make it a priority
§ Accept that improvement does not come from mere
understanding of the concepts or good intentions
– Like improving your piano playing or golf swing - you need to
practise, not just understand
Make a plan: what will you do and when?
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Finally, consider that emotional intelligence is an
eminently improvable set of skills
§ Begin by monitoring and managing your own emotions and their
impacts on you and others
– E.g. use affect labelling or
§ Pay deliberate attention to others’ emotions – and the extent to
which you are in tune with others
§ Understand that the payoffs will grow in relation to time working
on the skills – not your mere understanding of the concepts
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