\n\tEMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND INNOVATION<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tIn today’s world of ever-increasing technology disruption, companies that aren’t able to innovate may not exist in 10 or 20 years. Think of the fate of Kodak, Blockbuster, Atari, and even taxi companies. According to the Harvard Business Review article: “Today, decisions are made so quickly that organizations no longer can rely on timeconsuming, top-down decision-making and orders dictated from above. More often, individuals must collaborate with each other to solve problems and develop innovative solutions on their own.”<\/p>\n

\n\tWe’re all naturally creative. Everyone has ideas on how to improve the organization. We all like to have input into things that are important to us. If we’re not using our creativity and innovating, it’s because an emotion is holding us back.<\/p>\n

\n\tMost of us have a number of emotional responses to various events during the day: an unexpected request, a client demand, a comment or an e-mail, or a look from another person. When we have this reaction, our emotional system causes us to lose thinking capacity and working memory. We then lose perspective and cannot create as many options or solutions—we lose our ability to innovate. When we have an emotional response, we have a “need to be right,” and are no longer able to consider other solutions. We become tied to “we’ve always done it this way,” and resistant to new ideas and change.<\/p>\n

\n\tLet’s say a client calls and complains, and then threatens to take their business elsewhere. The team has an emotional response, looks at who’s at fault, focuses on justifying their actions, starts blaming, and moves to right\/wrong thinking. This has a serious impact on trust and collaboration, impairing the organization’s ability to respond to the client. If team members have learned to manage their emotions, they are able to avoid these destructive behaviors and keep the outcome in mind. They come up with creative solutions, solve the problem, and keep the client’s business.<\/p>\n

\n\tAnother example where emotions can stifle innovation: Your organization wants people to share their ideas in meetings. The reason people don’t share their ideas is they often are afraid someone might get upset if they challenge old ways of doing things or they are afraid their idea will be rejected. Once they learn to understand their emotions, and manage them, people are more likely to overcome the fear that keeps them from speaking up. Leaders also can learn how to create an environment where people are willing to take the risk and share their ideas—even when it comes in the form of critical feedback.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe EI-based skills of managing our own emotions and creating psychological safety for others are the keys to fostering great innovation.<\/p>\n

\n\tIT’S NOT EASY, BUT IT’S CRITICAL TO YOUR FUTURE WORKFORCE<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\tAccording to Harvard research, only 18 percent of companies have Emotional Intelligence ingrained in their culture and only 10 percent actually measure the level of EI in their organization.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhy are these numbers so low? It goes back to the third industrial revolution. “Most people value EI capabilities, but organizational processes and systems can work against them. The challenge goes back to Taylorism in the 19th century and the drive for efficiency on the assembly line. Achieving that efficiency included monitoring people with stopwatches. People were basically cogs in a machine that should be made as efficient as possible,” according to Annie McKee, senior fellow at the University of Pennsylvania School of Education.<\/p>\n

\n\tFast forward 100 years and machines now are running the assembly lines—not to mention a whole bunch of other things—leaving humans to focus on the roles that require social and emotional mastery. McKinsey predicts that time spent at work using these kinds of skills will increase by 26 percent by 2030 across all industries. That outpaces all other human functions, including physical labor and cognitive skills.<\/p>\n

\n\tForward-thinking organizations are cultivating Emotional Intelligence skills in their employees to strengthen the relationships they have with their employees and their customers, and to foster greater innovation and agility. As the Harvard Business Review<\/em> article states, “Outstanding interpersonal and leadership skills are a ‘must have’ if organizations are going to keep pace with their competitors and the social cultures they inhabit.”<\/p>\n

\n\tEmotional Intelligence is the critical skill your organization needs to develop in its workforce in order to survive—and thrive—in the continuing technology revolution we are facing over the coming decades.<\/p>\n