CEO Chronicles # 22 : EQ In The Time Of Corona February 18th, 2020
The Perfect Employee and Emotional Intelligence
In #ceochronicles article 22, we asked, ‘What qualities make up a perfect employee?’
We listed out the four main qualities of a PERRfect employee are –
- Proactivity
- Emotional Intelligence
- Reliability, and
- Resilience
Once we identified these qualities, you asked, sometimes nicely and sometimes impatiently,
- What the heck is Emotional Intelligence?
- How does it help?
- How do I get it?
Many years ago, I asked these very same questions! The answers changed my life in more ways than I ever imagined…
To answer first the question,
What is Emotional Intelligence?
We don’t need to look too far away or too far back.
“Singapore Government raises DORSCON Level to Orange!” said the headline.
Peter panicked.
“This is terrible!” he screamed at his wife. “We will run out of food and essentials! There is no place to run! We need to barricade ourselves! We need to protect ourselves! How can God do this to us? It must be all those nasty immigrants!”
By the end of the day, Peter and his wife,
Purchased as many noodles packets (200) and as much rice (50 kgs) as they could and stocked up on 40 cartons of bottled water.
Bought as many toilet paper rolls as possible.
Obtained (from a grey market source) 2,000 face masks.
Obtained (from the same grey market source) 60 bottles of hand sanitiser.
Had fights with all the shops and markets they went to, when they were told that there is a limit on the number of items they could purchase.
Carried all their purchases from the car to their apartment in suitcases so that no one would know what or how much they had.
In the coming days, Peter spent his time avidly following social media stories and news and becoming more worried and scared. He also forwarded and shared many scary stories and anecdotes with everyone he knew.
Two days later, he heard that one of the apartments in his condo had a suspected case. He told his wife, and they agreed that they would not go anywhere near that apartment (or that block!).
When one of his neighbours mentioned on WhatsApp that he had run out of masks, Peter sent out a message saying that he, too, had run out of masks and sanitiser.
When his neighbours put together a watch group to sanitise the elevators and common areas, Peter smiled grimly and waited for them to fall sick.
“Singapore Government raises DORSCON Level to Orange!” said the headline.
Paul pondered.
“This is terrible!” he said to his wife. “This is going to affect all of us individually and as a country. I hope we will be able to work together to deal with this problem calmly.”
“What should we do,” his wife asked. “Do we need to hurry and buy masks and food?”
“Let’s first understand the situation properly,” said Paul.
Over the next few days, Paul and his wife,
Spoke to all their relatives and friends, and assured them that all would be fine.
Read as much as they could about the Corona Virus and its spread and impacts.
Shared relevant information with their networks to calm some of their friends down.
Evaluated what they had at home and calculated that they had enough for a week, or even two weeks if they were economical.
Visited the family of a suspected case in their condo, and offered their help.
Helped put together a watch group to disinfect the elevators and common areas.
Shared their extra stock of masks and hand sanistiser with a neighbour who had run out.
Continued to stay in touch with their friends and relatives, asking if anyone needed help.
Did you spot the differences?
Paul, even though in the exact same situation as Peter, acted differently.
He was self-aware. He did not panic or give in to fear.
Paul controlled his emotions. He did not react without thought.
Paul knew what he wanted and why. He planned the way forward.
He cared. And looked beyond himself.
He recognized others’ needs and helped. He stepped up and added value.
This is the essence of Emotional Intelligence. Our ability to know ourselves, control ourselves, understand our and others’ motivations, empathise and care.
Who would you prefer as a neighbour or a colleague or as a boss?
I know that I would much rather have Paul, any day, any where, any time.
How does Emotional Intelligence help?
As we saw, in the stark difference between Peter and Paul, Emotional Intelligence helps you be calm, serene and thoughtful, even in the most dire of situations.
Emotionally intelligent employees are dependable and reliable.
They look at the whole picture and act with thought and planning.
Such employees understand not just their own needs, but the needs and requirements of others around them.
They recognize that ‘no man is an island’ and put their team or community ahead of themselves.
By doing all this, they build an amazing reputation. Their colleagues respect them. Their peers recognize them as leaders. The entire team (or organization) looks to them in times of crisis.
Being Emotionally Intelligent sets you apart and puts you ahead.
How do I become Emotionally Intelligent?
There are 8 steps to becoming Emotionally Intelligent.
These include –
- Understanding your emotions and tapping into them
- Seeing the links between your emotions and your behaviour
- Accepting yourself
- Planning your behaviour
- Knowing what you want and why you want it
- Learning to open your mind
- Understanding others and recognizing how they feel
- Measuring the impact of your behaviour on others
Since this article is already quite long, may we dig deeper into these 8 steps in the next article?
In the meantime, if you are eager to know more, do check this link out – a 2 minute video and a superb summary of the 5 components of Emotional Intelligence.
The Eight-Step Path To Inner Peace…
Being Emotionally Intelligent is more than about doing well in your career.
It makes you calmer, helps you de-stress, and leads to a deep feeling of happiness, with yourself and with others.
Being Emotionally Intelligent makes you more positive, more accessible, more likable and more reliable – all of which lead to your fulfilling your belonging and esteem needs, thus leading to a life full of contentment and satisfaction and inner peace.
****
If you believe you are Emotionally Intelligent, pat yourself on the back, click like and comment, “YES!”. If you do not believe so, let’s start our journey together today.
Cheers | Shesh | Singapore | 18 February 2020.
Post Script :
- For other interesting CEO Chronicles click here.
- Follow me so that you don’t miss the next issue of CEO Chronicles.
#ceochronicles #careeradvice #careers #bestadvice #hiringandpromotion #personaldevelopment #success #leadership
