Agility is more than a buzzword. Ask any elite athlete, law enforcement officer or other professional where adjusting and adapting under pressure is not a luxury but a requirement. Now more than ever agility is required in organizations. The marketplace is constantly changing based on macro forces like technology, globalization, competition, and things like COVID-19 which not only could not be predicted but are certainly outside our control. We must be ready for challenges we could not have imagined or predicted a few years ago.
Emotional intelligence (EQ) and Agility
Emotional intelligence refers to the ability to read the emotional and interpersonal needs of a situation and respond appropriately; agility is the ability to do that even if it’s difficult. Everyone can adapt to some situations, but others will be outside their comfort zone and more difficult.
Value of EQ in the Workplace
I think we all recognize the importance of EQ in theory. In fact, in a recent survey by Wiley & Sons, 86% of managers, directors and executives said EQ is a bigger factor in organizational success than it was five years ago. Managers spend more time on interpersonal issues which shape the employee experience, the culture and hit the bottom line. It is one thing to understand the importance of EQ but quite another to know how to develop it in individuals let alone a whole organization.
A Starting Place
Developing a scalable solution regardless of the size of your organization takes the right tools, training, and overall sustainable plan. Using Everything DiSC® Agile EQ™ for the assessment and initial training is a good start. The goal of Agile EQ is to empower employees from individual contributors to executives to move comfortably between eight mindsets, to become more agile. It shows each employee their strengths or starting place and then provides “effort meters” that show precisely how challenging each mindset is for them and specific steps to develop and become more adept at the mindsets outside their comfort zone.
We recently had the privilege of utilizing this with a local court and a group of elite athletes and executives. The stories of application continue to come in with individuals practicing mindsets that prior to the training had been outside their comfort zone. They are becoming more agile with options, allowing them to deal with situations in ways they would not have previously.
Making it Sustainable
What if…you were to invest in the assessment and training for all your current workers and then embed that same assessment and training into your onboarding moving forward? Would it be worth it from an ROI perspective? Statistics show that it would. Being competitive today and tomorrow means developing yourself and your employees to adapt to whatever they are faced with in real time. This requires sustainable solutions, not one and done or the flavor or program of the month. If your organization is large enough to have your own trainers, we can certify them to administer and deliver the program. Regardless of the size of your organization, you can get started.
To learn more about how you can develop agile workers and an agile organization, schedule a free consult by reaching out to me, janet@berkshiregroupinc.com.
Elements of Emotional Intelligence are the Building Blocks of Agility
