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Ask Ashley - Take 5 

Greetings! Welcome to this week's edition of Ask Ashley! This week we are going to discuss Emotional Intelligence. 

I know… ANOTHER blog about the importance of emotional intelligence. 

Blah…blah…blah. 

This topic is essential and can be the difference between a great culture vs. the “pizza party” culture.  

So without further ado… EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE. ::insert drum roll:: 

Self-awareness: Be aware of your emotions as they arise. 

Honestly, this is the most important as a manager, leader, and peer. Your emotions as a leader directly affect the performance of your team. It is so easy to get wrapped up in the feeling of a situation, you are human, and there is nothing wrong with that. 

However, what is wrong is you projecting that emotion on your employees. 

Self-Regulation: Manage your impulses, soothe yourself, and respond appropriately. 

Once you can identify the emotion, how you deal with it is how your staff will react when they have that emotion. For example, if you are upset about a situation that did not go right and your response is to talk badly about someone who handled that situation, YOU then make it ok for your staff to gossip and talk badly about others. This could be detrimental to your culture! 

Take a minute, gather your thoughts, and respond professionally. 

Self-Motivation: Delay gratification, stay motivated & persistent in the face of setbacks. 

This means channeling your emotions into productivity. Sometimes I was the angriest when I did my best work, but it was not sustainable. While anger can be a great motivator, it's a negative emotion that becomes tiresome and is not a healthy way to manage your workload OR your staff. Also, who wants an angry boss?? Hard pass. 10/10 do not recommend. 

Once you identify and regulate, you can work towards moving forward. It’s simple once you can channel that emotion. It also shows that you can find positivity in the worst situations. 

Empathy: Understand others’ feelings, needs, wants, and concerns. 

This is the word that every customer service professional should be able to identify with in some capacity. And it’s key to any great culture. Remembering that people are human helps you build meaningful relationships, lead, and provide a safe environment for your staff. 

Find ways to teach empathy. Find ways to practice empathy. Make this a core value in any way possible. This - empathy - is critical to the success of any organization and team. 

Relationship Management: Manage others’ emotions, organize groups, and negotiate solutions. 

Are you here to help solve the problem, or are you here to add fuel to the fire? As a leader, you must learn how to build healthy relationships with your staff and SHOW them how to have healthy relationships among themselves. 

When faced with a problem or stressful situation, it helps to manage others' emotions about the situation. They are human also, and allowing people to acknowledge their emotions helps them move past their feeling and look for a solution. Once you’ve helped your staff identify their emotion and let them have room to self-regulate, you can work together to solve the problem. 

Look, emotional intelligence isn’t rocket science, but it is something that we have to work towards continuously. There are a ton of different ways to train your staff and make this part of your culture! Take the time to do so! You’ll have your employees feeling empowered instead of leaving them with emotional damage. 

And, of course, use Crewhu. Literally one of the best decisions you could make to engrain these concepts into your culture. Duh. 

Until next time, 

Ask Ashley - That is me!