Our emotions significantly influence our communication because our psychological needs shape our behavior. Emotional intelligence (EQ) is the skill of recognizing and managing our own emotions and understanding how to respond to different situations. People with high emotional intelligence can understand the emotions of others, enabling them to manage their relationships effectively.
Strong relationships are essential for success in both professional and personal settings. However, maintaining healthy relationships requires effective communication, and conflicts can arise. Emotional intelligence improves communication by enhancing listening skills and promoting self-control—key components in building strong relationships. Successful relationships can greatly impact teams, organizations, and other areas of life.
Becoming More Emotionally Intelligence With Agile EQ
There are several ways to become emotionally intelligent. There is a model of emotional intelligence called Agile EQ™. Agile EQ™ is a DiSC® assessment tool. People who have developed an agile EQ are better able to assess the emotional and social demands of a given situation and devise a plan for how to respond appropriately.
Agile EQ™ describes eight different ways to approach social and emotional situations that are appropriate at different times. These eight different ways are called mindsets.
The Eight-EQ Mindset
Every individual has mindsets that are innate to them. These mindsets are applied to situations without any extra effort. For Dr. Mark Scullard, Director of Research at Wiley Publishing, an empathetic mindset is what comes naturally to him. For example, it took him ten minutes to get a door-to-door salesperson to stop pitching pest control services that he didn’t need.
“I had no interest in or need for his services, but it took me ten minutes to get him to stop pitching. Ten minutes of my time and ten minutes of his. Most of my time was wasted because I was not ‘resolute’ enough; I was being too polite. Now, if it had been my wife right there, the conversation would have lasted exactly 15 seconds. In fact, I went inside afterward, and she and my daughter made fun of me for five minutes for not sending the salesman away quicker.”
Gaining Insight Into Your Natual Mindset
Everything DiSC® Agile EQ™ gives you insight into your own natural mindset. However, there will be instances where you will need to leave your natural mindset and stretch to another mindset when the situation demands so.
“There are times in life where you need to be able to get yourself into a confident mindset to really assert yourself,” Dr. Scullard explains. “There are times you need to be able to get yourself into a dynamic mindset to get buy-in from people, persuade them, and hold their attention. Sometimes, you need to be outgoing, even if you’re introverted. You’ve got to initiate and maintain relationships to be effective.”
The following is an overview of the eight EQ mindsets:
- Receptive: Keeps an open mind to accommodate the perspectives of other people
- Composed: Appearing calm and diplomatic
- Objective: Thinking rationally, analytically, and clearly about situations or things
- Resolute: Resisting the pressure to cave in to a demand or situation
- Self-Assured: Taking charge and projecting confidence
- Dynamic: Influencing others and taking action on new ideas
- Outgoing: Extroverted; building up relationships and expressing unfiltered thoughts
- Empathizing: Understanding how others are feeling and reaching out to be supportive
Similar to DiSC behavioral styles, where no style is better than the others, no Agile EQ mindset is more valuable than the others. The mindset that will be appropriate or useful depends on the situation at hand.
Working On Your Emotional Intelligence
Here is a hypothetical example of shifting mindsets as the situation demands. Two coworkers, Hilda and Tom, have shared work responsibilities since they began working as a team. However, Hilda has come to notice that Tom takes advantage of her empathic nature to shift more of his responsibilities to her.
Luckily, Hilda attended a workshop on Agile EQ organized by a leadership team in another department. There, she learned she could stretch to other mindsets as the situation demanded.
Because she’s naturally emphatic, Hilda would have taken over Tom’s tasks when he requested her help again as he was nearing his deadline. But if she does, it will make her more stressed and affect her communication with other team members working on another project.
Hilda decided to stretch from her natural mindset to being objective. She told Tom in a firm way that the responsibility was his. She guided him on how to complete the tasks on time. With that step, she was relieved, and Tom understood that he needed to step up and do his job.
Everything DiSC Agile EQ is for anyone aspiring to learn to read a situation’s emotional and interpersonal needs and respond accordingly.
It will help you in:
- Discovering your DiSC Style
- Understand your EQ strengths
- Recognize your EQ potential
- Commit to customized strategies for building agility
Check out the resources below to build an agile workforce.
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