In an effort to provide better understanding and proactive growth in the business and human resources field, the Colombo Leadership Academy (CLA) recently presented a series of Business Strategy workshops with renowned emotional intelligence guru Archana Law.
Tailored to provide better insights and the right tools to utilize emotional intelligence in the day-to-day interactions of the corporate world, the workshop was recognized by participants as an innovative and forward thinking step in the right direction for better management skills for sustainable performance.
Emotional intelligence has been recognized as a vital management tool for many years. It hasn’t however, truly been a component that has been explored widely in the Sri Lankan context. Emotional intelligence is the ability of an individual to deal successfully with other people, to manage oneself, motivate other people, understand one’s own feelings and appropriately respond to the everyday environment and create a culture of shared vision. The workshop brought to light many challenges and positive solutions that can be utilized in this context to achieve higher productivity and to reduce employee attrition.
Speaking on the importance of emotional quotient (EQ) in the corporate setting, Co-founder of CLA and Leadership Development and Transformation Specialist Riaz Hassen said, “It is a parable that only smart, highly qualified and hardworking people can be successful at running a business enterprise. Emotional intelligence reflects one’s ability to deal with daily challenges and it also includes internal skills necessary to manage and control oneself in various challenging situations. While intelligence is important to success, it is not the only attribute required to be successful in a highly competitive business landscape.
Recent research suggests that emotional intelligence, measured by EQ, is a better predictor of “success” than the more traditional measures of cognitive intelligence (IQ). Embracing emotional intelligence in your leadership culture is not about being soft, emotional and nice. Comparatively, it is about being effective and propelling shared vision and using communication to work more effectively.”
The workshop on emotional intelligence broke the concept down into the main skills necessary to provide managers with a springboard to better understand and manage their workforce, giving them the ability to achieve more efficient results and develop and retain their skilled workforce. Covering factors such as how to understand the emotional cues of employees and apply strategies to strengthen communication and efficiency through identifying personal strengths and limitations the workshop gave managers the necessary knowledge to enhance efficiency and achieve greater results.
Speaking on the areas covered in the programme, the Director of a leading financial organisation said, “A major factor that was focused on was a manager’s ability to acquire and apply the knowledge and skills to utilize emotional intelligence effectively in the workplace and create an inspired team. Traditionally we believed leaders must have a large follower bases but the learning provided the insight that good leaders must produce great Leaders, that was a big take away for me personally.”
The workshop was conducted at The Kingsbury and was attended by over 50 business leaders and professionals from across a wide range of industries. CLA’s event partners are The Kingsbury, The Leadership Circle, Q & E Advertising, Limelight Public Relations, Direct Solutions, Metropolitan and MEC.
