How does EI enhance Diversity and Inclusion in workplaces?

1. Developing Empathy:

Empathetic individuals are able to put themselves in the shoes of others and understand what they are going through. Moreover, they are willing help others to improve the situation. Empathy is at the core of successful leadership in diverse groups. This is a crucial skill in dealing with differences and helps in building stronger relationships.

2. Reducing Unconscious Bias:

The benefit of unconscious bias is that it can help us to make quick decisions however the downside is that it happens unconsciously and can bring negative into complex social situations. Knowledge of unconscious bias alone is not enough to reduce workplace bias. Emotional intelligence can mitigate the impact of these unconscious bias by improving self-awareness, assertiveness, adaptability and impulse control.

3. Creating An Inclusive Culture:

As the popular saying goes ‘Diversity is a reality, but Inclusion is a choice’. Emotional Intelligence provides relationship management skills to make an inclusive culture a reality. Research has proven that Emotional Intelligence is a predictor for multicultural competence. People displaying ‘Emotional Common-sense’ is critical to develop inclusive teams.

4. Improving Mindfulness:

A diverse workforce can create positive or negative social situations. Emotions are organized responses to internal or external events. It can result in negative or positive meanings for the individuals. Understanding your inner landscape is vital to determining your response to various social situations. Mindfulness is a regular practice of emotionally intelligent individual.

5. Improving Constructive Thinking:

Constructive thinking is particularly important for corporate leaders. It helps them to create win-win solutions, to generate creative ideas, to settle disagreements, to influence cooperation and to build trust. Emotionally Intelligent people have higher self-awareness and impulse control that helps them to apply knowledge to immediate situations.

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The concept of ‘emotional intelligence’ as a separate psychological theory dates back to the 1980’s with American organizational psychologists Peter Salovey and John Mayer. Their work has been built on by many, most notably Daniel Goleman, who outlines the 5 key components of emotional intelligence as self-awareness, self-regulation, social awareness, relationship management. 

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As you listen to the podcast, Disruptive Discussion: with Ashley and Megan, they underscore how emotional intelligence plays a very big part in recognizing our unconscious bias, and our willingness to be adaptable and listen to perspectives that are different from our own. 

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• Podcast 1: Emotional Awareness, Self Awareness, Social Awareness (18:47)
• Podcast 2: Emotional Intelligence and Relationship Management (17:40)
• Podcast 3: Emotional Intelligence, the value of US (07:22)

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#1 Empathy (I Sense Your Pain)

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Emotionally intelligent leaders can walk in another person’s shoes. Knowing what someone is going through helps to understand them better. It’s why empathy is a key component of successful leadership. Understanding managers are approachable, and they listen. The upshot of that is engaged teams and harmonious workplace cultures.

7 Empathy-Building Strategies

1. Start listening to others more without interrupting
2. Put yourself in someone else’s shoes, especially during a disagreement
3. Recognize and show your appreciation for your team members
4. Be open to sharing your feelings where appropriate
5. Volunteer for a role in a worthy cause, e.g., a community project
6. Practice loving-kindness meditation or mindfulness
7. Work on your body language and reading that of others

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#2 Effective Communication (Social Skills)

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Comfortable interaction is another core component of EQ. Leaders with good social skills are very approachable, easy to talk to, and therefore strong team players. Effective communication is important for leaders as it helps build meaningful, mutually respectful relationships. Here are six more advantages of workplace social skills:

1. Sociable managers carry more persuasive influence
2. Cultivates an awareness of yourself and your team members
3. Adept at both conflict and relationship management
4. Enhanced social awareness
5. Better leadership and mentorship for helping develop rising talent
6. Expert at collaboration and cooperation

7 EQ Strategies that Improve Social Skills

1. Show interest in other people
2. Enhance verbal and non-verbal(body language) communication skills
3. Observe and learn from the social skills of others
4. Practice confident eye contact
5. Ask open-ended questions(cannot be answered with a yes/no)
6. Develop a repertoire of icebreaker questions to start conversations
7. Listen more and practice active listening

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#3 Self-Awareness

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To be self-aware means you have a thorough recognition of your personal strengths and weaknesses. You know when to step back and question your emotional state and thoughts before acting. This critical component of EQ helps you quickly understand why you feel a particular way and how it affects the people around you.

7 EQ Strategies to Develop Self-Awareness

1. Be mindful of your strengths, weaknesses, thoughts, and emotions
2. Identify your triggers to help manage your own emotions
3. Keep a journal so you can reflect and learn from your experiences
4. Consider how your actions affect those around you
5. Use positive self-talk
6. Develop a growth mindset
7. Take psychometric tests, the EWF Emerging Leaders program uses Lumina Learning’s Lumina Spark assessment in its curriculum

The more you practice this essential leadership skill, the more natural it becomes. Having the power to influence outcomes boosts confidence, makes you a better decision-maker and improves how you relate with your team(s). The secret here is to stay focused and track your progress. And don’t be afraid to ask for constructive feedback from those you trust.

#4 Self-Regulation

To self-regulate is to turn negative thoughts and feelings into positive ones and know when to pause between emotions and subsequent actions. A leader who self-regulates can channel negative emotions in a productive rather than a destructive manner. This positive outlook makes it easier to solve problems with a cool head.

Self-regulation is a critical skill for effective leadership, allowing you to express yourself appropriately and calmly in front of your team. And the more resilient you become, the faster you recover from setbacks. You become more conscientious, flexible in your approach, and comfortable with change.

7 Strategies for Self-Regulation Development

1. Be attentive to your thoughts and feelings
2. Learn to accept your emotions and become more emotionally resilient
3. Develop distress tolerance skills to handle negative emotions
4. Learn to view every new challenge as an opportunity
5. Know that there is always a choice on how you respond
6. Prepare to take responsibility for your actions
7. Stay mindful of your moral values while leading your team

Self-regulation doesn’t mean you suppress your natural emotions or hide true feelings. It’s simply a skill used to express yourself more appropriately. The goal is to avoid panic and manage stressful situations in a composed manner.

#5 Self-Motivation

Self-motivation is a critical component of emotional intelligence for leaders. No team will be at its best if its leader lacks internal motivation. A driven manager is passionate, dedicated, and highly focused on achieving goals. Motivated managers exude an optimistic disposition, and optimism is infectious, lifting employee morale and drive.

A self-motivated leader is very action oriented. They continuously set high goals and have a genuine desire to achieve them. That means you never graduate or reach the top of your tree because you have a constant internal strive to be more and do better.

7 Strategies to Develop Self-Motivation

1. Set small, measurable, and realistic goals
2. Introduce interesting challenges to keep up momentum
3. Celebrate incremental achievements as well as end goals
4. Find intelligent ways to turn obstacles into opportunities
5. Be mindful of your role as a leader and its direct effect on your team
6. Reflect on your progress and look for ways to do better
7. Be open to change

To succeed as a leader, you must visualize yourself in a positive light even when things don’t go well, viewing complications as setbacks and learning opportunities instead of failures. You keep a clear vision of what you want and how to achieve it. And to maintain motivation, you continually set new goals and relish new challenges.

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1. Learn the 4 attributes of empathy
2. Empathy, the key to a diverse workforce
3. Empathy vs. Sympathy by Brene Brown
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Goleman
5. https://www.catalyst.org/reports/empathy-work-strategy-crisis
6. https://www.eiconsortium.org/EQ-4X-more-significant-than-IQ/
7. https://www.researchgate.net/body-Language-in-Leadership/
8. https://www.tandfonline.com/approach-to-self-regulation/
9. https://hbr.org/great-leaders-need-the-right-mindset/