Last Friday, EAGLE LEAD conducted a training on emotional intelligence for executives. As a facilitator, it was an amazing moment to learn from other leaders, and also to share my experiences and insights on the role of emotional intelligence for leaders. Emotional intelligence is a very wide subject, so we had a lot to learn, unlearn, and even contemplate the practicability of various theories of emotional intelligence in our day-to-day operations.

In our two-hours discussion, I came up with the four emotional intelligence cards. These cards are very crucial for any leader who wants to excel in leading their people with a high level of Emotional Intelligence. Before discussing the four cards, let us have a short discussion on emotions and people.

In most cases, leaders tend to draw a line between emotions and people. Leaders forget the fact that people are emotional beings. Trying to separate people from their emotions is like forcing human beings to be robots. If we accept the people in our teams, let us also accept their emotions and whom they are rather than forcing them to be something else. Leaders are leading people and not robots.

How can we lead emotional beings while we have put their emotions away? Emotional intelligence is a factor that separates leaders from managers. While managers are focused on managing people, leaders go beyond managing people. Leaders lead people and their emotions.

How can leaders use emotional intelligence to add value to their teams?

Emotional intelligence is a factor that influences employee experience, productivity, profitability, and teamwork. Do you want to win? Invest in emotional intelligence. The research report from Gallup shows that employee engagement is a key factor in accelerating profitability. The report shows that highly engaged teams are 21% more profitable than unengaged teams. It is simple, no employee engagement, less or zero profit. The question is how do you drive employee experience at the workplace? Invest in emotional intelligence.

Gallup research also shows that teams with leaders who have high emotional intelligence tend to have high employee engagement and satisfaction.70% of the variance in team engagement levels is due to the teams' manager.

What are the four must-have cards for leaders?

The four colored cards are the tools you need to walk with when leading. The cards are Blue, Red, Yellow, and Green. These four cards are further divided into two groups; the internal cards (Blue & Red) and the external cards (Yellow & Green).

Internal Cards.

These cards are cards that you will need to interact with ''you.'' The cards are speaking to you only and no one else knows them better than you. They are your cards and no one else can influence them except you.

The first card in this category is the Blue card. The blue card is a self-awareness card. Do you know who you are? How are you feeling? What motivates you? What are your strengths and weaknesses? The foundation of emotional intelligence starts with you. Once you know who you are and what traits you possess it can be easy to go out and lead others.

The second card in this category is the Red card or the self-management card. The red card is how you manage your emotions. It is the ability to control both positive and negative emotions. Is all about being flexible and adaptive as the situation demands. Can you be calm under pressure? Can you control your red hot buttons? Can you know how to react once someone imposes a negative energy on you?

The red card is all about knowing how to control and manage our feelings. In managing our emotions there is something called hot buttons. Hot buttons are people, events, or circumstances that negatively affect our emotions. It can be dealing with a difficult manager, being offended by your colleague at the office, or being slapped by your Boss. The moment we know how to deal with these hot buttons, we are one step away from improving our emotional intelligence.

External Cards.

These are cards that can help you to build and strengthen your relationship with your team. They are cards that are not about you but about others. The Yellow card and Green card fall into this category.

The Yellow card is called the social awareness card or the empathy card. The yellow card is knowing your surroundings as an individual. It is the ability to wear other's shoes. It is empathy. It is the ability to pick on the emotions of other people and understand what is going on with them. How are our actions impacting others? It is all about being considerate of others. You can not understand someone if you are not in his or her position. Do you want to understand your team and make the right decision? Wear their shoes and experience what they feel. You will get a lesson or two.

The green card is the last card on our list and it is the bridge that connects all other three cards. The Green card is called the relationship management card. Effective relationship management is the key to successful communication, building strong bonds, embracing diversity, fostering teamwork, and resolving conflicts. It is the result of utilizing emotional intelligence skills in all aspects of interpersonal dealings. You can not work with a team if you lack the skills to interact and build relationships that last.

Maya Angelou once said this; feelings will make people remember you. It is not the profit you generated last year or the bonuses you gave to your team. It is how they feel being around you. Are they feeling free around you? What energy are you transmitting in a room? Are they feeling valued and respected when around you? Or are they feeling like machines working under you?

I hope you have an answer (No need to tell me 😎)

It is my hope the four cards will help and guide you on the way to leading your team. Never go out without them. No cards, no leadership.