Emotional Intelligence

There is an old Spanish saying “Mi casa es su casa.” (My house is your house.) Put in the context of working with people in the office, it transcends simple hospitality. It goes deeper to mean that what I am, what I have, my skills, my background and experience are yours for our team to utilize. If that isn’t the spirit of teamwork, I don’t know what is. In today’s business world, an attitude like this takes on great significance, as pretty much everything we do is done with others in a group. And when we do it effectively and well, with the rest of the team working with one another for a common goal, success becomes inevitable. Sadly, for one reason or another that “rugged individualism” idea almost always gets in the way. This along with some companies’ divorcing their teams from rewards and compensation leads to good teams withering on the vine and worst, team members or leaders begin to feel free to engage in some bad behavior leading to dysfunction. What Not To Do With Your Team Members Whether you’re a team leader or a member, what follows might help you “not do” these common mistakes that produce big cracks in good, healthy teams. Here are the don’ts: Don’t stick to your guns. It’s a bad phrase that says … we do it my way or the team can go take a hike in the highway. Don’t ruin the team by being single minded and being obsessive about how to get things done. Listen and consider the other team members’ ideas. Don’t go looking at the glass half-empty. If you go around messing with the team members’ minds by focusing on everything that could go wrong and being the “voice of doom”, you’ll be contaminating them with your negative emotions and cynicism. Adhering to this kind of feeling will guarantee killing the trust, enthusiasm, creativity and joy that are important to the group’s success. Don’t be insensitive to the people’s feelings. Care about them by being considerate and thoughtful about how they see things. Appreciate their insights, their background and intelligence. You’re not the only smart guy in the team (and even if you are, don’t flaunt it.) Don’t bully your team members. Don’t start taking immediate action on your impulses and feelings. Instead, apply your emotional intelligence. Filter what you say or do. Given the stress that people work with in today’s extremely competitive business environment, it’ll be great for the team if you were to blend and work well with each member. The don’ts are emphasized in bold letters for the simple reason that these are the known most common mistakes team leaders and some team members do in meeting the challenges of their companies. Regrettably, with team dysfunction. these teams fell short of their goals. Go over them again, then avoid them like the plague!

If you think it’s all about fat paychecks, special perks and privileges and a reserved slot in the basement parking area that make people happy with their chosen work, you’ve got another think coming. Various surveys from different reputable organizations say otherwise. The single, most important element that makes people happy at their jobs is the keen awareness that what they do makes a difference in the life of other persons. In “Happiness By Design”, a new book by UK economist and behavioral science professor, Paul Dolan, he says that florists and gardeners are the happiest among all professions. Not only that. They’re also twice as happy compared to those people working in more prestigious, executive positions that pay better. The next happiest group of professionals are those men and women involved in making others more attractive and more beautiful: hairdressers and beauticians. They claim to be happy almost eighty percent (80%) of the time. By comparison, only forty four percent (44%) of bankers said they were happy with what they do. Look at it this way … if you’re a florist, a creative flower arranger, you’d be having a lot of social interactions and you’d see the fruit of your labor a lot faster. With bankers and lawyers, it’s generally a grey area where feedback is concerned. And, not too many people appreciate what they do. What They Say About Being A Gardener Or A Florist A simple house gardener extols his profession. He says …“Gardening is so freeing! … being outdoor and working with nature and the changing seasons.” Another says it’s the variety, the multi-colored types of plants and flowers that he loves. He finds every hour of every day as different and the scenery … “is spectacular!” Doctors And Nurses  Another group of people who are pretty glad and happy to be doing what they do are doctors and nurses. A Dr. Kevin Dynan, consultant geriatrician in the Ulster Hospital says .. “I get the opportunity to meet fascinating patients and improve their quality of life.” An eye surgeon at Moorfiields Eye Hospital in London says .. “The progress being made in my field of medicine is rapid and seemingly exponential in its rate of change – and restoring or improving vision for patients must be the most rewarding surgery that any doctor can perform.” Asked what makes her happy, Joanne Upton, a skin cancer nurse at the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in Merseyside says .. “When you feel you have made a real posititve impact on the patient.” Another nurse says, it makes her happy to know that every day, when she goes home, she’s helped a sick child and his family – she’s made a difference! The Year’s 10 Unhappiest Professions Culled from these varied surveys as well, are the ten most unpopular “unhappiest” jobs. These include 1) Security officer 2) Bank branch manager 3) Accountant 4) Customer service representative 5) General manager 6) sales executive 7) technical support representative 8) Marketing manager 9) Sales manager and 10) Machine operator. Several of the key reasons employees were not happy in these fields are the lack of support from their management, low wages and limited opportunities for career growth. What Value Does All This Information Give You?  This data can prove to be a good basis in the evaluation of current careers and, who knows, perhaps point individuals to the direction that might be most beneficial to their happiness in the work they do.