It is emergent that emotional intelligence (EI) has become an increasingly important factor in leadership effectiveness. EI refers to the ability to understand, manage, and express one’s emotions and the ability to perceive, interpret, and respond to the emotions and feelings of others. EI competencies include self-awareness, self-regulation, people management, compassion, empathy, social skills, etc. Research has shown that leaders with high levels of emotional intelligence are more effective in their roles and positively impact organisational performance.
The International Day of Happiness stipulated by the United Nations, which falls on March 20th each year, is worthy of the notice of the importance of emotional well-being for individuals and societies. This year’s theme, “Be Mindful. Be Grateful. Be Kind,” underscores the link between positive emotions and happiness. Each of these three concepts is related to emotional intelligence in its way.
In the simplest term, mindfulness, according to many practitioners, is the ability to focus on the present moment without judgment. It involves being aware of one’s thoughts and feelings and accepting them without getting caught up in them. Mindfulness is crucial to emotional intelligence, allowing individuals to regulate their emotions more effectively and make better decisions.
Gratitude is the practice of being thankful for the good things in one’s life, both big and small. Research has shown that gratitude is associated with higher levels of happiness and well-being. In addition, grateful leaders are more likely to foster positive relationships with their employees, leading to higher engagement and productivity.
Kindness involves treating others with empathy, compassion, and respect. Kindness is essential to emotional intelligence, as it helps leaders build trust and rapport with their team members. In addition, kind leaders are more likely to create and sustain a positive work environment where employees feel valued, seen, regarded, inspired, and supported.
Despite the importance of emotional intelligence for effective leadership, recent reports have shown a decline in EI among leaders. For example, the Data Institute & Korn Ferry in the 2021 research recorded a 40% gap in EI among 155,000 leaders globally, with only 22% hitting 9-12 on the ESCI (Emotional and Social Competencies Inventory), suggesting that 88% scored between 1-8. The Gallup Emotions Report in 2022 also dropped to 69% among 127,000 respondents in 112 countries.
In 2022, Forbes published some research findings titled “New Surveys Show Burnout Is An International Crisis.” It was obvious that burnout stems from varied negative emotions and perceptions ravaging the corporate space globally. Of 20,000 sampled from 11 countries, 53% of managers and 50% of employees reported burnout. In another research by McKinsey Health Institute on Mental health in the workplace from 15 countries with 15,000 employees and 1,000 HR practitioners globally, 60% reported “toxic workplace behaviour.”
Emotions, the neurological bedrock of “feelings and moods” that can inspire performance and unproductivity, needs an excellent professional integration and approach.
This decline in EI among leaders is concerning because it significantly impacts leadership effectiveness. Leaders with high EI can better communicate with their team members, understand their needs and emotions, and create a positive and supportive work environment. They are also better equipped to manage stress and conflicts, make difficult decisions, and inspire and motivate their teams.
In contrast, leaders with low EI struggle to understand and manage their emotions, leading to impulsive and ineffective decision-making. Every effective and unproductive decision or invention has underlying emotions. They may also need help to connect with and motivate their team members, leading to low morale and decreased productivity.
Fortunately, EI is a way of being that can be evoked, honed and improved over time. Leaders can improve their EI by focusing on self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, and social skills. This may involve seeking feedback from others, practising mindfulness and meditation, and working on communication and conflict-resolution skills.
In McKinsey’s report to the World Economic Forum on the Future of Jobs 2022, four categories comprised 13 skill groups, and 56 DELTA’s were Self-leadership, Digital, Interpersonal Relationships, and Cognitive. The two, self-leadership and interpersonal relationships, revolve on the axis of emotional intelligence, which reinforces other research and surveys to drum home that, despite all the swift technological pace, it must not be at the detriment of our emotional and social intelligence.
On the ecological level, from the Global Coherence Initiative of Heartmath Institute, our emotions play a critical role in the earth’s Schumann resonance, and its impacts can be devastating for humans and living things.
The statistics highlighted above drive deep into human capital development the need for leaders to prioritise their emotional intelligence skills; this is where neuroscience and mBraining come into play.
Neuroscience studies the brain and nervous system (sympathetic, parasympathetic, ventral vagal complex and dorsal vagal complex) and how they influence behaviour, cognition, and emotions. Meanwhile, mBraining is a methodology that combines neuroscience with the study of the gut and heart brains, offering a holistic approach to personal development and decision-making.
Neuroscience research has revealed that mindfulness practices, such as meditation, can increase grey matter responsible for executive functions in the brain’s prefrontal cortex, such as decision-making, attention, and emotional regulation. Thus, leaders can benefit from mindfulness practices that enhance their cognitive abilities and emotional regulation skills.
By integrating neuroscience and mBraining into EI training, leaders can better understand how emotions work and how to manage them effectively. Neuroscience explains how the brain processes emotions and how they influence behaviour. It also shows how emotions and rational thinking interact, providing a new perspective on managing emotions and making better decisions.
On the other hand, mBraining emphasises the importance of integrating the head, heart, and gut brains, each with unique qualities and abilities. For example, the head brain is associated with rational thinking, the heart brain with emotions, and the gut brain with intuition. By integrating these three brains, leaders can make more informed decisions that align with their values and beliefs, leading to better outcomes for their teams and organisations.
Through mBraining, we learn and embody how the five waves (theta, alpha, beta, delta, and gamma) of the head brain, the electromagnetic fields of the heart brain, the intuitive ecological prowess of the gut brain and the fluid works of the autonomic nervous system(sympathetic and parasympathetic). These intelligences all play critical roles with the chemicals and hormones of emotions that facilitate perceptions of feelings and moods. Inte
For example, mBraining provides a framework for understanding the complex interplay between the three primary intelligence centres of the brain: the head brain (cognitive intelligence), the heart brain (emotional intelligence), and the gut brain (intuitive intelligence). Leaders can use this framework to develop a more holistic approach to emotional intelligence training encompassing all three intelligence centres, leading to a more integrated and effective leadership style.
Moreover, mBraining techniques can help leaders embody their emotional and social competencies by incorporating physical exercises, such as breathing techniques (Deep Breathing, Diaphragmatic Breathing, Pursed Lips Breathing, Box Breathing, Pranayama, Mindful Breathing, Cardiac Coherence Breathing, Active Cycle of Breathing Techniques etc.) and body postures. This process helps integrate emotions’ neurological and physiological aspects, leading to a deeper understanding of oneself and others.
For all the above reasons, we at Zoweh Global Consult have designed and developed a cutting-edge intervention, “neuro-emotional intelligence training (NEIT) for effective management,” for c-suite executives, managers, and assistant managers. This unique training hinges on a hybrid of professional roots, neuroscience, mbraining, ontology, neuro-linguistic programming, ecology, mindfulness etc. Leaders and decision-makers must be able to embody the insight on NEI to bring awareness to their neurology to evoke EI to repattern, re-engineer, and reprogram their emotional and social quotients.
In conclusion, the decline in EI among leaders, employees and the entire human race raises concerns about the effectiveness of traditional EI training approaches. Integrating neuroscience and mBraining into EI training offers a new perspective on how leaders grow their Emotional and social awareness intelligence to aid them in managing themselves and their colleagues better. This will, in turn, reduce burnout, stress, turnovers, low productivity, sick leaves etc. and positively support the Schumann resonance of the earth. It is meaningless to achieve so much from humans’ cognitive and creative prowess until it is in synchronicity with our emotional balance, psychological safety, and well-being.
The writer is a Transformational Coach, Certified Professional Corporate Trainer, Professional Certified mBIT Master Coach/ Lead Consultant & Trainer for Zoweh Global Consult
Contact: +233243-085932 | [email protected] |www.linkedin.com/in/scofray |website:www.zowehglobalconsult.com / www.coachscofray.com
