The other 'E' of business

In today's world, when one thinks of the letter 'e' and the word 'business', it connotes the sophisticated method of transacting business in the electronic world. Every organisation has incorporated the 'e' in their business model in some form or the other. This has conveyed an impression of being tech-savvy to the stakeholders and in some cases has actually been profitable!

The 'E' of the matter

However, discussing the impact of this 'E' on business is not the gist of this article. I sincerely feel, that there is another 'E', which is equally important to the success of an organisation, if not more andthat is 'emotion'.

Though most of us have heard about EQ or EmotionalQuotient, how many of us have made an attempt to find out where we standon this scale? At the business level, as well as the personal level, ithas been realised that success does not come only to those possessing ahigh academic intelligence or IQ.

The concept of intelligence has beenrediscovered to include emotional skills at a higher priority perhaps,than the older categories of mathematical, analytical and linguisticskills.

The simple scenario of getting to work after having had a disturbingdisagreement with our spouse can serve as an apt example to explain theimportance of emotional literacy.

On reaching work in a state of angerand one continues the day aggressively finding fault with everybody. Onetends to be sarcastic and judgmental, while those around you begin tofeel incompetent and disempowered. Their productivity tends to suffer.Thus an angry manager can never get the best out of his people.

Our inability to deal with our emotions will make people around usunproductive and unhappy. This can, in an extreme case, set off a chainreaction with each person passing down the negative side effects ofhis/her emotional state. Emotional literacy can however help us preventsuch an event.

A perfect union

Emotional literacy requires a union of feeling and reason. It is one ofthe most significant and stimulating projects facing us today.

Just aswe learnt to read and write, we can become literate about our emotions.It requires a great deal of honesty with one's self--learning to nameour emotions, feeling them completely, reflecting on what they aresaying to us and recognising the events that have evoked them. This will enable us to move comfortably through our overt feelings and find theirhidden meaning.

Often, one emotion masks another. For example, an angryindividual may be denying a fear that he has concealed for many years.Uncovering that fear and working with it will give him an opportunity toconvert the energy of his anger and fear into fruitful passion. Our emotions are very intelligent. Each one of us can use our emotionspositively for our gain. Mismanaged, they cause havoc.

Employers also need to recognise that emotionally intelligent people would be greaterassets to the organisation in the long run. Such people can take bettercare of themselves and those around them. They also make excellent teammembers.

Personally, I realised that diagnosing my strong emotions hashelped me develop a hitherto unknown side to myself, which helped me bein better control of my interactions with others.

Coming to terms

How does one achieve emotional literacy? According to Daniel Goleman,the most celebrated thinker of our times on intelligent emotion, the first step towards emotional literacy is getting to know one's emotions.

We have to develop the ability to recognise emotions when they happenand not shrug them off, if they make us uneasy. If one feels anger orenvy, acknowledge it. This will certainly improve your behaviour.

The second step involves managing our emotions once we have accepted them.This involves a lot of work for which you need to develop an inner patronising mode.

One has to learn to be calmwhen experiencing difficult emotions. One has to learn to value oneself.The third step is self- motivation. Emotions motivate us, but they candisempower too if we allow them to overwhelm us.

For instance, anxietyto achieve sales targets set by your boss is good to the level where itmotivates you to outstanding performance. If it leads to depression, youhave been negatively impacted by that emotion.

A good awareness of thefirst three steps, will lead you to the fourth step; recognisinge motions in others. This is a very important skill in business as wellas the personal world, since it allows you to feel what the other personis feeling.

The final step is a natural outcome of the emotionalliteracy process. It leads to a better handling of relationships withthose around us.

For managers it this translates into better skills inmotivating others and hence effective leadership; which are parametersinvaluable for successful management. Treat your emotions as you wouldtreat your financial or your intellectual capital, with utmost care.

Effective management of this other 'e' will lead to successful business.

Prof. Chetan Wakalkar

opportunities@careercommunity.co.in

The author is the Vice-President of Indira Group of Institutes.