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In this episode of The Power Between by Ideas for Leaders, host Roddy Millar sits down with Vanessa Druskat, a renowned expert on team emotional intelligence. As an Associate Professor of Organizational Behaviour at the University of New Hampshire and author of the book The Emotionally Intelligent Team, Vanessa shares insights from her years of research on creating emotionally intelligent teams. She discusses the power of team norms, leadership, and how understanding the emotional dynamics within teams can drive performance and success.

Vanessa Druskat, a professor and expert in team emotional intelligence, shares her journey from studying psychology to becoming a leading researcher in team dynamics. She talks about her passion for understanding how team norms and emotions shape success, and how leaders can create environments that help teams thrive by focusing on respect, communication, and emotional intelligence.

Key Topics:

• The Power of Norms: How creating the right social norms within teams leads to better performance and cooperation.
• Caring for the Individual: The role of emotional intelligence in making team members feel valued and respected.
• The Emotionally Intelligent Leader: Why leaders should focus on building an emotionally aware environment to boost team success.
• The Importance of Feedback: How regular, respectful feedback helps teams grow and align with their goals.
• Team Culture and Leadership: How leaders shape team culture by focusing on relationships and interactions, not just tasks.

Timestamps:

[00:00] Teaser

[01:40] Vanessa shares her background and the experiences that led her to study team dynamics and emotional intelligence.

[04:45] How her upbringing in different cultures shaped her view on team norms and behaviors.

[12:18] How social norms in teams affect performance and the importance of creating the right environment.

[16:04] The role of emotional intelligence in leadership and how leaders can shape team dynamics by focusing on emotions.

[24:04] The concept of belonging and how it affects individual and team performance.

[27:25] The importance of leaders creating safe spaces for team members to share feedback and develop.

[31:56] The value of respecting team members and the power of understanding each person's strengths.

[33:31] Addressing poor behavior through team-agreed norms

[41:30] How "outlier" or disruptive behavior can be a source of innovation

📚 Resources:

👉 Subscribe to DLQ just for $3 for 3 months - https://developingleadersquarterly.com/

👉 Read this article from DLQ46 for free on ‘From Compete and Compare to Collaborate and Care’ -    https://developingleadersquarterly.com/from-compete-and-compare-to-collaborate-and-care/?share=ccyoGhQUZSYB

👉 The Emotionally Intelligent Team - https://www.vanessadruskat.com/books 

Follow our guest, Vanessa Druskat:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessa-druskat/

Website: https://www.vanessadruskat.com/

Follow our guest’s company, the University of New Hampshire:

Website: https://www.unh.edu/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/school/university-of-new-hampshire/ 

Follow the Host, Roddy Miller:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roddymillar/

Follow Ideas For Leaders:

Website: https://ideasforleaders.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ideas-for-leaders/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ideasforleaders.dlq

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ideasforleaders/

X (Twitter): https://x.com/ideas4leaders

Listening Links:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2NHgbWdUlJS8z1aSTgcIYt?si=d4f19ce12516420f

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-power-between/id1842080646

Podcast site: https://ideasforleaders.com/

Subscribe for more on leadership, team culture, emotional intelligence and share your thoughts in the comments!