The role of Chief Operating Officer (COO) is a very important role in any organisation, it is a role that is usually considered as second-in-command to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). It is typically one of an enforcer – someone who ensures that the strategic objectives are distilled into work plans and also efficiently implemented. This means to a large extent that the productivity of the organisation is the responsibility of the COO, thus his or her ability to oversee the entire production process is key.

That’s where the magic of emotional intelligence comes in, managing people and processes requires not just a great deal of self-awareness but awareness of others in the workplace. There are simple but very profound ways COOs can use the elements of emotional intelligence to enhance the operational efficiency of their organisations.

In this episode, we explored some emotional intelligence strategies COOs can adopt to drive peak performance.

One of the most important roles in an organization is that of human resource officer, the stakes are even higher when the role is Chief Human Resource Officer (CHRO). This role is directly responsible, amongst other things for the management of the entire workforce – employee experience, individual performance and corporate productivity.

Most organisations have competent human resource officers, only a few can boast of human resource officers that are emotionally intelligent. Chief human resource officers are not you every day managers, they are human resource officers that oversee the activities of other human resource officers in the organisation. This implies that if a CHRO gets it wrong, a lot of things can go south in any such organization. Managing human beings is one of the most complicated job descriptions in the corporate world, however there is a science to it and if the principles are applied correctly – it can be a both a rewarding and productive venture.

People generally act on their emotions more than they do on their logical thinking, the CHRO who seeks to drive high performance should realize this and use emotionally intelligent ways of channelling those emotions into measurable outcomes. This is because when you understand why a person acts in a particular way, it is much easier to direct their energies, impulses and proclivities to activities that meet your productivity metrics.

In this episode, we explored some emotional intelligence strategies HR leaders can adopt to drive peak performance.

Entrepreneurs literally make the world go round; they create value from organising human and material resources with the hopes of profits and other business goals. In embarking on this quest, they invariably create solutions in exchange for compensation from users and other stakeholders. This introduction is very important in highlighting the important role entrepreneurs play in defining the world.

Whilst business intelligence is quintessential to the making of successful entrepreneurs, one of the skills necessarily for effectively managing people and material is emotional intelligence. No matter how successful an entrepreneur is, the introduction of emotional intelligence will exponentially increase desirable outcomes. This is because emotional intelligence makes you aware of yourself and others – when that happens demand and supply becomes a natural consequence.

Entrepreneurs are always on the prowl, looking for gaps in the market – what people need. Daniel Goleman's five components of emotional intelligence speaks directly to the entrepreneur’s need to weaponise market intelligence: self-awareness – the ability to understand your own emotions and how they affect the people around you, self-regulation – the ability to effectively manage and express your emotions, intrinsic motivation – one's personal drive to improve and achieve, empathy – the ability to understand how others are feeling and social skills – the ability to develop a strong rapport with others.

In this episode, we explored some reasons entrepreneurs must master emotional intelligence to drive increase profitability.

It is team work that makes the dream work – the inability of organisations to be cohesive is antithetical to the purpose of their very existence. Organizations are so named because they aggregate human and material resources to meet the needs of a market in a profitable manner. It is expected and almost inevitable that in every sphere of human interaction, friction and conflict will be present. The different attitudes, worldviews and proclivities come to bear whenever people converge to achieve a result.

Andrew Chignell posits thus: “Emotional Intelligence refers to someone’s ability to perceive, understand and manage their own feelings and emotions.” This simple yet powerful perspective captures the core of emotional intelligence which is critical to any team’s success; when people know better they generally do better – when team members know themselves and others better, their output is generally better.

In this episode, we explored some strategies leaders can adopt to promote emotional intelligence on their team.

To quote the immortal words of John C. Maxwell, “everything rises and falls on leadership”. Emotional intelligence is such a fundamental requirement for executive management such that without it their performance will be greatly stunted. Managing people and resources requires specific skillsets that enables productivity and profitability because the decisions that are taken on critical issues have immediate and future impact on the fortunes of the organisation.

Being emotional is one thing, being emotionally intelligent is another thing altogether. Many leaders fail to realise that many decisions are made from a place of emotions and if those emotions are not educated, the dysfunction and chaos that will be unleashed in the workplace is better imagined. Executive management especially has to come to terms with its ability to interact with the subordinate levels of leadership in a cohesive manner via the agency of emotional intelligence.

In this episode, we explored some reasons executive management of organisations should apply emotional intelligence to drive peak performance in the organisation they lead.

Being a director in any organization is no mean feat, it means you are a leader of leaders. This is because amongst other duties, you pilot the affairs of a boardroom where c-level executives sit to take critical decisions that will affect the fortunes of the organization. You’re not dealing with greenhorns who you have to constantly school, you are dealing with people who have in their own rights earned their seat at the table.

Emotional intelligence for directors then means that you will be managing egos more that you will be managing competences. It is therefore very important that you understand the gravitas of your role and how you can deploy emotional intelligence to effectively navigate the eggshells in that space. As a director looking to achieve the objectives set out for the organisation, you cannot rely on intelligence alone to lead and motivate an emotionally diverse boardroom.

In this episode, we explored some strategies company directors can apply emotional intelligence to tackle challenging boardroom issues.