Studies have shown that companies that have acquired competencies to lead with emotional excellence are far more productive and efficient because of the impact emotional excellence has on employee morale, loyalty, retention and overall performance of the organization to name a few.

Since the early 1990's and especially after the internationally renowned author Daniel Goleman's book "Working with Emotional Intelligence" hit the bestseller's list, the business world began to pay close attention to this competency and began to incorporate it in their employee training programs.

In his book, Daniel introduces emotional intelligence as the new issue for employers. He expresses emotional intelligence in terms of maturity and flexibility thus the increased demand for those who have qualifications and know how to handle people.

...So What is Emotional Excellence?

Emotional Excellence is not for women. It is not about "mushy" stuff and certainly not about "touchy"/"feely" feelings. Emotional Excellence is true intelligence and the new yardstick employers are judged by.

? Emotional Excellence is one's ability to manage his or her emotions and those of others and in turn use them to turn difficult situations into more rewarding ones.

? Emotional Excellence is the state of mind in which you respond to events from your vision and purpose in life rather than reacting to circumstances, events and other people.

Whether we're supposed to or not, we bring our emotions with us to work. We simply fail to "check them" at the door. So the key to create the climate where employees thrive and work their hardest is to recognize and manage those emotions and not ignore them.

The #1 competency to understanding Emotional Excellence is Awareness. Awareness is the state of mind in which you are conscious, awake and paying attention. I call this the state in which your mind and body are in gear allowing you to respond rather than react.

While being aware might help you recognize those emotions, if used alone, it will not help you manage them successfully. Understanding triggering events (key moments) and choosing to respond to those events positively is your pathway to master emotional excellence.

Vera Haitayan, Principal Consultant of The Leadership Laboratory., a California-based employee development and process improvement consulting firm and is the senior editor of The Stepping Stone Newsletter featuring leadership and process improvement best practices. http://www.1leadershiplab.com

mailto: vera@1leadershiplab.com