The Practical EQ Checklist For An Emotionally Intelligent Team ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As a team leader, manager or business owner, there is a lot

you can do to make your team more emotionally intelligent. The benefits of higher team EI should include: better morale, more creativity, better staff attraction and retention, and higher levels of 'discretionary effort' !eo!le !utting in more than the minimum their "ob descri!tion re#uires$. %ow many of these #uestions can you give meaningful answers to& ''''''''''''''' (elf)Awareness ''''''''''''''' *+ ,oes your team know what it's there for& -hat is its !ur!ose& ,oes every team member know this& %ow& *+ ,oes everyone in your team understand what is im!ortant about achieving the !ur!ose the team's ends values$& *+ ,oes everyone in your team understand what is im!ortant in order to be able to achieve the !ur!ose the team's means values$& *+ ,oes your team have a sense of humour about itself& *+ ,oes your team solicit honest feedback ) from customers, su!!liers and other outside stakeholders& *+ ,o your team members feel they can talk honestly you if they do, the evidence will be you sometimes get critical feedback$& *+ %ow does your team learn from its mistakes& *+ ,o your team members share best !ractice with each other& *+ Are there no serious issues between team members that you don't know about& .eally& %ow do you know& ''''''''''''''' .elationshi! Awareness ''''''''''''''' *+ %ow good are you and your team at !utting yourselves into the shoes of customers, em!loyees, and other stakeholders&

*+ -hat are you doing to maintain and im!rove your own and your team members' ability to see yourselves as others see them& *+ %ow diverse is your team gender balance, different !ersonality ty!es, cultural backgrounds$ *+ %ow long does it take a new entrant to become a !roductive member and feel !art of the team& %ow can the team make this easier& ''''''''''''''' (elf)/anagement ''''''''''''''' *+ ,oes bullying occur ) and if so how is it dealt with& *+ -hat mechanisms are in !lace for resolving conflict within your team ) and do they work& *+ -hat is the overall emotional tone set by your leadershi! ) is it !ositive 0resonant0, in ,aniel 1oleman's terms$ or negative 0dissonant0$& %ow do you know this& *+ %ow is emotionally intelligent behaviour measured& *+ %ow is emotionally intelligent behaviour reinforced, encouraged and rewarded& *+ -hat is the length of the ty!ical working day and week more than a five)day week or an eight)hour day will tend to have adverse effects on health, stress levels and !erformance$& *+ %ow is work)life balance encouraged& ''''''''''''''' /otivation ''''''''''''''' *+ ,o your team members have a sense of !ur!ose& *+ ,oes everyone in your team know how their "ob fits into the bigger !icture& *+ ,o you know for sure what motivates each of your team members& %ow& *+ Is the rate of staff turnover significantly below the average for com!arable teams within or outside your organisation$& *+ ,o team members contribute 0discretionary effort0 above and beyond what

they are re#uired to do to kee! their "obs$& *+ ,oes each team member get feedback as often as they want2need it& ''''''''''''''' .elationshi! /anagement ''''''''''''''' *+ ,o team members feel valued and listened to& *+ -ould team members recommend your team as a good !lace to work& *+ ,o customers2su!!liers2other stakeholders feel res!ected and listened to& *+ To what e3tent do em!loyees act as advocates for the !roducts, services or work of your team outside working hours& *+ -hat is the tone verbal and 'non)verbal'$ of your communication with team members& *+ %ow well does your team co)o!erate with other teams& *+ ,oes your team embody a win2win ethos in its dealings with others&