Emotional Intelligence in HR
Leadership: Enhancing Team
Dynamics
Emotional Intelligence in HR
Leadership: Enhancing Team
Dynamics
Introduction
Fatigued by resolving conflicts amongst the team members
in your organisation? Buckle up as we are about to
understand the importance and techniques to develop
emotional intelligence in HR leadership to enhance team
dynamics swiftly.
A fast-paced, growing work environment demands constant
creativity backed by well-researched decisions to ensure the
minimum risk of a debacle in the plan. This constantly
results in high intellectual escalations, leading to massive
burnout amongst the workforce and other consequential
decisions.
HR leaders are instrumental in contemplating and reforming
the existing work culture and documenting the team’s
performance. It has been attested that the striking HR
leaders display their mettle in handling complex situations,
balancing the team’s morale, and unravelling intrapersonal
conflicts of emotions while staying focused on surpassing
the KPIs and obtaining the business goals.
In this article, we will be covering,
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What is Emotional Intelligence (EI)?
Elements Boosting Emotional intelligence in HR
Leadership
How does Emotional Intelligence in HR Leadership
Impact the Workplace?
Importance of Emotional Intelligence in HR Leadership
Techniques to Develop Emotional Intelligence (EI) in HR
Leadership For Team Development
What is Emotional Intelligence? (EI)
Emotional intelligence is the psychological trait that enables
the individual to leverage on identifying sentiments of their
own and others. This intellectual trait is questioned in HR
leaders who can handle their own emotional spikes and
display empathy with their associates.
The concept of emotional intelligence was coined by Peter
Salavoy and John Mayer in 1990. Stakeholders and decisionmakers have come to terms with recruiting dexterous,
emotionally intelligent HR professionals as leaders to
supervise their business operations.
Elements Boosting Emotional
Intelligence in HR Leadership
95% of HR managers and 99% of working employees believe
that emotional intelligence (EI) is essential for working
professionals. The components that contribute to the
growth of emotional intelligence are:
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Self-awareness
HR leaders must be capable of perceiving their state of mind
and the quality of influence they have on others. This
includes noticing different emotions, moral values,
strengths, and weaknesses.
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Self-regulations
It is the enduring ability to cope with one’s own emotional
and mental state that is goal-oriented from an optimistic
viewpoint. This involves handling crunchy situations under
pressure.
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Empathy
One central element of developing emotional intelligence
for an HR leadership role has to be empathy. It is the
capability of grasping and empathizing with the emotions
displayed by others. This comprises interpreting emotions
and comprehending facial expressions through body
language.
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Social skills
It is an integral skill that entails professionals developing
social relationships with their peers in the leadership and
their working associates.
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Motivation
It is the driving impulse to accomplish the set goals and
meet the expectations by outperforming them. Individuals
considered as born leaders have high emotional intelligence
that fuels their goals instead of external stimuli.
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Interpersonal relationship management
It is an aptitude that HR leaders must develop to forge
lasting first impressions amongst associates and
stakeholders to address conflicting matters and streamline
business operations.
How Does Emotional Intelligence in HR
Leadership Impact the Workplace
Emotional intelligence is the deciding factor that
differentiates a mediocre HR leader from a great HR leader.
HR leaders are expected to have affluent collaborative
abilities to lift the team spirit for the smooth functioning of
the organisation.
The HR leadership must encourage competitiveness,
emotional toughness and have inspiration to encourage
their peers & associates. This cements resilience into the
upcoming talents as well as the resources of the
organisation.
Here’s a list of a few significant impacts that are witnessed:
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HR leaders dominant on emotional intelligence are
influential in operating with multiple stakeholders
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across the organisation for intercommunication
purposes.
They lead by example for hard work and passion for
excellence by creating a happy work environment and
fostering team building.
With their composure, these HR professionals can rip
apart any developing complications and mutual
disagreements in the team to resolve conflict in the
workplace.
They reinforce growth amongst their associates and
teammates to meet their business target metrics.
By providing adequate space for individuals to be
heard, the HR leaders, with their emotional intelligence,
are effectively cracking down on strenuous business
matters rapidly.
Let us thoroughly understand the importance of emotional
intelligence in HR leadership. Furthermore, stay tuned for
ways to develop emotional intelligence (EI) in HR leaderships
& professionals:
Importance of Emotional Intelligence (EI)
in HR Leadership
Emotional intelligence in HR leaders is the in-built or
developed trait that assists them in facilitating healthy interdepartmental collaborations, de-escalating ongoing
disagreements, and nurturing team bonding.
HR leaders who are dominant with their emotional
intelligence are often skilled orators driving inspiring traits
in their operating style.
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75% of Fortune 500 companies have implemented
emotional intelligence training and testing.
This motivates the team of associates, develops adaptability
to upcoming changes, rectifies internal hurdles and mutual
disagreements. Emotional intelligence (EI) guides the HR
leadership to progress in the following ways.
Developing effective relationships
The primary responsibility of the HR leadership is to develop
a friendly rapport with the existing teams across different
corporate roles. Professionals superior with emotional
intelligence attributes often personalise their approach with
the stakeholders and their peers by empathising with their
sentiments to obtain their trust and belief.
This eventually bridges the emotional barrier amongst the
employees and leads to the formation of an ecstatic work
environment; better encouragement should be considered
for acknowledging the contributions & existence of the
workforce accordingly. Based on the feasible alternatives
available, this can stimulate quality work efficiency, lead to
higher job satisfaction, and more, which is a win-win
situation for the growth of the business.
Conflict management
Conflict at the workplace is inescapable by any means,
leaving the HR professionals at gunpoint to become the
frontline defence for the management. HR leaders oozing
on high emotional intelligence (EI) strategically identify a
standard solution to encourage positive morale for fostering
interpersonal collaboration. Leaders from the HR
department who are proactive in their emotional
intelligence are steadily composed and collected to handle
an aroused disputing matter.
This eventually strengthens them to empathise with the
team members and discover mutually harmonious grounds
that favour all the parties involved in the conflicting crisis.
Thus, eliminating the negative stimulus can further boost
the development of long-lasting communications among the
interpersonal operations team and others for the growth of
the business organisations.
Better stress management
The HR professionals in the organisation’s leadership role
are loaded with high business-impacting decisions and
stressful events. This includes mutual disagreement
amongst the working team, layoffs, allocation of salary hikes
for its employees, and more. HR leaders displaying highyielding emotional intelligence can optimally regulate their
industry expertise in scenarios with self-calm and exposure
against ongoing duress.
Commitment towards their responsibility acts as an external
motivation stimulus that employees can observe and
demonstrate. This can be the highest level of integrity in
their performance to meet the business goals and align with
cultural values that the leadership team sets themselves to
become a front runner.
Thoughtful decision-making
Executing precise decisions in the correct situation based on
internal readings and reports sets HR leadership apart from
mediocrity. HR professionals from the leadership with
exceptional emotional intelligence can set the tone of their
business by executing rational business calls, leaving aside
their personal opinions and impulses. Professionals from
the leadership team can exhibit flexibility and create a sense
of belonging by commiserating with the teams and
associates for feedback and inputs before making the
business shots. A simple move like this can draw in the
sense of being associated with the other teams in the
organisation.
Communicative interactions
The ability to learn is the most important quality a leader can
have. – Sheryl Sandberg
Every working HR professional in a leadership role is
demanded to be a charismatic communicator for a specific
reason for tackling conflicts of emotions amongst the teams.
The leaders must carve a personalised approach to cultivate
the business goals required within the set time frame.
Professionals ascending enormous emotional intelligence
can get acquainted with a specific tone of communication
well suited to the team.
They deploy their active listening skill and bespoken
empathising nature for enhanced understanding of the
ongoing challenges amongst the existing team members.
Their strong will infused with emotional intelligence (EI)
assists them in revamping their interpersonal interactive
approach that appeals to stakeholders and team members
to control negative emotional business concerns across the
organisation.
Techniques to Develop Emotional
Intelligence in HR Leadership for Team
Development
The Development of emotional intelligence (EI) is not a
short-duration course that can be taken up and acquired. It
requires years of dedication and industry expertise to
handle the stress gracefully and achieve the business
deliverables.
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71% of employers prioritise emotional intelligence over
IQ.
Here are a few practical techniques that can sharpen your
existing emotional intelligence:
Self-realisation
Self-realisation is the piston that runs the engine of
emotional intelligence. This process requires professionals
from leadership roles to introspect about their internal
emotions and psychological stimuli. This entails cultivated
values, emotional reactions, trust, and beliefs.
The process begins by assessing and contemplating your
sentiments about situations and the type of emotion elicited
along with others’ working performance at the workplace.
Analysing the depth of difficulties can mould HR leaders to
form excellent supervisory skills to tackle diverse
circumstances that might impact the other team members.
Regulation on responses
Professionals from HR leadership roles are obligated to
regulate and respond against their emotions in stressful
situations. Below are a few steps to consider to have
seamless communication under pressure:
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Analyse the situation before engaging.
Respond and not react.
Moderate the aroused emotions from an incredible
developed wit.
Be accountable for response based on the reaction.
Reciprocate to giving feedback from teams.
Positive attitude & mindfulness
“Those who have learned to collaborate and improvise most
effectively have prevailed.”
–Charles Darwin
A positive mind with a constructive attitude can be
contagious in drawing motivation in the team members. HR
leaders must stay positive even during a negative situation
to resist the breakage of the team cluster in the
organisation.
Mind-bending leaders often seek challenges to find
solutions to improve their emotional intelligence (EI)
constantly and to expand the learning experience. This
damages low morale and boosts team spirit when the
leaders perform at their optimum right from the top.
Incorporate empathy and humility
The best way to understand and connect with the team as a
leader is through empathising with team members by
comprehending their viewpoints and challenges.
Acknowledging the efforts of the team members will
cultivate a sense of belongingness.
Forging two-way communication and assessing the received
feedback is the real deal that depicts learning and growth in
the HR leadership based on the team’s requirements.
Empathetic leaders can deliver better results by up
to 40% in decision-making and employee engagement.
Develop interpersonal social Traits
HR leaders with emotional intelligence have developed the
highly desirable social skills that make them appear
confident, approachable, and effective orators. Developing
interpersonal social skills will ensure the allocated team’s
growth in safe hands and simultaneously impress the
stakeholders and the other teams to build trust and
reliability in the professionals from the leadership roles.
Here is a simple list of methods that can fix your social skills
and take it to the level-A game as an HR leader:
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Have a heart-warming smile while greeting peers and
associates.
Accept your mistakes and apologise if needed.
Evaluate the impact of your words before delivering
them.
Value your team members’ time as much as your own.
Remain faithful to your given word and deliver the set
expectations.
In Summary
Emotional intelligence (EI) is one of the bone-bearing
hallmarks that strengthens the HR leadership for tackling
unprecedented high-pressure workplace scenarios. HR
professionals can defuse ongoing and forthcoming
situations to de-escalate interpersonal team members’
conflicts. This results in developing a healthy, work-friendly
environment that values the contribution made by the
workforce. It also encourages HR leaders to collaborate with
the operation managers in developing plans for rewarding
employees’ performance.
Sheer resilience can guide professionals in leadership roles
to attain empathy and sharpened active listening skills,
which benefits the employees’ mental health and delivers
business growth to the stakeholders. Business ventures and
HR recruiting agencies aiming to hire professionals for their
clients must emphasise and evaluate candidates on the
following parameters. Additionally, businesses can market
to HR professionals using result-oriented marketing
strategies that can derive the desired growth results.