The question of employee engagement has been coming up a lot lately. It’s clear that a highly engaged workforce correlates with a highly productive workforce.
So, how can we help?
In a recent article published in the Harvard Business Review by Tony Schwartz and Christine Porath, it was stated that leaders need to actively support sustainable work practices in four key areas – physical (Body), focus (Mind), value (Heart) and purpose (Spirit).
When they do, the result is a significant positive impact on employees’ engagement, stress levels, retention, and job satisfaction.
Moreover, when leaders model sustainable ways of working in their own behavior, the effect on those they lead is far bigger.
“We look to those with the most power in any given situation for cues about what is acceptable behavior and what is not.”
http://blogs.hbr.org/2014/07/your-bosss-work-life-balance-matters-as-much-as-your-own/
Daniel Goleman in his 1995 groundbreaking book about Emotional Intelligence, found that truly effective leaders need a high level of Emotional Intelligence, in addition to more traditional qualities like intelligence, determination and vision.
The Evolutionary Intelligence program incorporates the aspects of Emotional Intelligence into a model of mindfulness (or our preferred term Energetic Presence), that we can use to increase our Emotional Intelligence – Mind, Body, Heart, Spirit.
According to Goleman, there are five aspects to Emotional Intelligence:
Self-awareness
Self-regulation
Motivation
Empathy
Social Skill
The Evolutionary Intelligence program helps leaders improve their Emotional Intelligence (EQ), so that they embody and model sustainable working practices. Our four aspect model of Mind, Body, Heart and Spirit addresses these EQ aspects in the following way:
Self-awareness is a quality of a focussed Mind.
Self-regulation occurs through becoming aware of emotions as they arise in the Body and the realisation of the choice to respond or react.
Motivation is a quality of Spirit, driven by purpose and passion.
Empathy is a quality of Heart that leads to a sense of being seen and valued and is vital in effective communication and relationship building.
Social Skill is a result of the Integration of the four aspects.
As we balance these four aspects, we come into integrity. This is the key ingredient for building trust. It also allows us to stay true to ourselves in any given situation.
When we learn to express and balance these aspects of ourselves, we give rise to our unique genius, that which we call Evolutionary Intelligence.
Once leaders learn to access their Evolutionary Intelligence, not only do they model and embody it, but employees will look to them as role models and mentors in their own quest to find purpose, motivation and engagement in their business and personal lives.
It’s a win-win – a highly engaged and highly productive workforce results!