Simple idea, but how? Tapping the latest research offers essential strategies.

As in any strategic planning, we spend resources to achieve an outcome. To effectively apply the value of emotional capital, leaders need to clarify the goal. What are we optimizing for? “A positive culture” isn’t specific enough. Nor is “happiness.” To gain the full benefit of emotional intelligence, leaders need to plan their culture — in service of their goals. Here are three expert views on how to design and implement this kind of “emotional capital strategy.”

When Chip Conley was CEO of Joie de Vive, California’s largest boutique hotel group, he described his CEO job as “chief emotions officer.” Conley, who went on to become Head of Global Hospitality & Strategy at AirBnB, says that leaders are the “emotional thermostats.” The question, is, what “temperature” will be optimal?

Freedman: “For our own org, at this stage, I’m optimizing for ownership. We’re working to build a community to support a billion people to practice emotional intelligence. To do so, I’m 110% clear that requires an unprecedented level of engagement from our team and members.

Against that criteria, I make decisions that will fuel emotions of commitment, passion, optimism, determination… feelings that will support a culture of shared ownership. Building this core of ‘co-owners of the vision’ is the only way we can achieve our goals.”

Freedman offers three “must answer” questions to start your emotional capital strategy:

1. What’s your purpose?

    

2. What is the key strategy that you will pursue to achieve that purpose?

    

3. What is the one emotional and cultural norm that’s going to most powerfully support that strategy?

Pascoe says employee engagement is one of the most critical success factors for businesses in the region.

The bad news is that according to Gallup, only 9% in the Asia Pacific workforce is engaged.

Mr. Pascoe refers to research from The Vital Organization, which his team applied in a highly successful management training programs.

He’s seen it work: “If a leader can master these three areas then they can really have an effect on engagement.”

One of Tadro’s top priorities is increasing trust. To do so, she says, leaders need to start with themselves. “Leaders need to be aware of how their emotions drive their own patterns of behavior.” She points out that without this awareness, leaders will not effectively communicate, solve problems, or influence.

“Self-reflection is the ability to evolve,” Tadros says. We are not purely rational, so we need to notice how our own feelings, thoughts, and actions are working (or not working) together. “For example, do you notice how you balance the head with the heart when giving feedback to your team?” Tadros advises leaders to learn to ask questions about emotions and behavior. “You can ask a trusted peer, or your team members,” she says, but what’s essential is to begin to get feedback about your own patterns of behavior. Tadros says that when leaders begin to cultivate this awareness, trust and communication grows because, “you show your team your openness and willingness to change positively – which would impact the team positively as well.”

How will you design and implement an “emotional capital strategy?”

When organizations onboard EQ, their customer service performance and engagement increases. It’s a positive cycle. Low explains “Increasing self-awareness has direct results, helping engage better with clients, building more customer loyalty and achieving higher sales.”

Low advises leaders who want to build a great customer engagement and experience, to ask teams to “think of a personal experience of what was great. What was it about that engagement? Can they recognize those emotions? Can you do more of that? We can translate positive emotions into a higher memorable experiences for our clients and get loyalty as a result.”

Once we know where we’re trying to set that “emotional thermostat,” how do individual leaders actually make it happen? Ercan says the first step is for leaders to be rational enough to accept that humans are not just rational.

“In business and life,” says Ercan, “performance is fueled by drivers that are underneath the surface. Emotions are constantly there, affecting all our thoughts and actions. Even we deny their existence or we don’t want to see them, emotions  are propelling us, and all our employees.”

Erdem cites the 2017 Vitality research as a case in point. The study found that across 95 countries, when asked to categorize organizational challenges as “rational/technical” or “emotional/relational,” just over 70% of the most pressing organizational issues are in the emotional domain.

Ercan’s conclusion is straightforward:  “If you want performance, you need to understand what’s really driving your team. Then work with those emotions effectively.”

He suggests that the starting point is simple: Just ask. “The challenge,” Ercan says, “is doing this without judging or reacting, otherwise they won’t be honest… or won’t be honest again.” For example, he says, start a management meeting by asking, “How are people feeling about the project right now?” While some managers have a hard time accurately answering, with just a little practice, they become more skilled.

“By surfacing this data,” Ercan continues, “we start getting the messages of emotions, which gives us an important perspective. At the same time, genuinely asking this question leads team members to see the leader’s commitment to them as people.”