Are you a person that gets “charged up” and excited by tight deadlines? Working under pressure at a rapid pace is energizing to you. But what if you work with others who need time to process information and have a high need to be organized and analytical, or their stress level peaks? Knowing this about yourself, and the others you work with, will reduce tensions and emotional reactions. Being able to objectively talk about and plan strategies that work for you and your colleagues will produce a better outcome for you both. This is the essence of emotional intelligence.
Increasing your emotional intelligence – being aware of your emotions, the emotions of others, and using that intelligence to manage your actions through to a successful outcome – can help you become a more effective leader if you follow the process of first self-awareness and then self-management.
Makes sense, but not always easy. That’s where DiSC comes in.
DiSC is a behavioral assessment that helps us to better understand ourselves and others (see a short video on DiSC or see a sample assessment). Through DiSC, we can better understand what makes us “tick”, what drives us – what gives us energy – and what drains our energy and pulls us down. DiSC clues us in to what situations we may be in that will get us “charged up” – creating emotional highs, or frustrate us – pulling down our emotional state. This increased self-awareness cues us in to reactions we are having. Then, and this is a critical then, we can choose to move from just being aware, to learning how to manage those reactions.
To move to self-management, DiSC provides tips and strategies to adapt our approaches as we work with others, in different situations, making us more emotionally intelligent and effective in working with others. This results in a better work product and a stronger relationship – likely tapping into the strengths you each bring to the table.
So think about increasing your intelligence – emotionally! Use DiSC as your study guide!
Coaching Thoughts – For You and Your Peers
- How would you rate your boss on a scale of being self-aware? How about yourself?
- Think through the last 2 days at work. Write down the names of people who have frustrated you. Now think about how your reactions would look on video. Anything you might want to adjust?
- Do you agree or disagree that increasing emotional intelligence is important?
