Multi-Generational Workforce and Emotional Intelligence

Soft skills are important. Active listening, collaboration, decision making and communication — these can give you an edge, especially in a diverse or multi-generational workforce.

The first step to building soft skills is building your emotional intelligence, which helps you notice how people feel, understand what they want and predict what they do.

Being the Smartest Is Not Enough in a Diverse Environment

Computational intelligence helps you recognize patterns in systems. Unfortunately, as many Mensa members will tell you, it doesn't always help with people.

If you have a high IQ, you might see opportunities other leaders don't. You might be able to predict changes more accurately and further in advance than others. You might understand the point of a message well before the person who is delivering it reveals their point — but how do you act on these advantages?

Great leaders depend on emotional intelligence to predict feelings and behaviors, choosing the right time to act. Essentially, EI helps you take advantage of the opportunities IQ gives you.

Developing Your Emotional Intelligence

The easiest way to develop emotional intelligence you can use directly in your leadership practice is to observe people. Start with the most accessible and productive target: yourself. Try to keep track of the way you react to people and situations. You're not trying to blame anyone or take credit for anything. You're simply making a note of what happens.

After you know what you do, observe how others react to it. Again, you're just taking mental notes. Once you've spent some time examining these chains of reactions, you'll notice some patterns. These patterns are the keys to using emotional intelligence to be a better leader.

Using Emotional Knowledge and Skill to Manage Multi-Generational Teams

People look to you for guidance. You should look to yourself, as well. Look at your emotional patterns in the context of age. You'll probably see some themes.

●        Do you react differently to the same suggestions depending on who makes them?

●        Are your feelings holding your organization back when it comes to new ideas?

●        Are you pigeonholing older staff members by ignoring their suggestions about communication technology?

●        Do you feel annoyed when a certain age group makes suggestions?

These are all essential questions. They are also questions only you can answer - and only after a systematic observation of how specific people and situations make you feel.

Practice Your Emotional Intelligence

We don't usually think of feelings as things that take work. You may assume they just happen, right?

I think emotional intelligence is a skill you can practice. I've seen many leaders work to understand, control, and harness the power of emotions. I've seen their work result in more respect, better performance, and a stronger culture - especially in the context of a multi-generational workforce. 

Are you prepared and ready to practice your emotional intelligence and to see results sooner than you think? After all, business is about people, and people are emotional.