I am a student of EI, or Emotional Intelligence, which is the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one's emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically.  I receive many articles about it and recently one peaked my interest since it talked about the value of high emotional intelligence in team performance.

While the majority of research had been conducted on the importance of emotional intelligence in individuals, a recent study looked at how it can affect teams.  The study by Harvard University showed that “teams with greater average emotional intelligence have higher team functioning than [did] groups with lower emotional intelligence.”  It also revealed that a team’s ability to understand each other’s emotional expressions made a 40% difference in team performance.

An article on forbes.com lists six signs of an emotionally intelligent team:

1.      They re-clarify norms for new members.

A team consisting of members with high emotional intelligence will realize that a new team member doesn’t know the unspoken rules of the team and small team nuances.  They communicate these things to the new team member to help them better adjust to the team.  At the same time, they realize it’s a good time to review the “team norms” and make adjustments if necessary. I find a do this quite often in meetings.

A little over a year ago, our CFO retired after 15 years at ASE.  After what seemed like a long search we found his replacement.  I find myself in our staff meetings constantly stating, “For Tracy’s benefit....”  I also do this in ASE Board meetings when we have a new board member join the group.

2.      They use curiosity to strengthen relationships.

Emotionally intelligent teams use questions to constantly learn more.  A strong team isn’t afraid to ask questions and strives to see other perspectives.  Curiosity is seen as a strong leadership skill since it takes humility and confidence to express curiosity.

3.      Their environment is psychologically safe.

To have a healthy work environment, team members must feel safe to express their opinions and raise questions.  The highest performing teams are always sharing ideas and challenging the status quo.  Trust is important for any team.  We strive to establish this at ASE, but it takes ongoing effort.  Most of my senior team has been with me 15+ years, but we still need to remind ourselves of this.

4.      They balance relationships with tasks.

Emotionally intelligent teams realize the value of relationships within the team.  While tasks will get you to the end goal, it’s important to maintain healthy working relationships to keep the team performing at its best. 

5.      They prioritize team learning.

The best performing teams always perform “after action reviews” upon project completion.  An “after action review” reviews:

o   What the team intended to achieve

o   What they actually achieved

o   What caused the difference

By doing this it allows continuous improvement in the team methods and provides a chance to improve with every project.  This is one area I know my team needs to improve upon.

6.      They listen to each other.

Active listening is key to any team’s performance, and highly emotionally intelligent teams possess this skill.  Instead of thinking about what they want to say next, emotionally intelligent team members listen to each other without constantly thinking about what they will say next. 

Even if you feel your team is emotionally intelligent, these tips are a great review to share with your team to keep them performing well.  This is also a great review for anyone adding new team members.  The ability to work with each other in an emotionally intelligent way is key to a team’s success.