In our last post, we looked at the recent history of emotional intelligence, and how it has rooted itself so firmly in the awareness of today’s business landscape. A stunning success story in terms of “viral ideas” it has proven its value many times over through demonstrable results as reported by the world’s most influential organizations.
In this post, I want to tell you the compelling story of a project Blueline Simulations recently completed with a Fortune 120 pharmaceutical firm that involved the use of assessments, executive coaching, and customized training.
The client organization engaged Blueline to develop a solution for key positions in the clinical trial pipeline – one that touched more than 80 leaders. The objective was three-fold: to build a greater awareness of the importance of EQ skills; to provide an understanding of where each person had strengths and gaps related to their skills; and to provide development opportunities for people to grow skills and acquire new ones in managing their emotions, and managing their relationships with other people. Our client was committed to the idea that EQ behaviors were integral to the success of this important team, and that increasing skill would also increase productivity and results.
The project consisted of four phases:
1. Attendance at a class called “Foundations of EQ” which explained fundamental concepts and explored core behaviors of EQ success.
2. An EQ 360 assessment in which the individual assessed their own skills, as well as the skills of their manager, colleagues and direct reports.
3. Individual coaching to each participant based on their assessment results.
4. Customized training based on the overall strengths and skill gaps discovered in the assessment results.
From launch to completion, the project’s four phases took six months. Within a month of completion of the project, each participant was asked to evaluate the project. The preliminary results show that the participants were convinced that this program will make a difference in their business lives, and interestingly, in their personal lives as well.
- 85% said it was the best combination of training and development they had received at their organization, or from any other organization.
- 87% agreed that they gained knowledge and skills they can use on their job.
- 85% agreed that they would use this knowledge and skill in their personal lives.
- 87% were satisfied or very satisfied with the investment of time and effort as compared to the results of the training.
But obviously participant impressions are just part of the story. While it’s premature to cite definitive business impact for the project outlined above, in my previous blog I cited numerous examples of business impacts at companies as far reaching as Coca-Cola and Fortune Brands. In my 30 plus years as a consultant and trainer, I have come to believe that any business result can be greatly improved simply by focusing on the quality of the personal transactions that delivered that result. Emotional intelligence is an idea whose time has come, and today is delivering enormous gains in speed, efficiency, and quality of human interactions.
I don’t know you or your organization, but I can say with confidence that you have enormous opportunities to leverage the power of emotional intelligence to deliver quantitatively better business results.
Ask me how. Because I think the next success story could be yours.
