Greater Success And Sales Using Emotional Intelligence to Engage Staff and Clients

Research studies have related team performance and team characteristics to effective leadership behaviours.

These behaviours encompass emotional intelligence.

And emotional intelligence becomes then a precursor for the demonstration of transformational leadership.

The conclusions drawn then are that facets of brain dominance and emotional intelligence may be potentially useful predictors of transformational leadership behaviours.

So what is emotional intelligence?

Emotional intelligence is described by Herbst and Maree and again by Schelecter and Strauss as a cognitive ability that involves the processing of emotion.

Other models define emotional intelligence in terms of behaviours and skills, including stress management skills (such as stress tolerance and impulse control), self-management skills (such as self-control, conscientiousness and adaptability), as well as social skills (such as conflict management, leadership and communication).

Overall critical in understanding how effective a persons level of emotional intelligence is, is the requirement to understand how an individual perceives, understands, utilises and manages emotions.

Leadership comprises both intellectual and emotional facets and both these facets need to be attended to during the training of managers in order to equip them with sufficient leadership skills.

Transformational leadership behaviour has been found to be positively related to team-leader emotional intelligence and both these are said to be positively related to trust (both in the team leader and in team members) and to team commitment.

It seems that leaders are important creators and sustainers of the processes and dynamics responsible for effective teams.

So in the financial services world - effective client engagement and client servicing comes from having exceptional teams, team members and team dynamics that support a culture of ownership and empathy with the client.

Further the team needs to be crystal clear on the outcome that the business is creating for the client.

Without a leader that can define in client terms the vision for the business with a meaning and relevance that staff can not only believe in but share the vision and help create it - then the business is only positioning itself for transactions with clients and not transformations of clients and the business itself.

Businesses that are not defining a vision, purpose and message for clients, sharing that vision with staff and building capbilities to deliver on the promise may do well in the short term in transactional wins.

But the businesses such as industry funds and the major financial institutions that are shaping messages to win hearts and minds of clients will be the businesses that truly capture the attention and the longevity of client loyalty.

The longer they are able to do this, then the longer they will be able to build their capbilities further to provide true family advice, true intergenerational offerings that deliver on providing the unspoken needs of clients.