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Aim
The emotional intelligence of individual team members, and the team as a whole is greatly significant to the functioning of that team. This exercise is therefore designed for teams to raise awareness of their emotional intelligence. Allow one hour for completion.
Learning Objectives
Participants will be able to …
- Analyze their individual EQ within the team
- Recognize how their individual EQ affects team dynamics
- Analyze their team’s EQ and discover any need developments
- Work towards improving EQ
Facilitator Guidance
The facilitator for this exercise needs a reasonable grounding in emotional intelligence. It will be most beneficial for working with a team, and it is important that facilitators are aware of the culture and values of the organization they are working with, i.e. the goals of the organization with regards to emotional intelligence, and what the organization would like to see as the norm.
It would also be helpful if you are familiar with the team and are aware of how they are perceived by other teams and external customers. The facilitator for this element could be an HR trainer, even a member of senior management acting as an emotionally intelligent role model for the team.
Suggested Resources
What to Do (25 minutes)
- Introduce the exercise, explaining its purpose and learning points.
- Distribute the exercise to the team members and allow five minutes for them to answer the individual questions on the first page.
- Encourage them to reassemble in their team to discuss and answer the remainder of the questions on page 2. Allow another 20 minutes for completion.
Review Activity (25 minutes)
Once the team have answered the questions, facilitate a discussion to assess how emotionally intelligent they think their team is. If time is constricted, be aware of time passing so members do not dwell over one or two questions in excessive depth. It is better to get an overall picture of emotional intelligence. You may want to ask such questions as:
- Do you think, as an individual, you display good team emotional intelligence?
- How does your individual emotional intelligence impact the team? What areas need improvement?
- Do members think their team is emotionally intelligent?
- Were there any areas where emotional intelligence was not as good as it should be?
- How are the team dynamics and outcomes affected by gaps in emotional intelligence?
- What can be done to improve emotional intelligence in the team?
Apply Learning (10 minutes)
Encourage team members to take away the question sheets and reflect on their individual contributions to the team, and areas where they could improve their EQ. You may want to encourage members to update their personal development plan. You can also work with the manager of the team to work on a team development plan capturing areas for improvement, development methods, timescales and allocation of responsibilities. You can supplement this diagnostic with a simple action plan capturing changes to systems and practices.
You may want to follow up this diagnostic with other EQ exercises. A future follow up session may also be beneficial, where the questions are reviewed. Has team EQ improved? Are there any areas still with poor EQ? What can be done to improve these areas?
How Emotionally Intelligent Is Your Team? – Task Sheet
The emotional intelligence of individual team members, and the team as a whole is greatly significant to the functioning of that team. This exercise is therefore designed for teams to raise awareness of their emotional intelligence.
Task
- Answer the individual questions on your own.
- Now, in your team discuss and answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the rest of the questions. Also discuss your individual questions.
Individual Questions
1a. Individually – creating awareness of emotions
- Do you take the time to ask how other team members are getting on?
- Are you open with colleagues?
- Do you make an effort to engage quieter team members in conversation?
1b. Individually – regulating emotions
- Would you confront bad behavior?
- Do you offer support to other team members and ‘stick up’ for weaker team members?
- Do you listen to opinions which are different from your own?
- Are you careful not to hurt other team-members feelings?
- Do you try to acknowledge all contributions to the team?
Group Questions
2a. As a team – Creating awareness of emotions
- Is time set aside to see how everyone in the team is getting on?
- Does your team socialize out of office hours?
- Are you aware of the team displaying ‘group moods’?
- Are team members encouraged to give constructive feedback at any time?
- Do you ask internal and external customers how they view the team?
2b. As a team – Regulating emotions
- Do you set aside enough time to thoroughly discuss important issues?
- Does your team deal with confrontational behavior effectively?
- Do you express emotions openly?
- Do you all allow time to relax and de-stress?
- Do you stay focused on the team's ultimate objectives?
- Does your team work in a problem-solving, rather than a blame culture?
- Do you work as a team to anticipate problems?
- Are you prepared to make decisions on behalf of the team, if individual team members are hesitant?
2c. As a Team – Beyond the team
- Do you take time to learn what other people in the organization are thinking?
- Are you aware of potential external sources which could influence your group?
- Are you familiar with the cultures and values of the organization?
- Are your team’s actions in line with organizational culture?
- Do you build external relationships and take advantage of networking opportunities?
- Does your team provide support for other teams?
3. Now look through the above questions, and highlight with a star, the ones which your team has answered ‘no’ to. If you answered no, this could signify a weakness in group EQ. Discuss how you can approach these areas where there is room for improvement.
Download the Task Sheet.
