Politics in the workplace? Don’t lie to yourself, we all know that they exist. There are politics in many facets of life – the PTA, your child’s soccer team, the non-profit that you volunteer at – and especially at work. Well it turns out, those with enhanced EQ skills are better equipped to handle politics in organizations.
The findings from a new study[1] revealed that “the relationship between emotion recognition ability and annual income is mediated by political and interpersonal skills. This means that the better people are at recognizing emotions, the better they handle the politics in organizations and the interpersonal aspects of work life…” According to the research, these findings indicate that EQ enables people to be “more successful at work.”
Navigating the political schema at work, both internally and externally, can be an important aspect in team cohesiveness, collaboration, attaining those more difficult sales, and driving new business.
TRACOM’s Behavioral EQ Model focuses on the most practically important aspects of EQ and specifically on modern workplace challenges. Research shows that the behavioral elements of EQ — the aspects of the model that focus on our actions — lead to the most visible and meaningful improvements. These same behavioral aspects have proven to be the best predictors of job performance and success.
The TRACOM Group offers Emotional Intelligence courses, Emotional Intelligence assessments and other resources to improve your individual and organizational performance.
Getting caught up in the political messiness at work can be harmful to an organization’s efficiency and effectiveness. It is critical for an organization’s workforce to be able to overcome drama and mind games that can be brought about through politics at work. Enhancing your workforce’s Behavioral EQ skills can help.
Watch this video to learn more about TRACOM’s Behavioral EQ Model.
Check out other Emotional Intelligence Research here or learn about the 15 core competencies of Behavioral EQ here.
[1] Momm, T., Blickle, G., Liu, Y., Wihler, A., Kholin, M., & Menges, J. I. (2015). It pays to have an eye for emotions: Emotion recognition ability indirectly predicts annual income. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 36, 147-163
