When Daniel Goleman wrote his landmark books on emotional intelligence in the 90′s ( Emotional Intelligence, 1995, Working with Emotional Intelligence, 1998), managers in organizations everywhere nodded heads in agreement. Finally, what they knew to be true about dealing with people had a name and was clearly articulated. For the past decade,important research has been done in organizations to show that feelings and emotions have a direct impact on effectiveness, efficiency and ultimately the bottom line.

Currently, the concept is being applied to teams. Looking at the emotional
intelligence of teams is important because most of the work in organizations
today is being done by teams.

Research in the last decade has proven the superiority of group decision-making over that of even the brightest individual in the group. But the exception to this rule is when the group lacks harmony or the ability to cooperate; then decision-making quality and speed suffer.

The important difference between effective teams and ineffective ones lies in
the emotional intelligence of the group.

When people feel good, they work better, are more creative, and they are more productive. Good feelings are like lubrication for the brain: mental efficiency goes up, memory is sharpened, and people can understand directions and make better decisions.

Studies have shown this to be especially true when it comes to teams. This is
because emotions are contagious. When one or two people are in a good mood, it spreads easily to other members.

Important concepts covered in this article:

Elements of Emotional Intelligence
The Importance of Teams in Organizations
Three elements of successful teams
When personalities clash
Feeling good and the bottom line
How is emotional intelligence developed?
How assessments can facilitate understanding
Building self-managing teams
Using a team coach to build E.I.
Four Cluster’s of Emotional Competency
Resources on Emotionally Intelligent Teams

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Political savvy is a vital competence for any executive, but it’s not taught
in leadership or grad school courses. In fact, the term “office politics” has
received a bad rap. (Words like “Machiavellian,” “manipulative” and
“conspiratorial” come to mind.)

Tales of political sabotage, power plays and turf wars are part of any
organization’s history. Nonetheless, political competence is the one skill
everyone wishes to have more of—but no one talks about it.

Until recently, few books explained how to use political competence to build
one’s career, improve a team’s results or boost the company’s bottom line.
Samuel B. Bacharach, director of Cornell University’s Institute for Workplace
Studies, recently published Get Them on Your Side. Rick Brandon and Marty Seldman have written Survival of the Savvy: High-Integrity Political Tactics for Career and Company Success.

Political competence is the “ability to understand what you can and cannot
control, when to take action, who is going to resist your agenda, and whom you need on your side. It’s about knowing how to map the political terrain and get others on your side, as well as lead coalitions,” according to Prof. Bacharach.

Many individuals have good ideas that, if implemented, could yield positive
results for their companies. Sometimes, these ideas fall flat because the
leaders who propose them cannot gain support from key people.

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The full, 2000 word article discusses these concepts:

Defining Political Savvy
Ignore at Your Own Risk
Three Phases of Political Competence
    1. Map Your Political Terrain
    2. Get Others on Your Side
    3. Make Things Happen
The Political Analyst
The Consensus Builder
Reducing Risk through Politics
The Politically Competent Leader
Two Political Styles
Organizational Savvy Continuum
Resources

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