Webinar: Marketing Emotional Intelligence Assessments Successfully

‘Marketing Emotional Intelligence Assessments Successfully’
with Geetu Bharwaney on February 22, 2011 at 3PM ET

 Register your spot for the webinar here.

Some people would say that conducting emotional intelligence assessment is a tool for prosperous times whereas others would argue that when times are tough, there is more need than ever to incorporate emotional intelligence assessments into organizational and leadership development programs. In this webcast, you will hear directly from an experienced practitioner who has been involved in emotional intelligence assessment since 1999. She will provide an insight into how best to market emotional intelligence tools for success. This webcast has PACE – a hands-on approach summarising the keys to success in selling emotional intelligence assessment to large and medium sized organizations. You will be able to refine your approaches to the marketing of emotional intelligence assessment. If you are new to emotional intelligence assessment tools, this webcast will set you on the right path for marketing emotional intelligence assessments effectively.

This webcast is suitable for both internal and external professionals – coaches, facilitators, managers and executives. You might already be using emotional intelligence assessment or thinking about investing in these tools.

About Geetu

Geetu is Founding Director of Ei World, a long established provider of services involving emotional intelligence research, coaching, development and certification. Geetu founded Ei World in 1999 to bring a dedicated focus on emotional intelligence within organisations. She is a highly experienced qualified trainer of the EQ-i and EQ-360 tools for assessing emotional intelligence and regularly conducts programmes to equip new users of the EQ-i tool in organizational settings. 

 Geetu has applied emotional intelligence assessment tools in leadership development, succession planning, training, research and coaching. Geetu’s key passion is to equip people to develop the skills and capabilities of working with emotional intelligence in their own arenas of work.

 She has been highly successful in building the business case for emotional intelligene in a variety of organizational contexts.

Geetu’s present work involves measuring EQ, researching the characteristics of ‘star’ leadership performance, and providing focused and targeted EQ development. She is particularly interested in the health, wellbeing and leadership applications of emotional intelligence assessment.

Webinar Recording: How to Use Emotional Intelligence to Enhance Your Leadership Performance

‘How to Use Emotional Intelligence to Enhance Your Leadership Performance’
with Roger Pearman

I want to share a learning opportunity with you – our first live webinar of the year. ‘How to Use Emotional Intelligence to Enhance Your Leadership Performance’ is presented by esteemed EI expert, Roger Pearman. It focuses on marketing emotional intelligence successfully for leadership applications with case studies, and even a SWOT analysis that demonstrates client results.

Some organizations and clients do not an understanding or even awareness of the importance of emotional intelligence. As such, there are several steps in the process of instilling the value of emotional intelligence to help achieve greatness in leadership in the workplace.

These steps are outlined in the interactive, one hour webinar, and you will learn:

• Why and how does emotional intelligence make a difference in leadership?
• How do you initiate emotional intelligence training in your organization?
• How do you create an action plan for implementing emotional intelligence?
• How emotional intelligence will work for you, not against you.
• Solid tips and tools for using emotional intelligence to enhance leadership in your organization.

Listen to this webinar as hosted by Training Industry here.

Q&A with Diana Durek: How To Successfully Market Emotional Intelligence to Your Clients

 

Interview with Diana Durek, M.S. (Emotional Intelligence Advisor)
Article by Judy Lee

A typical and negative response: “It’s too touchy feely,” says the brow-raising executive.

What do you do? Keep your poise, and breathe.

This is your opportunity to uncover the truths behind emotional intelligence to make a difference for a client or organization. Diana Durek, Emotional Intelligence Advisor at MHS, knows this all too well with her work with Fortune 500 companies such as American Express and General Electric. In my Q&A with Diana, she uncovers information to help you market emotional intelligence  successfully to win over that brow-raising client.

Judy: What are the greatest obstacles in selling emotional intelligence? How can you work around them?

Diana: The misconceptions surrounding emotional intelligence act as the greatest obstacle. In my experience, the most common misconceptions include:

1)        EI is too touchy-feely including the group hug mentality

2)        The very words emotional intelligence

To get around this, I make an effort to show concrete examples of how emotional intelligence has worked along with the true impact on business. There is one brochure that I always bring with me, and that is the “Emotional Intelligence & Return On Investment”. It features case studies of clients where there has been proven ROI through the use of an emotional intelligence initiative. For example, the United States Air Force has implemented cost avoidance programs in their selection of pararescue jumpers. As a result, they are expected to save up to $19 million while improving retention rates. Other case studies in that brochure provide credibility, and they speak for themselves with examples from the likes of American Express, Center for Creative Leadership and CIBC.

Judy: What resources d0 you bring with you to supplement your presentation or meeting with an organization to discuss EQ-i (emotional intelligence asessment tool) use?

Diana: First off, I bring reports. They are tangible. They immediately demonstrate the value that comes from the EQ-i and they help people to make connections between emotional intelligence and organizational performance.

If we were to look at the EQ-i, the upcoming availability of the EQ-i 2.0 reports will bring a new level of engagement. The reports aren’t static, and they will act as a resource. Not only do the reports enable accurate and more in-depth interpretation, but they appeal to business executives.

Other resources that I consider include The EQ Edge by Dr. Steven Stein. It gives a solid understanding of the EQ-i model for those people who need a grasp of what it is and how you can use it.

Judy: Who in the organization should you involve in the conversations about using emotional intelligence?

Diana: I try to call on everyone relevant to the goal at hand to participate in the discussions involving emotional intelligence. For example, if the organization is looking to increase the performance of the customer service team, then I would invite the departments including human resources, customer service and operations.

Judy: What are the best marketing mechanisms or tactics that you’ve seen used by consultants and coaches to help them get the word out about emotional intelligence and what they do?

Diana: Be informed and share that knowledge with others. A great way to show your expertise is by conducting conference presentations (Organizational Development Summit and ASTD are coming up in May) and workshops, writing articles, and participating in discussion forums such as the ones on LinkedIn. One of the groups that I am in is The Emotional Intelligence Connection; it has a strong community of consultants, coaches and HR professionals that help each other in building their businesses.

Judy: How will the new EQ-i 2.0 experience help consultants and coaches market their services even more effectively?

Diana: The EQ-i 2.0 serves as a one-stop shop. I’ve mentioned that the reports have been completely revised, and in addition, we’ve improved the entire experience. The model has been revised to allow you and your clients to gain an even deeper understanding of emotional intelligence. Overall, EQ-i 2.0 offers more resources and more support to consultants, coaches or HR professionals.

Judy: How can a consultant or coach transition effectively from the EQ-i to the EQ-i 2.0?

Diana: There are a series of launch events that are being held in several locations. They are going to be structured to provide an inside (and first) look into what the EQ-i 2.0 is all about. One person who would be there is Dr. Steven Stein, and he feels so strongly about this new phase of where the assessment industry is going.

Also, one question that will get asked is if one needs to be re-certified. The answer is no. While the tool itself and the supporting services have been revamped or are completely new, the fundamental process for interpreting the EQ-i 2.0 remains unchanged. You can apply your existing knowledge and experience of the EQ-i to this new tool.

TIP – Print this out, and keep it by your desk for daily inspiration on marketing your success.

The Leading Edge: Using Emotional Intelligence to Enhance Performance

Article by Roger Pearman

Leadership dimensions are plentiful: visioning, communicating, planning, inspiring, and much more.  One thing all leaders have in common is followers—those who help the leader make things happen.  As such, relationships are the lifeblood of leadership achievement and there is no better way to both understand and enrich those relationships than through the lens of emotional intelligence (EI).  Individuals like coaches or consultants, and organizations using EI as a frame or perspective will find that their communication is clearer, implementation is achieved, and overall engagement and satisfaction have greatly improved.

Why and how does EI make a difference in leadership?

Leaders who utilize relationship, empathy, and problem-solving behaviors are likely to have both a clear understanding of what is needed in a situation and how to communicate information in a way that it can really be heard. Further, can there be any doubt that optimistic leaders are more satisfying to work with and for?  As noted above, these are the kinds of behaviors that emotionally intelligent leaders demonstrate—and fortunately, all of these behaviors are learnable.  The path for learning more about these behaviors begins with assessing how a leader currently displays and uses them.  The EQ-i assessment provides an excellent way to tap into fifteen emotional and social skills that give leaders the edge for strengthening their organizations at all levels.

Recently, John Ellis, the President of a company with 4,000 employees, puzzled over an internal survey of employees showing uneven employee satisfaction, distrust of managers, and a general attitude of little commitment to the work and/or organization.  His human resource and training director pointed out in a cover memo to the report that employee turnover numbers were high and expensive.  Wisely, an article on EI was also attached to the report.  John reflected on what seemed to be a sorry state of affairs and he wanted a way to approach these complex issues.  He asked for more explanation of how EI could help, and he offered to take the EQ-i assessment in the spirit of learning “more about this stuff.”

When the interpretation of the EQ-i was completed, John Ellis realized that his own behaviors around showing interest in others, engaging interpersonally, being adaptable, showing calm, and generally communicating an optimistic perspective were merely cascading down through the organization.  It was transparently clear to him that these behaviors do matter; there was one thing he was absolutely sure about. The current behavior from the leaders in the organization was not going to make the culture shift that he felt was needed.  He concluded, leaders in his organization needed to become more emotionally intelligent and he needed to start with himself.

How do you initiate EI training in your organization?

Your first task is to link organizational goals to EI skills so you can determine which of the extensively researched assessments—EQ-i, EQ 360, or MSCEIT—will help reach the awareness needed to foster development inside the organization.  So to make the case for enhancing EI behaviors through training, you need to do some homework to show the explicit link between EI along with the following:

• the leadership principles or values of the organization, and
• the developmental climate in the organization.

You are now ready to position EI as a value-add.  Decision makers want to know “what is in this for me?”—or “us”?  Be prepared to show thorough examples (and data if you have it) of how becoming more emotionally intelligent within teams, customer service or sales reps, or daily associate interactions can help the organization be focused and healthy.  Provide some examples which illustrate the following when individuals are using or enhancing their EI-related behaviors, for example:

Situation	EI Advantage Highlights
Employee is unmotivated	Getting at underlying needs that are not being met by using empathetic discussions Exploring stress-coping strategies to build capabilities
Customers are unhappy	Listening with an empathetic ear, taking initiative to constructively—optimistically—engage the individual, and using problem solving skills will produce better customer satisfaction
Team leader is ineffective	Learning how to build interpersonal skills, develop greater flexibility, and pragmatic reality-tested strategies with confidence will boost team leader effectiveness
Change initiatives need to be implemented	Leaders who are emotionally self-aware, assertive toward attending empathetically to the concerns of others, show tolerance for the stress embedded in the situation, and optimistic about the future, will be more likely to lead change effectively

No doubt you will find that EI is competing with other ideas within the organization.  For example, there are others who will argue that EI is “too conceptual” while communication training is more pragmatic.  You need to have a candid Strengths—Weaknesses—Opportunities—Threats analysis on what EI brings the organization over competing models of development.  Be sure to articulate how EI facilitates not just communication effectiveness (or other competing training topics) but also an increase in individual performance that affects all levels of the organization.  For example, you might illustrate the value of EI by this analysis:

Strengths  EI addresses proven performance-related effectiveness EI provides a focused pathway for development	Weaknesses  EI assessment or training might not be a simple or one-time event EI facilitation requires high-end facilitation expertise—not just anyone can do it
Opportunities  EI training addresses a whole range of development needs EI enhancement can impact associate health and customer satisfaction	Threats  The term “emotional intelligence” scares people off from exploring the topic EI may seem invasive and more personal rather than professionally focused

You can address the weaknesses and threats with a couple of important reminders.  EI assessments like the EQ-i are thoroughly researched and comprehensive which means getting the most out of the learning event.  Though the assessments and concepts are complex, the long-term value for the organization is worth the effort.  As for threats, an effective facilitator can help audiences understand that grasping how emotions enhance performance throughout one’s life elevates opportunities for achieving your personal and professional goals.  Further, it is vital that everyone understand who is associated with an EI learning event, and that reports are confidential and belong only to the individual who took the assessment.  The individual has to embrace their results and make the commitment to enhance specific behaviors.

Facilitate getting your next opportunity to make EI a part of organization life and to provide leaders with the performance edge they seek by:

• knowing your “buyers” in the organization—their needs, expectations, hopes
• knowing the benefits of EI tools and the EI training you want to provide
• aligning individual and organizational goals with EI learning event outcomes

Create an action plan

There are specific actions you can take to promote the awareness and potential use of EI frameworks in your organization.  As a quick summary, use this checklist as a reference to create opportunities and increase the chances of your success:

• Define your EI services, products, and experiences
• Identify the products or services that align with organizational goals
• Identify your target decision makers, end users, and how they can use the training to enhance effectiveness
• Establish a clear link between using EI insights to satisfy organizational and developmental needs
• Determine how EI will be a developmental experience relevant to everyone, regardless of their roles
• Describe the unique characteristics and benefits of your EI products, or services that distinguish them from the competition such as the science supporting EI frameworks or the immediate usability of EI concepts to work (and personal) challenges
• Define how “costs” (assessments, materials, time, fees etc.) compare with other training or coaching services
• Identify how you will use EI assessments and learning experiences, and how these will be available to the end users
• Describe the unique characteristic of EI products or services such as how EI covers a whole range of development needs from leadership development to being associated with health and well-being
• Share any research that supports development activities that are unique to EI such as the linkage of intrapersonal, interpersonal, stress management, adaptability, and general mood
• Describe how enhancing EI competencies will facilitate talent management throughout the organization

Give yourself and your organization the leadership edge—make EI behaviors commonplace in everyday organizational life!

About Roger

Roger’s professional career extends from serving on the faculty and staff of Wake Forest University, senior executive of operations in a financial service organization, and now the entrepreneurial role of company founder.  In all of these positions he has had a keen interest in developing others and enhancing their effectiveness.  Beginning in the mid 1990s, he began researching and writing about emotional intelligence and leadership.  His most popular publications include: Introduction to Type and Emotional Intelligence, YOU: Being More Effective in Your MBTI® Type, I’m Not Crazy, I’m Just Not You, Leadership and Emotions, and Emotions and Health.

PACE yourself – building a compelling and actionable business case for emotional intelligence assessments like the EQ-i

Article by Geetu Bharwaney, BSc, MScIn the early days of offering emotional intelligence assessments, my colleagues and I at Ei World used to promote the EQ-i as a ‘great tool’ with our favourite selling point – it helped realize self-awareness for a wide range of people in organizations. Whilst there is nothing wrong with this strategy, it proved not to be a particularly effective one. Over time, our strategy has changed in a subtle way to one that is more focused on the client’s needs and outcomes. We summarise this strategy with the acronym PACE.

Positioning
Application
Conviction
Execution

Each of these components of this strategy is explained below with their specific reference to the EQ-i in an organizational setting.  The result has been a marketing strategy which has served us well in effective promotion of the EQ-i to a wide range of clients.

P is for Positioning. This means that in preparing your clients to buy the tool, the tool needs to be positioned appropriately so that it is clear as to what the tool is designed to do. The key question to ask and answer is:

‘What does the EQ-i enable people to do, that they unable to do without it?’

The answer to this question helps to address the context of the assessment which we find to be critically important in today’s economically-challenged times.

In particular, we have found that the term ‘self-awareness’ is no longer adequate to make the case for using the EQ-i. More powerful are terms like ‘organizational well being’, ‘leadership effectiveness’ and ‘business performance’ which help to identify areas where return on investment can be found. Ideally, emotional intelligence assessments are positioned in line with where there is the most pain in a particular organizational context.

Now, we have found it useful to position the EQ-i as a tool which helps to transform stress into business effectiveness and well-being for the organization. The result of this clear positioning is that we have sold many more EQ-i’s in the same period compared to the previous financial period and have more large-scale projects in the pipeline.

The key to successful positioning is to have the back-up of research data and testimonials from recent projects that support this key positioning. Typically the research data is taken from existing organizational metrics (for example, engagement survey results, performance appraisal data or health metrics) and will vary from organization to organization.

A is for Application. This refers specifically to how the EQ-i is going to be applied in the organizational context. In other words, which implementation method will be used to introduce the EQ-i (i.e. as a one-to-one tool for a ‘one-time’ assessment, a one-to-one tool as part of a coaching project, a group tool for delivery of feedback to a whole group, or a research project)? Being clear about this in your marketing helps clients see various possibilities for using the EQ-i. The key question to address is:

‘How specifically will the EQ-i be used in this particular context in order to reach the best outcomes for the specific target population being discussed here?’

For example, a recent client reported the need for their leaders to be helped at a time of great organizational change. Whilst it appeared that one-to-one EQ-i assessments and confidential debrief sessions might help the leaders, the real issues were being felt by the team members that these leaders were leading. Therefore, we built a business case for all team members to participate in assessments. The leaders would have sight of their group EQ data as well as their own EQ-i profile during a two-day learning event.  This was a more effective strategy than providing confidential one-to-one sessions. This strategy helped to bring a focus on personal effectiveness both for the team leader and for their whole teams; plus, it involved providing many more EQ-i assessments. Thus, it helped to embed the EQ-i into this organization’s organizational development processes. Having the flexibility of offering the EQ-i in multiple ways was a great strength to the project.

The key to being specific about the application is to explore all possible applications (some are listed above) in relation to the stated organizational need and to identify the one(s) which are the most suitable in reaching the desired outcomes.

C is for Conviction. This refers to the process of explaining the EQ-i and being confident in your conviction about the power of the tool. We have used terms like ‘razor-sharp insight’ and ‘breakthroughs in leadership behavior’ to explain how the EQ-i adds value. It is important to create language that you can be confident about, in your verbal explanations. The key question to ask here is:

‘What are the most important benefits of using the EQ-i in 4 words maximum?’

 You might wish to start with reviewing past clients and articulate the stated benefits from clients. Use this language in your marketing materials to help make the case for the EQ-i.

E is for Execution. This refers to the actual task of gaining a client and working with them. Most client projects start with someone who is initially interested in the tool. The key question to ask and answer here is:

‘What is the optimal starting point for exploring the power of the tool in this context?’

We used to go right ahead and provide a trial assessment when asked (this is a usual starting point for people expressing interest in the tool) though we have found that a trial of the EQ-i and a confidential debrief may or may not lead to further assessments as it is subject to the impact of the EI strengths and development areas of the respondent’s EQ-i. For example, a client with very low Impulse Control may have moved onto the next thing before fully following through with the trial assessment or a client with Low Reality Testing may not fully realise the implications and subtleties of the implementation of the EQ-i.

A more powerful technique would identify the right volunteer and the starting point for a possible project. Sometimes it is a trial assessment but not necessarily with the person who is commissioning the work – ideally it is conducted with a ‘real’ client or a small group of real clients. This will provide more accurate experience of using the tool.

Ideally the execution of the early stages of EQ-i usage is mapped out, so that the use of the EQ-i can be trialled and refined based on the ‘teething’ stages of a new project.

With a focus on Positioning, Application, Conviction and Execution, we believe that it is possible to be highly successful in using the EQ-i.  The combined effect of focusing on these four aspects of marketing the EQ-i is a compelling and actionable business case for the EQ-i.

About Geetu, Founding Director of Ei World Limited

Geetu leads projects involving leadership development, emotional intelligence and coaching in a cross cultural context in both the corporate and educational worlds. In the last year, she has focused on interventions based on emotional intelligence for technical experts. A key passion is to equip people to develop the skills and capabilities of working with emotional intelligence in their own arenas of work.

Geetu’s present work involves measuring EI, researching the characteristics of ‘star’ leadership performance, and providing focused and targeted EI development.

Geetu Bharwaney is a qualified trainer of the EQ-i and EQ-360 and regularly conducts public programmes to equip new users of the EQ-i at Ei World – a long-standing provider of emotional intelligence assessments in organizational settings.  She can be contacted by email gbharwaney@eiworld.org or by phone +44-1525-840090.