Whatever our wishes and hopes, the world we knew before covid will never return. Our future will be vastly different to the one we planned for; the way we interact, how we work, the processes we use to achieve our goals, even the goals themselves. As leaders we need to ask ourselves how well we are embracing this change and whether in-fact we have all the skills we need to effectively to lead our teams. This is why we need to assess our IQ, EQ and AQ.

By Andrew Smith, Co-Founder of Haylo People.

Emotional Intelligence

IQ is a no brainer! Excuse the pun, but there was always the need for intelligence in a leadership role. But EQ (Emotional Intelligence), that’s a different matter. As remote work becomes the norm, the ability for leaders to be aware of the emotional welfare of their teams has evolved into a priority concern. People are experiencing levels and types of stress that are relatively new to them; the practicalities of working from home, family and friend’s health and cost of living increases. For many the separation of home and work has totally disappeared and as we move forward we need to be cognisant of the pressure this can create for our team members.

The Ability to Adapt

Have you heard of AQ? The term is relatively new to me, though the implications are not. Adaptive Intelligence ‘the ability to see near futures and adjust to them in the moment’. Our world moves fast, probably faster than ever before, so to outpace the potential for organisational inertia leaders need to understand and be able to adapt to the changing world around them.

Being tuned in to what’s happening (both on a macro and micro level), open to new ideas, pragmatic and purposeful, enables leaders to see the near future, to plan for it and implement effective change.

The Basic Question Leaders Need to Ask

As leaders we need to ask ourselves a very basic question. How well have we adjusted our leadership focus in the post-pandemic world? It’s an important question and one we need to answered honestly. A recent article in Forbes magazine made it easy by providing multiple choice answers:

1. I have relied on traditional assumptions and skills
2. I have watched more attentively than before but have not acted differently
3. I have been comfortable to shift focus where I believe it is necessary
4. I have been aware and used new forms of insights and data to shift my leadership style
5. I am highly adaptive to the situation

You don’t need a superior level of IQ, EQ or AQ to know which of the above we should be and it would be patronising of me to explain why. Our leadership styles may differ, but the desire for our people to thrive should be the same. As leaders I believe we need to ask ourselves the hard questions and above all let go of our tight grip to the past.

This is a big subject and if you’d like to discuss the strategies we’ve used at a leadership level to implement positive change then please get in contact.

> Connect with Andrew Smith