Are you emotionally intelligent?

By Jodie Balmer

At the start of this year, we were invited to an event hosted by Nigel Wright on the importance of emotional intelligence and in particular, empathy, within a work environment. Speakers included Olympian, Chris Cook, rugby champion, Tony Underwood, and Newcastle University lecturer, Lysa Morrison.

In all of my years within marketing and communications - and you can imagine how many brekkie and boozy events there have been - never have I experienced such openness and vulnerability under one roof. It was unexpected in that setting but it made me feel so connected to everyone there. 

Given our values at McBryde & Co are curious, caring, invested, transparent and driven, it makes sense that being self-aware, accountable, and empathetic would be hallmarks of our team. But cultivating emotional intelligence isn’t easy… and anyone who tells you it comes naturally, probably isn’t quite there yet.

You see, to be highly emotionally intelligent you have to face up to some hard truths and dive deep into your past to understand why you experience the world as you do. And that journey can be painful, confusing, and very confronting, but equally extremely rewarding, elating and freeing.

Ultimately, understanding yourself means you are accountable for everything that happens to you - both in work and out of work. That’s why emotionally intelligent people make for great leaders. They understand that if a team member is struggling with a task, a client, or their workload, it’s not on that individual but rather due to the lack of support they have received under your leadership. That’s not to say everything is 100 per cent the leader's fault as everyone has a part to play but, to be able to hold your hands up and say; ‘Yep, that’s on me.’ is a very powerful feeling for both you and your team. They will feel safe enough to own their mistakes and speak up when they are struggling and therefore be a lot more productive - and of course, accountable. 

According to a study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, employees who work under leaders with high emotional intelligence are more likely to experience job satisfaction, engagement, and reduced turnover intentions. Our staff retention rate is 100%, make of that what you will.

This doesn’t just go for the team either - having a transparent relationship with clients also builds a huge amount of trust and this is most likely why most of our clients (77%) have been with us since the agency opened in 2019. We empathise, we understand, we want to make their lives easier and will do everything in our power to make good on that promise. 

So, thank you Nigel Wright for inviting us to that incredible event at Newcastle Falcons, it brought about a lot of self-reflection which is always a good thing. 

Readers, over to you, do you believe you are emotionally intelligent? How do you think emotional intelligence benefits a workplace? How has having an empathetic leader helped you? Feel free to comment.