In a fast-moving world, where there is continuous evolution in the workplace and technology, challenges faced by leaders as well as other people in a professional environment are intensifying expeditiously. It is becoming increasingly complicated, especially post-pandemic, to connect and understand the mental, emotional and physical wellbeing of employers, leaders and peers. In such an environment, where the feeling of alienation is at an all-time high, leaders are realizing the importance of Emotional Intelligence.
Digital HR’s virtual event on ‘Emotional Intelligence Leadership Roundtable 2021’ was held on 18th March 2021 and it probed ways in which Emotional Intelligence emerged as the backbone of employee productivity and examined the importance of various emotions and how it drives leaders to face the challenges of the future.
The virtual event witnessed the participation of various leaders from different avenues. The panel was moderated by Baalmiki Bhattacharya, Partner and COO at Growthsqapes and comprised of Vivek Gupta, Regional Manager of Learning and Development (Asia) and Head Talent Management (India) at Rentokil Initial, Carmistha Mitra, Senior Vice President of Human Resources and CLO at Axis Bank, Dr Pete Harpum, Europe Partner at Growthsqapes and Dr Sanjeev Dixit, Global President, Human Capital Management at Cadila Pharmaceuticals.
Opening the session, moderator Baalmiki Bhattacharya, Partner and COO at Growthsqapes said, “This session is important in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and we need to ask the question as to why we need to emphasize the need for emotional intelligence and bring the ‘care’ back in leadership.” He cited an excerpt from the World Economic Forum’s 2015 ‘Future of Jobs’ report that emotional intelligence as competency in leadership does not exist. Therefore, bringing back ‘care’ in leadership is the need of the hour.
Vivek Gupta, Regional Manager Learning and Development and Head Talent Management at Rentokil Initial added, “It is extremely important to understand the realities of our team members. Only by spending time in coaching and helping your team, you can resolve conflicts at the workplace.”
Dr Sanjeev Dixit, Global President, Human Capital Management at Cadila Pharmaceuticals was under the strong view that the main problem arises when we keep associating emotional intelligence with how we are dealing with others rather than how we are dealing with ourselves. He said, “We have to spend time with ourselves to understand how we react in situations. Experience and movement of truth is actual emotional intelligence.”
Carmistha Mitra, Senior Vice President of Human Resources and CLO at Axis Bank opined, “Empathy is the bedrock of emotional intelligence and it only comes through a process of listening and wishing to listen more. It also comes through a process of curiosity to really know the other person and share each other’s vulnerabilities. Only with collaboration, we can enhance performance thereby promoting emotional intelligence.”
Dr Pete Harpum, Europe Partner at Growthsqapes emphasized how we need to be true to ourselves. He said, “The need for emotional intelligence has always been there because we as humans cannot always effectively respond well to industry requirements.”
He explained how Emotional Intelligence has taught people to act in large organizations which are mechanistic. Dr Harpum added, “A zen person can respond to a stimulus in the environment without even having to think about it. This means, in emotional intelligence, we need to get to a point where it is just about authenticity because, what’s authentic is who we are, not who we pretend to be.”
One pivotal point which remained centric to the event was the importance of taking leaders and team members through a process where they face themselves to learn deeply about their behaviour in order to navigate challenges and dilemma which may arise in the future.
