“Agility” is more than a buzzword in the workplace today; it’s a requirement. Organizations must be ready for challenges they couldn’t have imagined 5 years ago (COVID-19 anyone?). And every smart company you can think of is undergoing some kind of agile transformation.
Agility may be the key 21st-century competency. In a 2020 Wiley survey of 2,500 professionals, 95% of managers, directors, and executives said that agility—the ability to adapt quickly and easily—is more important to their organization’s success now than it was five years ago. And 90% of respondents, from individual contributors to the C-suite, said agility is more important to their individual success than it was five years ago; increasingly, employers require it.
Because of all the changing dynamics and demographics, the modern workplace can be a jumble of norms and expectations. But agile workers demonstrate core social and emotional strengths that make teamwork and problem-solving possible: active listening, self-reflection, empathy, objectivity, assertiveness.
In other words, the elements of emotional intelligence—another hot topic today—are the building blocks of agility. And leaders clearly see the connection between the two. In Wiley’s Agile Organization survey, 97% of supervisors, managers, directors, and executives said that emotional intelligence is crucial to an agile workforce.
There’s a growing recognition of the value of emotional intelligence (EQ) in the workplace. In Wiley’s survey, 95% of respondents said EQ is at least as important at work as IQ—if not more so. 86% of managers, directors, and executives said EQ is a bigger factor in organizational success than it was five years ago. Managers indicated they spend significantly more time on interpersonal issues, where higher EQ would be helpful, than on either the quality or quantity of work their employees do.
What’s the best way to nurture EQ at work and grow agility in an effective, scalable way?
The new Everything DiSC® Agile EQ™ profile, on its own or undertaken as part of individual or group coaching/development programs (face to face OR online) is one answer. The assessment is grounded in the proven Everything DiSC® assessment, which measures two central aspects of personality: pace and scepticism. On top of that, Agile EQ™ measures each employee’s comfort with the eight EQ mindsets.
The results of the assessment are presented in a personalised 26-page profile report. When combined with individual or group coaching/training, participants receive the guidance they need to develop a step-by-step guide and personal action plan – in other words, a roadmap to improving their agility and EQ.
Let’s say a participant excels at the Empathy mindset and is great at facilitating supportive, one-on-on conversations yet resists connecting with strangers at sales or networking events. The profile outlines beginning, intermediate, and advanced steps they can take to make the alternative Outgoing mindset more comfortable for them. Or say a participant is naturally Resolute, and hence great at withstanding doubts and criticism, yet struggles to compromise with others. The profile helps them see what that weakness is costing them and how chipping away at it could open up new opportunities. The profile acknowledges participant’s existing strengths, making it easier for them to take action.
Ultimately, the goal of Agile EQ is to empower employees—from individual contributors to executives— to move more comfortably between the eight EQ mindsets, to become more agile. Nobody does it effortlessly, of course, but the Agile EQ program has an optimistic foundation, clearly showing each participant the EQ strengths they’re starting from. From there, the emphasis is on their development. Boosting EQ and becoming more agile is like building a muscle, and the profile and any supporting individual or group coaching/development provides pragmatic and practical solutions to contribute to participant growth.
We live in challenging times, with unprecedented threats to public health, climate, and the market. Now more than ever, professionals need to keep their eyes glued to the horizon. Today’s workforce may be perfectly suited to today’s challenges. But what about next year’s? What if the competitor around the corner suddenly shows up on your doorstep? What if the next pandemic appears before you’ve recovered from the last one? Being competitive today means developing employees at all levels to adapt to each new challenge in real time. Everything DiSC® Agile EQ™ helps organizations and people adapt to the future—whatever it brings—so that when it arrives, they’re ready.
We are authorised Agile EQ / Everything DiSC partners – give us a call or drop us an email to discover how Everything DiSC Agile EQ can help develop the agility and emotional intelligence of your team today!