Did you know that since the 1970s, there has been a consistent 60% to 70% failure rate for organizational change projects? And according to experts, this high failure rate is the direct result of “change battle fatigue,” where employees give up on change projects because of things like poor communication, ill will, unresolved feelings from previous projects that failed, and so on.
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Luckily, however, linking your emotional intelligence training programs to your change management training programs will enable highly skilled and emotionally intelligent employees to successfully manage change projects for your organization. Continue reading to learn more.
Understanding Emotional Intelligence and Change
When people are emotionally intelligent, they’re able to practice self-awareness and self-management, are highly socially aware, and can manage their social interactions with others so that they remain positive and productive. And when a person is highly emotionally intelligent, it’s easier for him or her to experience and navigate change, especially a difficult or sudden change.
Neuroscience research discovered that individuals crave stability and information and that uncertainty triggers neural responses in the anterior cingulate cortex, the insula, and the amygdala, with physiological responses, as well.
In a nutshell, uncertainty and change cause a person to stress out and exhibit negative reactions. But practicing emotional intelligence gives individuals a way to understand and manage their own stress responses so that they can effectively understand various stakeholders’ interests and concerns, too, and how to effectively engage with them—or, at the very least, not strongly resist them.
Read: Step-by-Step: 3 Ways to Train for Emotional Intelligence, to learn more.
Strong Emotional Intelligence Leads to More Successful Change Management
People are naturally resistant to change. And when changes are proposed or carried out across an organization, it’s easy to spur negative responses and emotions. In fact, negative responses and reactions should be expected.
Therefore, having employees and leaders in your organization who know how to effectively navigate their own emotional responses, as well as understand the emotional responses of others around them, is vital to the success of your organization’s change projects.
Emotionally intelligent employees will be better equipped at mitigating others’ and their own stress as a change is occurring. And this will lead to more productive conversations and innovations as an organization is undergoing a change instead of steadfast resistance and stubbornness at every corner.
Instead of arguments or purposefully unread e-mails, you’ll see meaningful meetings take place where better decisions are made and productive actions are agreed upon.
Being more emotionally intelligent will also permit employees to be more open to learning about why a change is necessary and should be valued or how they can ensure the proper changes are successfully implemented, updated, and carried out.
And this will allow an organization to not only carry out successful change projects but also continue to adapt and adjust as changes arise in markets, industries, and economies, etc.
Emotionally intelligent employees will recover faster from adverse experiences and failed change projects, too. And they’ll work toward productive actions and cultivate productive relationships regardless of whether a change project is successful.
Don’t let your next change project fail. Link your emotional intelligence training to your change management training today.