Emotionally Intelligent Leadership Quiz
Emotional intelligence (EI) has gained widespread popularity in recent years—especially in the realm of business leadership. A manager’s EI has been linked to more engaged employees, lower turnover rates, and even higher compensation.
To test your own emotional intelligence, go through the following leadership scenarios and select the most emotionally intelligent response.
Click here to get started!
© 2020 UKG Inc. All rights reserved. For a full list of UKG trademarks, please visit www.ukg.com/trademarks. All other tradermarks, if any, are property of their respective owners. All specifications are subject to change.
What do you do?
scenario #1
You’re approached by a higher-up to assemble a team and spearhead a new initiative. You have successfully led several teams for various projects in the past; however, you don’t have the technical skills necessary for the bulk of this project. What do you do?
Reject the offer, and suggest a more experienced colleague.
Accept the offer, and try to learn the technical skills you need.
Accept the offer, assemble a skilled team, and approach this challenge as a coach rather than a player.
Barring any other conflicts, rejecting the offer may not be the way to go. Keep in mind that you have proven yourself as a successful project manager and you also won’t be alone on this project. Could it be anxiety or fear that’s holding you back?
While it’s always great to take on new challenges, acknowledging and honoring your apprehensions is an important step in developing a plan to work through it.
With your track record of successful project management, leading people to victory is no problem. Great leaders aren’t always the most technically skilled—they are often the ones emotionally intelligent enough to acknowledge their own doubts, and lean on the skills of others for support.
Next Scenario
Be honest about their work, but ask them why the quality of their work has changed.
Protect them from the truth and tell them that everything is fine.
Express your disappointment, and place them on a performance improvement plan.
While honest feedback is the best choice, simply telling your direct report how you feel will only succeed in letting you get your frustrations off your chest while negatively impacting their confidence.
Although you really enjoy working with your team member, shielding them from the truth with this kind of ruinous empathy will only hurt you both in the long run.
Delivering bad news can be tough, but when it’s placed into constructive context, it allows everyone involved to grow and succeed. Asking questions can help you both get to the root of the problem and tackle it head-on.
scenario #2
One of your favorite direct reports has recently and uncharacteristically been submitting less-than-stellar work. It’s time for your one-on-one meeting with them and they ask you for feedback. What do you say?
Remind them of the importance of eye contact and confidence during meetings.
Ignore it. They’re probably just having an off day.
Ask them if something is wrong, and if there’s anything you can do to help.
Maybe it is an off day. Maybe it isn’t. This is a moment for every manager to positively impact an employee’s engagement level when they notice the warning signs.
A study exploring the employee-manager relationship found that 82% of employees count approachability as the number one quality of an effective manager. Taking the initiative to show your employees that you are available to address their concerns will go a long way.
Dismissing an employee in this manner will only further disengage them from their work, and likely create a barrier between you and them.
scenario #3
During a one-on-one with your employee, you notice that they aren’t making much eye contact with you. Additionally, they seem anxious throughout the entire meeting. What would you do?
1
1. Managers and Employees: Exploring the Great Divide, Ultimate Software & The Center for Generational Kinetics (2018)
Push through half of them and complete the other half another day to make up for the lost time.
Dive in. After the morning you had, you need to get this day over with.
Clear your mind with a mindfulness practice, or a less meaningful task. Revisit this with a level head.
Strong emotions can directly affect your objectivity, causing you to be either overly critical or even too gratuitous.
Emotionally intelligent leaders understand that their emotions can have a direct impact on their decision-making abilities. Learning to refocus when emotions are running high is an invaluable tool for any manager.
Because of the effect emotions can have on your subjectivity, you might find that one half of the reviews were conducted from a positive lens, while the other was far more critical.
scenario #4
The alarm didn’t go off. Someone rear ended your car while you were stuck in traffic. Your morning is off to a rough start. You sit down at your desk, angry, and the first item of business is to evaluate your team members for their upcoming performance reviews.
Nothing. You got your point across, so their next assignment should be on time.
There’s no need to apologize because your employee knows you’re not usually like this.
Ask yourself why you reacted that way. Apologize and address the matter at hand another time.
Try to keep this in mind: when employees quit, they rarely quit because of the organization they work for. They typically quit because of their relationship with their managers.
Although it may not have been normal behavior for you, leaving an employee to assume your intentions is risky business.
Learn more about EQ!
If you’re acting out of character, there is likely a reason for it—and the reason isn’t always related to the matter at hand. Taking the time to manage your stress and repair a relationship will keep a bad situation from getting worse.
scenario #5
One of your direct reports fails to meet a deadline. After calling them into your office to find out what happened, you find yourself yelling and dismissing your direct report from the meeting. What happens next?
How'd you do?
Like any skill, becoming an emotionally intelligent leader can be practiced and learned. For more information, begin with some insights on how emotional connection can empower employees.
Click to learn more!
