Volume 9    Issue 2     Summer 2002

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BUILDING THE COLLABORATIVE ADVANTAGE
by James Terrell

Increases in productivity can come from three places:1) new capital investment, 2) new technology, and 3) new knowledge/competencies. These days capital investment is pretty scarce, and new technology tends to be industry specific and occurs sporadically. So acquiring the right new competencies may well be the only route to increased productivity that is currently within easy reach of most individuals and organizations. But today, with EQ-i, they can get a pretty big bang for their buck!

The skill set that is typically the least developed throughout the American workforce -- from CEOs to new hires -- is Emotional Intelligence. The investment made in developing this group of competencies delivers an excellent return in those areas that determine from 27% to 45% of our success in workplace... and, the higher you are in your organization, the more these skills enhance your performance.

Why? Because the infrastructure of work is relationships!

In America we have historically tended to overvalue the competitive advantage at the expense of the collaborative advantage. But even new research in the study of animal behavior is showing it was not strength, or speed, or ferocity that made many species fit enough to survive evolutionary change. It was their ability to work cooperatively. Insects, dolphins, primates, other higher mammals, and yes -- human beings! provide some of the best examples of evolutionary successes that were achieved through cooperative behavior.

Some people still interpret the new kinds of evolutionary challenges, the radical changes and uncertainty in business today as turf wars to be won through more successful political manipulation.

This sort of an attitude towards workplace relationships is far too simplistic because it fails to respect the subtle complexities and concerns that enable others to trust us. It takes Emotional Intelligence, not new capital, not new technology, to build the trust that dissolves destructive competition, the friction and resistance that drags down collective productivity.

Everyone who takes the EQ-i measure from Collaborative Growth will learn new ways to understand and appreciate their strengths and weaknesses in the five mission critical realms of Emotional Intelligence. These are assessed on five composites scales which include: Interpersonal and Intrapersonal skills, Adaptability, General Mood, and Stress Management. Each of these composite scales includes specific sub-components -- for instance Adaptability includes Problem Solving, Reality Testing, and Flexibility. And what's probably best, is that all of these competencies are ones which everyone can learn and readily improve with practice.

Call us if you would like to participate in an Emotional Intelligence research project we are currently conducting. 303.271.0021

©2002, Collaborative Growth