The Power Of EI. - Korn Ferry

The power of EI. Do other specific EIcompetencies supportpositive climates?When climate is low, howaccurately does the leader’sboss observe what’s happening?The ESCI model gives people 12 distinctcompetencies to work with. It allows them tocompare their feedback with their leadershipsituation and make choices: to use their strengthsmore frequently, to work on underdeveloped orunderused competencies, or both. But do anyspecific competencies stand out for leaders? Dothe data reveal relationships between specificcompetencies and climate?ESCI feedback allows an individual to compare theaverage scores of different groups of raters: theirmanager, their team members, their peers, and others.Managers are typically the lowest scoring group: theirperception of emotional and social intelligence oftenappears more discerning than that of other raters.The 2016 data allowed us to investigate how leaders’Climate Index scores varied with their EI scores,comparing the perceptions of their team memberswith those of their own managers.A deeper dive into the data revealed the followingpositive and significant correlations (p 0.0001): Leaders with high scores in Conflictmanagement are likely to create the mostpositive climates overall (r .58). Inspirational leadership comes second inthe strength of its relationship with climate(r .56). In close third place is Empathy (r .54).These findings equip practitioners to giveconfident guidance to leaders who want to usetheir ESCI feedback to improve their impact.The findings give coaches permission to focusattention on the personal and interpersonalqualities that support the more obvious leadershipskills, particularly on Emotional self-awareness,which is emerging as foundational to strength inall other competencies. They also provide insightfor individuals who are not yet leaders, indicatingthose who are most likely to be successful in aleadership position.We investigated leaders’ Climate Index data againstthe three ESCI competencies with the biggest gapsbetween manager and team members’ scores:Conflict management, Inspirational leadership,and Empathy. Higher scores in all three ESCIcompetencies were related to more positiveteam climates.However, we also found that when team membersexperience a positive climate, they score theirleader’s ESCI competencies more positively thantheir leader’s manager does. When team membersexperience a negative climate, they score theirleader’s ESCI competencies more negativelythan their leader’s manager does.When it comes to assessinga leader’s behavior, theirteam members’ bottom-upobservations are likely to bemore discerning than theirmanager’s top-down perspective.9

Team members’ experience of climate matters in their assessment of their leaders’ EI.Conflict managementInspirational leadership4.50MEAN COMPETENCY SCOREMEAN COMPETENCY veaverageTopquartileCLIMATE erageTopquartileCLIMATE INDEXEmpathyMEAN COMPETENCY veaverageCLIMATE INDEX10TopquartileThis finding is of real value to leaders whoreceive ESCI and Leadership Styles andOrganizational Climate 2.0 feedback. Itoffers an important reminder that teammembers’ experiences matter most inunderstanding climate and its impact ontheir performance. It also reveals that whenit comes to assessing a leader’s behavior,their team members’ bottom-up observationsare likely to be more discerning than theirmanager’s top-down perspective. Manager scores Team members’ scores

The power of EI. Does EI strengthena leader’s approach?The Korn Ferry Hay Group leadershipeffectiveness model demonstratesthat effective leaders draw on theircapabilities to sustain their use of awide range of leadership styles, readyto respond to different situations,challenges, and team members.This enables them to create and maintain teamclimates that support performance. ESCI feedbackhelps them use and develop the competencies thatare most effective, given their situation and theircapabilities.The data from 2,052 leaders who completed ESCI,Leadership Styles and Organizational Climate 2.0surveys within a six-week period enabled us toexplore how leaders use their emotional and socialintelligence in their leadership.Effective leaders have multiplestyles in their toolkit, equippingthem to respond flexibly tochanging demands.How do we measureleadership styles?The Korn Ferry Hay Group Leadership Styles surveymeasures the six leadership styles that have thebiggest impact on climate: Visionary: Providing long-term directionand context. Participative: Building commitment andgenerating new ideas. Coaching: Supporting long-term development. Affiliative: Creating trust and harmony. Pacesetting: Accomplishing tasks to highstandards. Directive: Gaining immediate compliance.Effective leaders have multiple styles in their toolkit,equipping them to respond flexibly to changingdemands. However, the styles are different innature. The Visionary, Participative, and Coachingstyles are best for working toward long-termgoals: they create the conditions for the employeeengagement, involvement, and developmentrequired to deliver over time. The Directive andPacesetting styles are best reserved for short-termfixes: addressing the situation when there is a dropin standards or the job is not being done. Overuseof these styles typically has a negative impact onteam climate.The Leadership Styles survey asks team members torate the styles that they observe their leader using.Leaders can compare this with their own view oftheir leadership styles – their intended approach.11

Do specific EI competenciessupport the leadership styles?Given the strong correlation between climate andleadership styles, it is no surprise to observe againthe importance of a few key competencies:ESCI feedback enables leaders to play to theirstrengths as well as develop their weakercompetencies. But do any specific competenciesstand out for leaders? Does the data revealrelationships between specific competencies andspecific leadership styles? Leaders with high scores in Conflictmanagement are likely to be strong in their useof the long-term leadership styles: Coaching(r .63), Visionary (r .59), Affiliative (r .53),and Participative (r .52). It also helps themhold back on their use of the Pacesetting style(r -.44). Conflict management stands outfrom the data as one of the most significantcompetencies, potentially an emerging keyindicator for effective leadership, and one thatstrengthens with age and experience.We explored the intuitive relationships,hypothesized by Korn Ferry Hay Group expertpractitioners, and confirmed the following positiveand significant correlations (p 0.0001): Inspirational leadership with the Visionaryleadership style (r .60). Teamwork with the Participative style (r .50). Coach and mentor with the Coaching style(r .48). Empathy with the Affiliative style (r .52). For leaders with high Achievement orientation,use of the Pacesetting style is higher for thosewith lower Positive outlook scores (Cohen’s d 0.24). Those who maintain their Positive outlookare less likely to take work back from their teammembers and, consequently, will be better atdelegating effectively.These findings equip practitioners to giveconfident guidance to leaders who are using ESCIfeedback to improve their approach. Other moredetailed relationships also emerged that reveal theimportance of developing specific competencies. Inspirational leadership comes second insupport of Coaching (r .59), Participative(r .53), and Affiliative (r .50), as well asVisionary (r .60) and restraining Pacesetting(r -.40). In close third place is Empathy in supportof Visionary (r .53), Coaching (r 52), andParticipative (r .52), as well as Affiliative(r .52) and restraining Pacesetting (r -.37). Use of the Directive style is typically restrainedby leaders who are strong in Empathy (r -.29), Teamwork (r -.30) and, mostsignificantly, Emotional self-control (r -.37). The significance of Emotional self-awarenessemerged again. Leaders with high scoresare likely to be strong in the long-termstyles: Visionary (r .50), Coaching (r .47),Participative (r .46), and Affiliative (r .49).Conflict management stands out from the data as one of the mostsignificant competencies, potentially an emerging key indicator foreffective leadership.12

The power of EI. Does EI broaden a leader’srange of leadership styles?Developing a range of leadership styles takespractice. It requires leaders to make clear andaccurate links between the demands of a situationand their choice of behaviors. So, how significantare EI competencies in equipping leaders to developstrength and flexibility in their leadership styles?Dominant leadership styles, those that a leaderdemonstrates most frequently, make a differenceto a team’s climate. The more dominant longterm styles in a leader’s toolkit, the greater theircapacity to support their team’s performance. Therelationships between ESCI strengths and dominantleadership styles show how the number and type ofstyles accessible to a leader typically changes withESCI strength: With two or fewer ESCI strengths, leaders aretypically able to draw upon only one or twoleadership styles. A deeper dive into the datareveal that these are most likely to be the shortterm styles that typically result in negativeclimates: Directive and Pacesetting.Our overall measure of leadership strength is theLeadership Styles Index. Based on an individual’ssix leadership styles scores, weighted to reflecttheir impact on climate, the index is benchmarkedagainst other leaders and reported by quartiles.The relationships between ESCI strengthsand Leadership Styles Index scores show thatdemonstrating just some ESCI competenciesconsistently can make all the difference: With three to nine ESCI strengths, leaders tendto show signs of holding back on the shortterm styles and using the long-term Visionary,Participative, Coaching, and Affiliative stylesmore often. Leaders demonstrating six ESCI competenciesconsistently are typically top quartile forleadership strength. Those demonstrating four competencies aretypically above average for leadership strength. With ten or more ESCI strengths, leaderstypically use the long-term styles frequentlyand the short-term styles only when required. Those demonstrating two competencies aretypically below average for leadership strength. Those demonstrating only one ESCI competencyconsistently are typically bottom quartile forleadership strength.Average number of dominant leadership stylesChanges in the number of leadership styles with ESCI Average number of ESCI strengths13

Does a leader’s EI increaseemployee effectiveness?Korn Ferry Hay Group’s LeadershipStyles and Organizational Climate2.0 surveys provide feedback thathelps individual leaders understandand improve their effectiveness.at slightly different times. This removes the likelihoodof an employee providing an overall response,regardless of the survey. It provides a fascinatingperspective of the impact that a leader has on theirteam members compared with how their teammembers feel about working for the organization.Our Employee Effectiveness Survey measuresemployee engagement and enablement acrossan organization, identifying specific factors thatprevent employees from performing at their best.How do we measureemployee effectiveness?Our 2016 data contained 558 employees who hadcompleted the ESCI for their managers and theEmployee Effectiveness Survey. It should be notedthat when an employee completes the ESCI, theirfocus is on their manager’s behavior; when theycomplete the Employee Effectiveness Survey, theirfocus is on their organization. This analysis, therefore,compared data on two different “targets,” collected14The Employee Effectiveness Survey goes beyonda typical employee satisfaction survey. As well asmeasuring how motivated and engaged employeesfeel, it also identifies the factors that help or hinderthem in their work. By reporting both engagementand enablement drivers, the Employee EffectivenessSurvey helps organizations understand andaddress their particular barriers to employee andorganizational performance.

The power of EI. The Korn Ferry Hay Group Employee Effectiveness Survey framework.1 Clear and promising direction.2 Confidence in leaders.3 Quality and customer focus.4 Respect and recognition.5 Development opportunities.6 Compensation and benefits.EngagementPerformance drivers configuredto each client’s business priorities.EngagedPerformanceTM.7 Performance management.8 Authority and empowerment.9 Resources.10 Training.11 Collaboration.12 Work, structure and process.EnablementWhat our surveys measureCommitted and loyalto people, willing togo the extra mile.The right people inthe right roles, inan enabling workenvironment.Operational excellenceCustomer loyaltyFinancial performanceAttract and retain talentStrong employer brandThe results they achieveThe Employee Effectiveness Survey goes beyond a typical employeesatisfaction survey. As well as measuring how motivated and engagedemployees feel, it also identifies the factors that help or hinder themin their work.15

Does a leader’s EI increaseemployee effectiveness?Does ESCI strength increaseemployee retention?Comparing team members’ Employee EffectivenessSurvey responses with their scores for theirmanagers’ EI confirmed that emotionally andsocially intelligent leaders engage and enable theirteam members:One of the key indicators of employee effectivenessthat leaders have most influence over is retention.The 2016 data allowed us to compare leaders’ESCI scores with the employees’ tenure plans: thelength of time that they intend to remain in theirorganization. Overall, ESCI competency scores relate positivelyand significantly with employee effectiveness(mean r of .31, p .001 for all correlations).Across this sample of 867 employees, 21.6%reported the intention to leave within two years.However, their plans varied considerably accordingto their perception of their leaders’ ESCI strengths: Every ESCI competency relates positivelyand significantly with every engagement andenablement driver. For leaders demonstrating three or fewer ESCIcompetencies consistently (ESCI strengths),42% of team members planned to remain forat least five years.The establishment of engagement and enablementdrivers may emerge from top-down strategyand policy, but leaders who demonstrate ESCIcompetencies sustain employee effectivenessacross their organizations. Those with four to seven ESCI strengths werelikely to retain 53% of their team members forat least five years. Those with eight or more ESCI strengths couldhope to retain 69% of their team members forat least five years.Leaders’ ESCI strengths compared with employees’ tenure plans.69Percentage of employees70%60%5350%4240%30%29302020%27161510%0%0 to 34 to 7ESCI strengths168 to 12 Planning to leave within 2 years Planning to leave within 3-5 years Planning to stay 5 yearsor until retirement

The power of EI. For team members intending to leave withinone year, even low levels of emotional and socialintelligence in their leaders can make a difference: 6% who observe their leader demonstratingat least one ESCI strength intend to leaveimminently. This nearly doubles to 11% for those who observetheir leader demonstrating no ESCI strengths.These findings give reassurance that even veryfocused and targeted EI development can pay off.Demonstrating strength in just one competencyleads to more motivated and engaged employees,lower turnover, and reduced cost of hire. BroaderEI development can positively impact longer-termemployee retention.Which ESCI competencieshave the biggest relationshipwith employee retention?To investigate the impact of specific ESCIcompetencies, we compared the scores of twogroups of team members: those intending to stay atleast five years and those planning to leave withintwo years. Their scores differed significantly acrossall competencies; all effect sizes (as measured withCohen’s d) were medium.Their perceptions of their leaders’ emotionaland social intelligence differed the most forCoach and mentor (Cohen’s d 0.58), Conflictmanagement (0.53), and Inspirational leadershipand Organizational awareness (both 0.46). Thesewere followed by Achievement orientation (0.45),Teamwork (0.44) and Empathy (0.43).These findings equip practitioners to giveconfident guidance to leaders who are workingwith their ESCI feedback to improve their teammembers’ effectiveness.6%11%who observe theirleader demonstratingat least one ESCIstrength intend toleave imminently.this nearly doublesfor those whoobserve their leaderdemonstrating noESCI strengths.17

Using ESCI feedbackto boost performance.Growing interest in EI andincreased use of the ESCI overthe last 10 years has given usa wealth of behavioral data.The 2016 database has allowed us to compareparticipants’ ESCI scores with their leadershipstyles, their impact on their teams’ climates andthe drivers of their team members’ engagementand enablement. What we’ve learned is of realvalue to leaders wanting to use their feedback tobecome more effective, and to the practitionerswho provide support and development: Emotional self-awareness remains thecornerstone of emotional and social intelligence. Conflict management is emerging as animportant indicator of leadership effectiveness. Empathy ranks with Inspirational leadership inits importance to leaders. Positive outlook helps high achieving leaders todelegate effectively by moderating their use

Korn Ferry Hay Group’s recent update of the Leadership Styles and Organizational Climate 2.0 surveys (Hay Group 2015a, 2015b), so close to the ESCI norm update, offered a unique chance to compare these databases alongside each other. The availability of data from participants on our Making Great Leaders program enabled us to focus on 2,052File Size: 1MBPage Count: 20