By: Katherine Poehnert. M.Ed.Psych., PCC
Most of us are familiar with the term Emotional Intelligence (EQ) , which is generally defined as consisting of self-awareness and regulation, as well as social awareness and relationship management. It is evident how important these competencies are in leadership, as well as in life. This blog will take a look at one aspect of EQ…relationship awareness and management (RI) withing a systems-based approach, which is known as RSI.
According to sixseconds.org, global EQ scores are declining, and we are in what may be known as a global EQ recession. This means that people:
- Are more volatile
- Are less likely to be able to navigate their emotions
- Feel less empathy and connection
- Do not feel a bigger sense of purpose
- Have an “us vs them” mentality
- Find it is easier to hate and label than to understand and empathize ( Psych Today, Nov ’24)
Our workplaces, are, for most people, the centers of our society, and with DEI initiatives being reduced, or demolished, this is likely to continue. Historically, leaders are very comfortable dealing with data and technical problems, but not so great in terms of managing emotions. In fact, many companies utilize a leadership style that competes for resources, has people working in siloes and hoarding information, and does not engender the emotional connections required in our current society. This old leadership style is no longer effective.
One new leadership style is described by Marita Fridjhon (CRR Global) and Frank Uit de Weerd ( Aoidos Leadership) as being a system inspired relational intelligence (RSI) approach. RSI can be defined as the ability to build and maintain healthy relationships, despite differing opinions and beliefs. Because we are currently living in a very polarized and devisive world, relationships, both personal and professional, can be affected by this polarity. It is important to develop an ability to navigate this by learning to find common ground, in order to build connections and trust…..The building blocks of a productive workforce. System inspired leadership is the “ability to co-create and lead from the system, trusting that the answer is there and waiting to be revealed”. It has several components:
- An awareness that leadership is a role within the system and is therefore distributed
- Team-based work processes
- The belief that Systems are naturally unique, intelligent, creative, and adaptive
- Every member of a system contributes to the systems intelligence
- Roles are dynamic and interdependent, not fixed
- Whatever disruption occurs within the system is an indication that something new is trying to emerge
- The answer is always within the system, not within the leader
This is a unique and holistic way of viewing leadership, although it relates in many ways to what leaders consider to be a strategic thinking approach. In order to be able to view things from this perspective, here are three of the competencies leaders could think about developing:
S- seeing, hearing and sensing the system
This is about leaders recognizing that the voice of the system is heard through each voice within that system, and that the health of the system can be sensed through the connections and atmosphere between all members within that system. Developing feedback processes, and an awareness of the feeling-based “culture” within your team or company may help this competency to develop.
E- emergence
Here, leaders develop the mindset that conflict is a signal that change is needed. Shifting perspective from “Who is doing what to whom?” to “What is trying to emerge here?” can go a long way toward helping a system evolve for the better. The belief that “everyone is right, partially” helps reinforce the idea of emergence.
S- safety
Creating a system that is psychologically and emotionally safe is an important leadership task, because it creates a space for creativity and innovation to blossom. Vulnerability is a trait that is important for leaders to model, as it allows “mistakes” to be seen as opportunities for growth, rather than acts for punishment and ridicule.
Systems based leadership, in its purest form is often difficult to achieve, and goes against the traditional, hierarchical approach with the leader at the top. However, when a leader of a team or organization can truly see themselves as a part of the whole ( which actually includes the systems beyond the organization), teams and companies can truly thrive.
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