Harward Business Review - Building the
emotional intelligence of GroupsVanesa Urch Druscat and Steven B. WolffTo be effective
in the workplace an individual needs high
emotional intelligence. High emotional intelligence is at the heart of effective teams. Group emotional intelligence is about exploring, embracing and ultimately relying on the emotions that are at the core of teams. Three conditions are essential to a group's effectiveness: trust among members, a sense of group identity, and a sense of group efficacy. Team emotional intelligence is more complicated than individual emotional intelligence because teams interact at more levels. It is also about behaving in ways that build relationships both inside and outside the team and that strengthen the team's ability to face challenges. Interpersonal understanding and perspective are two ways that groups can become more aware of their members' perspectives and feelings. Some teams suffer because they aren't aware of emotions at the group level. Having norms for group self-awareness - of emotional states ,strengths and weaknesses, modes of interaction, and task processes - is a critical part of group emotional intelligence that facilitates group efficacy. Teams gain it both by self evaluation and feedback .