Building great companies with emotional intelligence

Is emotion needed in business? In the past, traditional management thinking insisted that the two cannot be mixed. Representing this notion is the legendary General Motors Chairman Alfred P. Sloan, whose personal style has been described as "businesslike" and "unforgiving." He once said, "The job of the professional manager is not to like people."

Nowadays, it is widely believed that business leaders cannot achieve their full leadership potential if they keep their emotions out of the work environment. . Bestselling author Daniel Goleman's theory on emotional intelligence has also changed our understanding of what it means to be "smart". In Primal Leadership, Gorman and his collaborators illustrate how important it is to develop emotionally intelligent leaders because, as they say, employees are critical to the state of the company. 70% of the factors of good or bad perception are obviously influenced by the leader's behavior.

Gorman and his group applied a theoretical framework based on the four dimensions that make up emotional intelligence, namely "self-awareness", "self-management", "social awareness" and "relationship management". Leaders with high emotional intelligence often display many talents that fall into these four areas.

In order to put these four aspects into personal examples, and to illustrate how to put them into practice, let's take a look at some of the world's greatest company builders and see how they did each. .

Thomas Watson & Sons: Self-Awareness

When one studies IBM today, it may be tempting to assume that for most of its inception, the company has been smooth sailing. Aside from a few small, overstated mistakes, IBM seems destined to build great things.

That was far from the case for the founders of the company, the famous Thomas Watson father and son team that sat on its early days of growth. In taking the helm of the company, the Watsons showed a strong sense of self.

For Watson Sr., self-awareness takes the form of extreme self-confidence. Gorman believes that self-confidence is a good feeling about one's true abilities and worth.

Watson Sr. had such strong confidence in his abilities that he was taking over a dying company called the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company, or CTR. The company was deeply indebted and teetering, and its 1,200 employees were demoralized. Some saw it as a mess, while Watson Sr saw it as a golden opportunity. Watson Jr. wrote in his "Father, Son & Co." (the Chinese translation published by CITIC Publishing House was renamed "Jr. Watson's Autobiography"--Editor's Note) that his father would One of IBM's largest creditors applies for a loan to pay for R&D! Watson Sr. believes that debt speaks only of the past, and this new loan will represent the future. He has a strong vision for the coming age of automation. The creditor company was eventually persuaded by him.

Watson Sr.'s self-confidence deeply affected his employees, especially his salespeople. He told them that he would rely on them and support them. Watson Jr. said, "When I joined IBM many years later, the company was known for its high wages and high benefits. However, there was little money at first, and my father relied on his eloquence to win employee loyalty."

Watson Jr. The ability shown in self-awareness is: have a clear understanding of one's own abilities, and know how to use and control one's emotions.

When Watson Jr. took over as chairman, he was surrounded by a diverse management team, including people he thought were more talented than himself, and people he didn't like. Only leaders with strong self-awareness and self-confidence can realize that people who are liked do not necessarily make a good management team. Watson Jr. wrote, "I'm always looking for sharp-eyed, sharp-spoken, almost obnoxious people who speak out and tell me the truth. If you have enough of them around you, you have room to grow. will be infinite."

That's why Watson Jr. makes sure he doesn't suffer from what Gorman calls "CEO disease," which occurs when those around him hide important (often unpleasant) ) information vacuum. One reason CEOs get sick is because people are afraid of bad news for them.

Of course, it's one thing to recruit people, it's another to inspire them to reach their best potential. To achieve this, Watson Jr. relied on all the leadership skills and methods at his disposal to bring the team together, "by apologizing, by talking, by discipline, by chatting with their wives, and by having employees get sick. I'm not as good as all of them in terms of intelligence, but I think if I can make the most of every ability I have , I can be on an equal footing with them."

What we learned from the Watsons:

·Be the person with the most confidence in the future of the company and in your own abilities in your company or department.

·Being able to hire people with skills that you don't like.

·Be confident enough to hire people who are better than you and make the most of their talents.

·Don't keep around people who "follow their orders" or who never raise objections, but work with people who can give bad advice.

·Keep showing that you value and reward information, especially important information, even if it sounds bad at the time, in order to prevent "CEO disease."

· Find ways to retain talent. Retain people with charisma, not money or position.

Souichiro Honda and Gates: Self-Management

Should leaders be liked?

It doesn't matter because it's not the end. One of the biggest myths about emotional intelligence is that leaders have to be loved, so they have to be kind to others. In an interview with this magazine (see the July 2003 issue of this magazine, "Emotional Intelligence Creates a New Type of Leader"), Gorman himself put it this way, "In fact, 'emotional intelligence' is not 'good people', but to be a good person. Effective people, including those who treat people harshly in pursuit of efficacy. Such leaders know when to be harsh on whom, for what reason, for how long, and to what extent.”

Still As the old saying goes, it boils down to the end result. Gorman said, "You are a good leader, not because other people work for you, or because you have the air of being an official, but because you have leadership skills that enable you to achieve your ultimate goals."

In order to achieve the ultimate goal, leaders need to achieve a lot, always take the initiative and strive for perfection. All of these are characteristics of self-management.

There are two corporate leaders who have excelled in this aspect of emotional intelligence: Soichiro Honda and Gates. They are the founders of Honda and Microsoft, respectively. The two come from different countries, different industries and different eras, yet they share similar styles when it comes to emotional intelligence.

Also, they are famously similar in temperament. Soichiro Honda is certainly not known for being nice to people. On the contrary, he was often furious, hence the nickname "Mr. Thunder". The employees may have been intimidated by him, but they were inspired by his selfless dedication. Soichiro Honda said, "Success is achieved through countless failures and reflections. In fact, success only represents 1% of the effort, and the other 99% of the effort is paid for failure."

This is how Gorman describes achievement. Talented: Leaders who strive to succeed have high personal standards that drive themselves and those they lead to continually strive for perfection.

From this perspective, Soichiro Honda's bar for success is undoubtedly high. A book about Honda says: "Souichiro Honda was a complex man, with very obvious weaknesses and a strong, determined leader. He was a man who could call others to his command. people, while others charge for him and take their own lives."

Leaders with high self-management skills are also proactive and at the forefront of everything, which is, as Gorman describes it, in control of their own destiny and seizing opportunities Or the ability to create opportunities, rather than just wait and see.

Souichiro Honda always wanted to face the toughest challenges first, such as exporting cars to the United States. Gates certainly built the world's largest company by seizing and creating opportunities.

Like Soichiro Honda, Gates is known for his temper. Gates motivated employees to be efficient, rather than relying on sternness and fear to make employees look like Soichiro Honda. One commented, "His team is totally loyal to him because he is respected by them as an engineer. Even as CEO of a large public company, he is able to master the latest technology and design many programs as a result."

Adaptability is another important ability for self-management. People with this ability can adapt to new challenges with relative flexibility and can handle multiple demands without losing focus and energy. After becoming famous in the motorcycle manufacturing industry, Honda can adapt to new challenges and compete in the automotive industry. Gates was able to quickly change the business strategy of his large company, and instead entered the field of Internet browsers to compete with competitors. Observers described the move as making the giant ship make a powerboat-style sharp turn.

What we've learned from Honda and Gates is:

• Demonstrate high standards, but make sure that the goals set are not only challenging, but also measurable and achievable.

· Always strive for excellence and, more importantly, be good at imparting new methods to your employees.

·Be willing to change your mind if there is new data or new reality.

·In the face of opportunities, do not hesitate to break the rules to seize them.

·Try to see threats that others see as opportunities.

·Remember that the bottom line for measuring leadership is results, not goodwill.

Kiichiro Toyoda: Social Awareness

Kiichiro Toyoda, the founder of Toyota Motor Corporation, did not appear to be a born strong leader in his youth, even his physique was frail. However, his actions in Toyota's early days to save the company's fortunes proved that he was not only a strong leader, but also capable of laying a solid foundation for building a great company.

After the end of World War II, Toyota's business began to flourish, with many car orders, and the company was able to fulfill these orders with ease. However, the situation suddenly changed, and the runaway inflation made the yen worthless. Getting money from customers has become very difficult. The book "The Toyota Way" states: "The cash flow problems were so bad that at one point Toyota's debt was eight times the value of its total assets."

To avoid bankruptcy, Toyota implemented a strict spending-cutting policy, including a voluntary pay cut for managers and a voluntary decision to eventually lay off 1,600 workers. This sparked a strike by workers.

Faced with this situation, Kiichiro Toyoda showed three talents that belonged to "social awareness": empathy (also translated as "empathy"), organizational awareness, and dedicated service. Empathy refers to the ability to understand others' positions and feelings; organizational awareness is a thorough understanding of the company's organizational policies; and dedicated service is to meet the various needs of followers and customers.

Kiichiro Toyoda is well aware of his employees' struggles, so he says he takes full responsibility for the company's bleak situation. Unlike many other CEOs, Kiichiro Toyoda is not. Even if the external factors that cause the company's failure are beyond his control, he steps up and takes it all in. This act of self-sacrifice earned the respect of the workers. To this day, Toyota's philosophy is still to focus on things that go beyond personal interests and the overall interests of the company and its long-term health. And, as Kiichiro Toyoda did, take responsibility when things go wrong.

Some might call his behavior "leading by example." In the framework of emotional intelligence, Kiichiro Toyoda has demonstrated the ability to feel how others feel and to accurately interpret social situations.

And he once again showed these three talents when he provided guidance to former DENSO Corporation President, Torao Hayashi. Denso, formerly a subsidiary of Toyota, was facing a difficult time. The company owes nearly 140 million yen to Toyota. Lin said he naturally assumed the debt would not be paid until the new company started turning a profit. "However, President Kiichiro Toyoda has a completely different view. He told me, don't forget that this 140 million yen is a loan to Denso Corporation, not for nothing. He The words reflect the harsh reality of the time."

Toyota's position seemed unshakable, as if it were about to sever ties with Denso. But its vision at the time was to enable auto parts manufacturers to survive and develop independently of auto manufacturers.

So instead of getting discouraged, Lin found motivation in Kiichiro Toyoda's guidance. He later said, "These words from President Kiichiro Toyoda were an unforgettable encouragement. I thank him for honing our will."

What we learned from Kiichiro Toyoda was: Take responsibility for mistakes and failures.

·Be aware of employee feelings that may affect the company's productivity.

·Accurately interpret social situations--know when people are really supporting you.

·Leading by example--This may be a cliché, but in this era of resonant leadership, it is not only timeless, but more real and effective.

Ricardo Semler: Relationship Management

Ricardo Semler is a quintessential go-it-yourself leader, known for his eclectic use of a variety of management techniques (See the interview with Semler, "This leader is a little weird," published in the October 2004 issue of this magazine). As CEO and major shareholder of Brazil's Semco SA, he contributed to the company's success and rapid growth. The company has grown 900% in 10 years and is on track to exceed $1 billion in revenue within four years.

Semler is known for changing a company from a paternalistic, imperative management style to a highly participatory corporate culture. Say's well-known policies include:

·Any company meeting is voluntary.

·Two of the eight seats at the board meeting are open to all employees on a "first come, first served" basis.

·The company has no business plan, no mission statement, no long-term budget, no HR department, no VP of IT, no COO, no permanent CEO, no dress code, and no job description. No one is responsible for approving expenses.

·It is up to employees themselves, not their supervisors or Human Resources, to choose what training to receive. Plus, they can take vacations of up to three years for any reason they want.

·The company recruits employees in the form of group interviews. Each candidate will meet with competitors and accept interviews from employees from different departments.

These practices can be interesting and even forward-looking, but some of them may not work for all companies. The question of leadership that we are discussing here is: How does a CEO lead change, and in particular, how does he use his emotional capabilities to lead change?

In leading change, Semler demonstrated several talents in relationship management: motivating others, nurturing others, catalyzing change, conflict management, and teamwork and collaboration.

Inspiring Others: Globally recognized, Semler built the world's most extraordinary company; but more importantly for Semmler, he inspired the confidence of its workers and managers to adapt to a new culture. One magazine remarked that "he took a more human, passionate and inspiring approach to managing the company and engaging his employees," which greatly inspired their enthusiasm.

Nurturing Others: Semler's management philosophy is based on the principle of decentralization. Company financial information is open to all employees. About one-third of Say's employees can decide for themselves how much they get paid.

Teamwork and Collaboration: Semler empowers its employees in many ways. At Seychelles, self-managing teams take the place of subordinate relationships, and workers can choose their own bosses.

Conflict management: Resistance to major change often comes not from workers but from the managers who lead them. Workers, especially those on the front lines, don't believe mistakes are allowed. Instead, they believed that once they made a mistake, power would be taken back from them. Say's Company will ensure that managers are fully engaged in this transformation process and change the atmosphere.

Catalyzing Change: Saybolt prepares employees for constant change. The company's "Survival Playbook" emphasizes, "Seychelles is a place where big changes are happening all the time. Don't worry about that."

Semler's own advice for leading change is to take small steps. When managers at other companies told him that it would take years to implement his ideas, he responded, “I tell them, don’t change too much, go in the right direction, but take small steps. A little bit of autonomy, like when to work, where to work, etc., can refresh them."

What we learned from Semler:

Focus on convincing your managers first , make sure they support change in the first place, otherwise they will be the biggest stumbling block on the road to change.

·Keep your staff ready for change. People are always inherently resistant to change, so the more accustomed they become to change, the less likely they are to rely on this instinct to thwart it.

· Allow for mistakes. More importantly, let others know that you allow mistakes. Employees don't easily adapt to new methods, so mistakes are easy to make.

·Strive to win small battles. Without a small change, there will be no final big change.

Jet Magsaysay is a consultant to this publication. Translated by Zhao Jianwei.