The Genos EI Model
Our model of emotional intelligence was developed by Dr Ben Palmer and Professor Con Stough from Swinburne University in the late 1990s. It involves seven core emotional intelligence skills identified in their research on a wide variety of different models and measures of EI. We use the seven skills of our model to develop the productive being states on the outside of the model (Present, Empathy, Authenticity etc), and to minimize the unproductive being states on the inside of it.
The Genos EI Model in Detail
Hover over the various sections of the Genos EI Model to reveal more detailed information about each facet of the model.
Or click this link for a larger view of the model.
Emotional Self-Awareness
Emotional self-awareness is the skill of perceiving and understanding one's own emotions. Feelings influence decisions, behavior and performance. Leaders who are emotionally self-aware are conscious of the role their feelings can play in these areas and are better equipped to manage this influence effectively. When leaders are emotionally self-aware they are present with the role their feelings are playing in their decisions, behavior and performance. When leaders are not, they are often disconnected from this influence. This is particularly crucial for leaders, as their decisions, behavior and performance can have a big impact both on those they lead and their organisation's success.
Leadership competencies this skill of EI underpins:
- Role Model,
- Self-Awareness,
- Decision making
Emotional Awareness of Others
Emotional awareness of others is the skill of perceiving and understanding others' emotions. This skill helps leaders identify the things that make people feel productive emotions that drive high performance: emotions such as feeling valued, listened to, cared for, consulted, and understood. It also helps leaders demonstrate empathy and create meaning and purpose for others. When leaders demonstrate this skill effectively, they come across as being empathetic. Leaders who demonstrate this skill infrequently can come across as being insensitive to they way others feel.
Leadership competencies this skill of EI underpins:
- Understanding different working styles,
- Adaptive or Situational leadership,
- Inspiring high performance
Emotional Expression
Emotional expression is the skill of effectively expressing one's own emotions. It involves expressing how you feel at the right time, to the right degree and to the right people. This skill helps leaders create an environment of understanding, openness and trust. Others perceive leaders who are high on this skill as authentic and trustworthy. Leaders who are guarded, avoid conflict, or are inappropriately blunt about the way they feel can create cultures of mistrust, artificial harmony, and misunderstandings with those around them.
Leadership competencies this skill of EI underpins:
- Building trust,
- Giving effective feedback,
- Working collaboratively
Emotional Reasoning
Emotional reasoning is the skill of using emotional information (from yourself and others) in reasoning, planning and decision-making. It involves considering your own and others' feelings when making decisions, combining the information in feelings with facts and technical information, and communicating this decision-making process to others.
Feelings and emotions contain important information. For example, the level of commitment colleagues demonstrate often provides insight into whether a decision is going to be supported; the emotional appeal of products and services often provide insight into selling and marketing messages. When this type of emotional information is combined with facts and technical information, leaders make expansive, creative and well thought-out decisions. When leaders do not use emotional information and focus on facts or technical information only, they tend to be limited in their decision-making and could be risking low 'buy-in' of their decisions by others.
Leadership competencies this skill of EI underpins:
- Driving change,
- Decision-making,
- Gaining commitment
Emotional Self-Management
Emotional self-management is the skill of effectively managing your own emotions. It involves engaging in activities that make you feel positive at work, that help you manage stress and demonstrate productive emotional behavior to others. This skill of emotional intelligence is particularly important in leadership. A leader's mood can be very infectious and can therefore be a powerful force in the workplace, one that can be both productive and unproductive. This skill helps leaders be resilient and manage high work demands and stress. Leaders who are proficient in managing their own emotions are optimistic and look to find the opportunities and possibilities that exist even in the face of adversity. They generate a positive mood both within themselves and others.
Leadership competencies this skill of EI underpins:
- Role model,
- Managing high work loads,
- Driving results
Emotional Management of Others
Emotional management of others is the skill of influencing the moods and emotions of others. It involves creating a positive working environment for others, help people find effective ways of responding to upsetting events, and effectively help people resolve issues that are affecting their performance. Productive emotions produce positive results. This skill helps leaders create a productive environment for others that in turn facilitates high performance. It equips leaders with the capacity to get colleagues to cooperate and work effectively together. Leaders who can positively influence others' moods, feelings and emotions are empowering to work with and easily motivate those around them.
Leadership competencies this skill of EI underpins:
- Driving high performance,
- Managing conflict,
- Inspiring achievement, Driving change
Emotional Self-Control
Emotional self-control is the skill of effectively controlling strong emotions that you experience. This skill is similar to emotional self-management. However, where emotional self-management is about proactively managing your moods and emotions, emotional self-control is about how you react, and how reactive you are to strong emotions. It involves being able control your temper, remain productive when experiencing strong emotions such as anxiety, anger or excitement, and can remain calm and focused in stressful situations. Strong emotions are important but they can overrun intelligent thought and purposeful responses to situations or events causing them. This skill helps leaders be centered when experiencing strong emotions, rather than react to them. Have you ever sent a harshly worded e-mail in a moment of haste? Raised your voice in anger at a colleague when a more measured response could have been used? Developing your emotional self-control will help a leader to harness the productive elements of strong emotions and demonstrate the best possible responses to them.
Leadership competencies this skill of EI underpins:
- Role model,
- Self-control,
- Executive maturity
Decisions, Behavior, Performance
Emotions have a conscious and unconscious influence on the way we think, behave and perform. This influence can be both productive and unproductive. Emotional Intelligence involves a set of skills that define how effectively we perceive, understand, reason with and manage this influence, within ourselves and others. Research has shown these skills to be integral to effective leadership. Leaders high in emotional intelligence are most effective at building teams, inspiring high performance and generating adaptive, innovative thinking.
Emotions influence decisions
Emotions can contribute to our thinking in purposeful and productive ways. Ask yourself - have you ever decided to not hire someone because something just didn’t feel right? Or conversely made a poor hiring decision and wished you had listened to this “intuition” or “gut feel”. Being more conscious of your emotions can help you maximise their productive influence, and minimise their unproductive influence, in thinking and decision-making.
Emotions influence behavior
Emotions influence our behavior, appearing in our tone of voice, facial expressions and body language. A leader's behavior has a big impact on others. Being more conscious of emotions and the influence emotions have on behavior helps leaders become more aware of the impact they have on others and understand why others behave they way they do.
Emotions influence performance
Productive emotions increase performance and innovation. When people feel valued, listened to, cared for, consulted and understood they perform significantly better than when they experience less productive emotions. Being more conscious of how you and others feel, both at the present moment and collectively over time, is the first step to maximising productive emotions and therefore maximising your own and others' performance.
Enhanced emotional intelligence transforms entire companies when applied to all levels and roles, or it can be used to improve individual business functions such as leadership, sales, and customer service.
For a multi-media experience of the Genos EI model, click here
Click below to listen to Genos CEO Dr Ben Palmer talk about the Genos Model of Emotional Intelligence. Original audio file here.
