Management Blog

Study shows managers prefer EQ over IQ

A new US study has found hiring managers believe emotional intelligence is more important than a candidate's IQ, HR Communication reports.

The CareerBuilder study of 2,600 managers found 71 per cent of respondents stressed the importance of emotional fortitude – the ability to control emotions and management relationships.

The researchers also found 75 per cent of managers said they are more likely to promote an employee with high emotional intelligence, or EQ, than one with a stronger IQ.

It's suggested emotional intelligence is highly valued as many managers see the benefits of a harmonious workplace and are wary of hiring super-smart people who may get bogged down in detail.

An interesting finding – what's your approach?

The role of kindness in business success

Being good by doing good is a largely untapped resource with the potential to boost organisational productivity and profitability, according to this chiefexecutive.net post.

Basing this argument on the recent book How Am I Treating You? Living with Civility & Dignity by John Lentz and Ron Schmidt, the post claims civility has an important trickle-down effect.

It's argued meaningful relationships are fundamental to business success as treating employees well encourages them to handle customers with kindness and respect.

The approach can also help retain staff with a recent study by Walker Information suggesting workers are six times more likely to stay with an employer that acts with integrity.

US firm Montage Hotels and Resorts is served up as a case study.

The chain's training and rewarding of grace in the workplace has led to zero turnover in senior management in five years, 10 per cent turnover in management and 25 per cent in non-management staff.

World's best leadership books revealed

The difference between a good leader and a brilliant one could be the contents his or her bookshelf.

In a bid to keep the grey matter of the world's leaders working hard, Inc. magazine recently published its list of the best leadership books of all time.

In no particular order the leaders of leadership literature are:

• Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing (1959)
• Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose by Tony Hsieh (2009)
• Never Give In! The Best of Winston Churchill's Speeches by Winston S. Churchill (2003)
• Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin (2005)
• Wooden on Leadership: How to Create a Winning Organization by John Wooden (2005)
• Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life Without Losing Its Soul by Howard Schultz (2011)
• On Becoming a Leader by Warren Bennis (1989)
• Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors by Piers Paul Read (1975)
• Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman (2002)
• The Art of War by Sun Tzu (5th century B.C.)
• The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli (1532)
• Questions of Character: Illuminating the Heart of Leadership Through Literature by Joseph L. Badaracco Jr (2006)

What do you think – any glaring omissions?

Apple and Facebook embrace a museum business model

Your nearest museum offers more than just a good dose of culture, it also provides a cutting-edge business model, this recent HBS Working Knowledge post claims.

Harvard University's Ray Weaver explains that many of the world's most profitable web businesses and retailers are following a museum style business model in a bid to better meet customer needs.

It's claimed retailers like Apple and Facebook are acting like museum curators by providing a limited number of choices, delivering brief but engaging product descriptions and critiquing products honestly.

One of the key points made in the article suggests that in a world of abundant (and potentially daunting) choices, consumers prefer a small number of products that have been hand-picked by an expert.

But it's claimed the museum model isn't just about limiting choices, entrepreneurial curators must also present their products in a way justifies the choice of quality over quantity.

In defence of web surfing at work

New research by the National University of Singapore suggests taking time out to surf the internet for pleasure while at work can help boost personal productivity, The LA Times reports.

According to the report, the researchers found browsing the internet during work hours can refresh employees mentally after long periods of work.

But apparently not all 'me time' pursuits are equally as beneficial.

It's claimed web surfing is better for productivity than other forms of communication including talking on the phone with friends, texting and sending personal emails.

And in a related finding, the researchers argue that monitoring web use can do more harm than good to productivity with internet surveillance causing employees to surf the web more not less.

How to stop the rumour mill

Rumours spread by consumers can do serious damage to an organisation's reputation. But what causes untrue statements to be perceived as fact?

A new study by the Kellogg School of Management suggests a rumour turns into fact when a person does not explain how certain they are about the truth of a message, management-issues reports.

Researchers say the best way to bring the rumour mill to a halt is to evoke doubt about the truth of the rumour; in other words, to ask consumers if their source knew whether the rumour was true.

Rather than shying away from untrue rumours it also makes sense to tackle them head on, an approach Coke does well with its Rumours and Facts page.

Another way to reduce the impact of rumours is to create a social media driven ratings system so that consumers can convey with certainty if they hold favourable views of a brand, idea or message.

The future of Twitter

Twitter is set to morph into a global news network that will be bigger than CNN and include video and audio produced by citizen journalists rather than media corporations, according to futurist Gerd Leonhard.

Leonhard makes the prediction in a recent video chat with fellow futurist Ross Dawson.

And rather than bombarding users with more information it's suggested Twitter will act as an antidote to information overload by acting as a personal filter of large amounts of information.

Clearly there are many implications for organisations both in terms of monitoring citizen journalism and creating news content that reaches out to audiences without the involvement of media corporations.

Getting the most from web meetings

A rarity just a few years ago, web meetings and virtual conferences are quickly becoming a mainstream activity for professionals around the globe, management-issues reports.

But just like meetings in the real world, web meetings can easily go from productive to problematic when they turn into useless gabfests or off-tangent timewasters.

To help professionals make the most of web meetings management-issues blogger Wayne Turmel offers the following three tips:

1. Define expectations – make sure everyone is clear about the desired outcome and what's necessary to reach that outcome
2. Start with the hard stuff – rather than covering administrative points first focus on what's critical when people are fresh and attentive
3. Think twice – before calling a web meeting consider whether it's a better idea to send an email or work via a collaborative document

Mentors come in three flavours

Keeping talented members of staff involves more than regular salary increases; employees need to feel they have a meaningful role, according to this Harvard Business Review blog post.

And the best way to ensure people feel engaged at work, the post argues, is for managers to provide a mentoring role.

To achieve this it's suggested mentoring is part of an organisation's people development strategy and for mentors to understand what type of mentoring relationship will work best for a particular staffer.

With the goal of helping companies to develop more systematic and thorough mentorship programs, the following three types of mentoring are identified. In summary, these are:

• Peer mentoring – similar to an apprenticeship; this approach is ideal for mentoring early career stage staff and involves a focus on specific skills and organisational practices
• Career mentors – ideal for more experienced employees who need someone to offer career advice; mentors act as an internal advocate and describe the purpose of an employee's career
• Life mentors – these mentors can be both inside or outside an organisation; mentors act as a confidant to help those in mid or senior career stages to face difficult career challenges

The key to being an expert negotiator is...

...silence, according to a recent BNET Tribal Leadership blog post by Dave Logan.

Logan writes that learning when not to speak during the negotiation process has the potential to make you a more effective leader as well as a better friend and family member.

The sound of silence is said to work during negotiation because it interrupts a phenomenon called the 'amygdala loop', a process in which one person loses their cool and goes into flight-or-fight mode.

When this happens conflict spirals and little is achieved.

It's claimed professionals should look out for the amygdala loop so they know when to stop speaking and, as a result, put themselves in control of the situation.