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Optimism & EQ



6 Seconds’ KCG Model of Emotional Intelligence captures ‘Optimism’ as a competence. Thinking about it & gaining understanding of this premise one will readily agree.

While I find that I give more focus to this competence in EQ sessions with service executives, optimism (of seeing & opening up to a wide variety of possibilities) really is applicable across a wide range of settings.

I find that many business leaders & client facing executives behave like they have absolutely no intention of building a sustainable enterprise. In failing to project optimism where required they behave like those market women I encountered as a young child whenever I tagged along with an older relative & whom if you dared to haggle their wares beyond what they deemed appropriate would not only decline but would give ample focus to cursing your ancestors! I often wondered if these women cared at all about having repeat/returning customers! In overlooking scenarios where service executives fail to exercise & project optimism, businesses actually suffer.

I find that my most memorable moments are where though I fail to make a product purchase or service commitment the sales person still conveys a certain kind of appreciation for one’s intent to buy; even encouraging one to stop by again. Truth is, people would naturally gravitate to environments that’s infused with this kind of optimism. They would crave to experience the goodness that comes with that kind of experience.

Like I said other applications also abound & it’s often in the seemingly little things: A young man looking for a job believes he aced the interview but wasn’t offered the job. He suddenly recalls the ugly candidate experience at the interview, he goes on social media to report the sorry situation, somewhat seeking sympathy (not to discountenance authentic premises for hitting social media). With such an action he looses the chance of being put in a recruitment pipeline or even getting the job as the next best candidate where the first choice isn’t available to take on the offer. In exercising (& projecting) optimism the story would be altogether different.

Consider also a case where an employee is passed over for a promotion she believes she deserves. In a bid to convey her displeasure she deliberately holds back contribution to the team. She perhaps goes ahead to even sabotage the system. Her actions never go unnoticed, she’s only succeeded in validating why she wasn’t considered for the role in the first place. Again the story would be different if she learned how to exercise (& project) optimism.

In a future article I would dissect how individuals can win in today’s workplace by actively engaging other EQ competences. Cheers to the growing of your Optimism Quotient in the coming year! And compliments of the season to you!

NB: 6 Seconds is a foremost authority in Emotional Intelligence & EQ Models.

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