Emotions are contagious!

Have you ever been sitting in a room when someone comes in and you could just tell they were angry? And then, before you know it, you're angry as well?

And what about the opposite? Someone sits next to you, smiling and laughing. How often has that shifted your mood to one that is positive?

We've all had experiences related to the above and understand the power and impact of emotions. In her book Team Emotional Intelligence 2.0, Dr. Greaves helps us understand how emotions impact teams and the four skill sets teams need to navigate those emotions effectively.

The four skill sets that doctor grieves refers to is Emotion Awareness, Emotion Management, Internal Relationships and External Relationships.

Let's take a quick look at each one:

• Emotion awareness enables teams to accurately understand each member's feelings as they happen and to recognize the team member's tendency for responding to people and situations.

• Emotional management refers to how team members behave in response to the moods and emotions that surface within the group and includes the team's ability to respond to emotionally uncomfortable situations and influence emotions in constructive ways.

• Internal relationships are how well team members interact with one another. I commonly refer to this as playing “core” team or “small” team and it's how the team works together on good days and - especially, during the bad days.

• External relationships Refer to the ability of team members to interact with other teams, individuals outside the group, the organization as a whole, and people or groups outside of the company. I often refer to this as playing "big" team.

Join me over the next several weeks as we explore each skill set and some strategies for helping our teams develop or strengthen their abilities in every area.