In a recent LinkedIn poll, we asked local government leaders if their teams’ emotional intelligence was above average, average or below average. The results were not surprising in that most people rated their team below average or average. 

So, what does it take to increase and develop emotional awareness on a team? Developing emotional intelligence in an organization can have numerous benefits, including improved communication, increased teamwork, and better conflict resolution. 

Here are some ways to grow emotional intelligence in your local government:

• Invest in training and coaching: Employees can benefit from workshops, seminars, and coaching sessions on emotional intelligence. These programs can help them develop self-awareness, empathy, and effective communication skills. 
• Lead by example: Leaders play a crucial role in fostering emotional intelligence in their organizations. By modeling behaviors such as active listening, compassion, and empathy,...

We all have natural tendencies in how we lead in local government.  There are four important words that will provide insights into how you lead that all point to your overall DISC personality type.   DISC is a personality assessment that helps you better understand your natural style and how your style can be an asset or sometimes lead to unhealthy leadership. 

The four words are: Problems, People, Pace and Procedure

Problems:  Every leader encounters problems.  But how we approach them varies greatly.  Do you naturally move toward problems to resolve them or do you move away from problems?  Maybe you hope they'll diminish or resolve themselves.   But D-style personality types naturally move toward problems.  They like addressing problems directly.  But if you don't naturally move toward problems (as another style), you may want to consider a more assertive stance toward problems.  As we all know, unaddressed...

In local government there is a lot of stress on teams to get more done with less.   This is also true in private industry, but since local governments literally serve everyone in a community, the pressure to get things done is unique. 

Without good listening instructions fall apart, people feel dismissed, mistakes occur, projects fail or are delayed, productivity goes down and frustration pervades. 

Your personality plays a role in how well you listen.   

• If you’re a dominate or driver style personality, you may have a hard time listening to others because you already know the answer….so why even listen!   Strong driver styles are actually often right, so they get impatient with listening, gathering others' input and needless research.

• If you are an inspiring and influencer style personality, you may struggle to listen as your mind can easily get overloaded as you take in the information around you.  This personality...