by Bob Gershberg, CEO/Managing Partner Wray Executive Search
Emotional Intelligence is the ability to notice, identify, understand and manage our own feelings and the emotions of others. It incorporates self-control, social skills, relationships, communication and influencing or motivating other people — all great skills for personal and professional success.
According to the University of New Hampshire psychology department, emotional intelligence is the "ability to validly reason with emotions and to use emotions to enhance thought." EQ refers to an individual's ability to perceive, control, evaluate, and express emotions. People with high EQ can manage emotions, use their emotions to facilitate thinking, understand emotional meanings and accurately perceive others' emotions. EQ is partially determined by how a person relates to others and maintains emotional control.
The Harvard Business Review has hailed emotional intelligence as “a ground-breaking, paradigm-shattering idea,” one of the most influential business ideas of the decade.
You can build trust and commitment while driving change in times of stress and uncertainty. We are seeing a convergence of labor challenges in many markets, the “Great Reshuffling”, continued supply chain disruption, and hyper-growth in many industries and companies.
The emotional, mental, and economic trauma from these dynamics, a continued pandemic, and heart-wrenching global events are an additional layer to manage. People are leaving and joining brands and businesses at unprecedented rates, and despite the clear challenges, there is so much possibility and opportunity to create positive outcomes if you can lean into being a modern leader.
It is not only possible, it’s happening, and the leaders who are demonstrating care and clarity through these times are attracting and retaining top talent. They are also building brands, teams, and businesses, and making the most of the opportunities hidden in the fog of all this change. This week alone, I’ve talked to leaders of all sizes of business who are dealing with these things and more, simultaneously:
The Restaurant Business: “It really IS a tough business!”
by John A. Gordon, Principal and Founder, Pacific Management Consulting Group
Staffing Conditions are Getting Worse
As of mid-October, restaurant staff availability conditions are not getting any better. In fact, unfortunately it is getting worse. For some time, many restaurant executives and observers were under the assumption that restaurant ---and labor conditions throughout the United States-- would bounce back once extended federal unemployment periods ended in all 50 states. Those programs ended around Labor Day or earlier of course. No one has reported magical ease thereafter.
Then, on October 12, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 892,000 restaurant and hotel workers gave notice or walked off their jobs in August, a 21% increase over July. No other US industry category had that level of voluntary quits.
Featuring Richard Snow, Chair of the IFA Black Franchise Leadership Council
by Rebecca Patt, SVP Development at Wray Executive Search
The Black Franchise Leadership Council (BFLC), part of the International Franchise Association, aims to increase access to franchise business opportunities for Black entrepreneurs in multi-faceted ways. Richard Snow is Chair of the new organization.
What led to the creation of the Black Franchise Leadership Council?
The Black Franchise Leadership Council came out of a lack of representation within the franchising space for minorities who make up less than 25% of the industry and especially the lack of representation for Black entrepreneurs in the space, who make up 8% of the franchise industry. We saw that to be a great gap in the franchising industry and a gap within the generational wealth for Black entrepreneurs and small business owners.
