Good bye IQ Enter Emotional Intelligence

The notion behind common sayings such as… ‘the old is gold, the new is silver,’ ‘those good old days,’ ‘they don’t make them like they used to’ arises from fond nostalgia and not reality.
The fact is the old is old because better ideas came along and made it obsolete. The development of civilization – indeed the very idea of development– forces us to discard archaic methods, tools and systems.
Labour relations in Ethiopia have seen dramatic developments in the last few decades since a modern centralized government and administrative structure was institutionalized by Emperor Menilik II. Relations between and among employees and employers reflected the feudal reality of the time. Employees dutifully respected their mandated role as subservient and self demeaning virtual slaves. Official correspondence of the day was replete with letters grovelling to an end with closings such as ‘your slave’.
The introduction by Menilik II of western style education and the vast expansion of the sector by Haile Selassie I defined a second phase in labour relations. Now, a more literate work force and enlightened elite came more into line with existing world practice. Job security, the eight hour day and compensation rights were formulated. Eventually, a Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and trade unions were established. And yes, official letters started to sound official. This state of affairs remains largely unchanged. Employer-employee interaction concerning rights, duties and legal limitations focus mainly on litigation issues arising from job terminations. Precious little effort has been made to improve labour relations before the acrimony ends up in court.
The individual worker is the greatest asset of any enterprise. The higher the emotional development the more accelerated becomes the success of the collective endeavour. A houseful of MBAs and PhDs is no guaranty to a conducive work environment if this high IQ labour force is lacking in Emotional Intelligence (EI) – the new barometer of human development and employer-employee relations.
Emotional Intelligence is a theory developed by leading management guru and prolific writer Steven Covey. Engaged in this exciting and potentially revolutionary business management strategy is SAK Business and Personal Development, a dynamic local consultancy, which is fast gaining acclaim for its highly effective business and personal development workshops based on concepts so clear and so obviously correct, one wonders why someone, somewhere hadn’t thought of them before.
Hats off to SAK and its team of inspired trainers!
The Rift Valley Hotel in Nazareth-Adama is located just off the shoulder of the main highway from Addis. The immaculate lawns, the pleasant single and double rooms, the courteous service and last and by no means least, the incredibly delicious food, indicate a well run hotel.
It was the perfect setting for what SAK Managing Director Adera Abdela described as “the first ever Appreciative Inquiry (AI) and Emotional Intelligence Team Building workshop conducted for a private organization by SAK.” Adera continued, “I admire the initiative of the management and staff of CAPITAL. I believe that the training will enable them to perform even better as a cohesive unit.”
Following his opening words of welcome and a thorough briefing on business and personal development, Adera introduced Ato Mesfin Asfaw, an architect by profession and a gifted communicator whose lectures were a delight to digest as this charismatic SAK trainer expanded in the concepts of EI and AI. “Let us stop focussing on our weaker points and focus on those qualities we consider to be positive,” explained Mesfin to an attentive audience. “Every human being has talents – some hidden gems that are waiting to be discovered and be developed. Find those jewels in your character, appreciate your strengths and that of your colleagues and you will start to develop your EI by giving value to yourself,” said Mesfin.
The two day training session was an eye opener for the participants, one of whom commented, “I had my reservations at first, about how much good would come out of what I had considered to be just another seminar. Fortunately, my preconceived notion was put to rest within minutes,” as the CAPITAL team were enjoying a short coffee break.
The training program comprised of the nature, definition and development of team work, characteristics and benefits of team work, the roles of leadership and team members, managing team contact and developing emotional intelligence. All the sessions were intensely trainee centered and made use of individual and group games which helped foster active participation. Adding some humour were a number of film clips, not to mention the amusing and cheerful natures of Adera and Mesfin.
CAPITAL believes that a new culture of business management is emerging and is of the opinion that the expansion of such improvement courses would hasten the development of our country.