How Emotionally Intelligent Leaders

Drive Business Results

center of
excellence
by
What’s Inside:
Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

1. Learn How to Listen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

2. Get Good at Giving Feedback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

3. Recognize a Job Well Done . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

4. Manage Conflict Effectively . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

About Paycor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Emotionally intelligent leadership drives
business outcomes.
• O
 ne of the most important skills is active listening.
Managers who master the art of active listening are
perceived as better leaders and are able to instill
more trust and job satisfaction, fostering a 64% longer
commitment to tasks, according to Forbes.
Feedback is another critical element.
• S urprisingly, 62% of employees are blindsided by their
performance reviews, with a vast 74% feeling in the dark
about their performance perception. Regular feedback is
a driver of employee engagement, with a whopping 85%
of employees showing more initiative when they receive
consistent feedback, as noted by Zippia.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Recognition is a significant motivator.
• O
 nly 1 in 4 employees feel that their efforts have
been acknowledged in the past week, according to
Gitnux. That’s a missed opportunity. An 11-year study
by Forbes discovered that companies promoting a
culture of recognition and motivation witnessed a
staggering 68.2% increase in revenue.
Conflict management is a skill few leaders feel
comfortable with.
• L ess than a third of team leaders say they manage
conflict well, even though 80% say it’s a very
important skill (Paycor, How to Recruit, Coach, and
Develop Teams). However, a global survey, as cited
by Gitnux, revealed that 76% of workers have seen
conflicts lead to positive outcomes, showcasing the
importance of developing conflict resolution skills.
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 1. LEARN HOW TO LISTEN
1. Learn How to Listen
There’s a reason why most people aren’t great listeners.
Ever listen to a podcast at 2x speed? You have no problem following
along. That’s because people can listen to (and comprehend) 500 words/
minute (University of Southern California). But most people speak about
175 words/minute, so when you’re trying to follow along, it can sound
like the person is talking very sloooooowly. And when that happens,
your mind drifts. It can be like listening to two voices at once: the
speaker’s and your own internal dialogue.

Practice active listening.

Studies show that managers who listen well are perceived as people
leaders, generate more trust, instill higher job satisfaction, and increase
their team’s creativity (Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and
Organizational Behavior).

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 1. LEARN HOW TO LISTEN
HOW TO PRACTICE ACTIVE LISTENING:

1 Give your full attention: Put down your phone! Keep your focus
solely on the speaker.

2 Maintain eye contact: This non-verbal cue makes all the difference.

3 Delay your response: Try setting a time for active listening—

maybe 3, 5, or 10 minutes—before you respond.

4 Avoid jumping to conclusions: Listen without forming an opinion

or judgment.

5 Apologize if your mind wanders: Be humble, admit your mistake.

6 Help the speaker find their solution: Try asking questions instead
of giving them The Answer.

7 Check your intentions: Before you ask a question, ensure it’s

designed to benefit the speaker, not just satisfy your curiosity. Your
goal should be to help the speaker explore their thoughts and
feelings more completely.

8 Reflect: After a discussion, take a moment to reflect. What did you

do well? Where could you improve?

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 1. LEARN HOW TO LISTEN
ROI
Active listening inspires peak performance.
If employees don’t feel listened to, they tend to
isolate. The opposite is also true. Employees who feel
confident sharing ideas (or concerns) develop a more
collaborative mindset and stay committed to a task
64% longer than those working alone (Forbes).

KP Is
Employee Engagement Scores
360-Degree Feedback for Leaders
Team Collaboration Metrics

How Paycor Helps

Paycor Paths, Talent Development,
Career Management, Pulse Surveys

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 2. GET GOOD AT GIVING FEEDBACK
2. Get Good at Giving Feed back
Normalize feedback.
62% of employees feel “blindsided” by a performance review, and 74% said
they feel “in the dark” about how their managers and peers think they’re
performing (Fast Company). Why is feedback so hard to come by? Because
most people avoid giving feedback—it can be uncomfortable and awkward,
especially if it comes once a year, in the form of the Annual Review.

Open lines of communication.

Replace the make-or-break annual performance review with check-ins,
ideally a 30-minute face-to-face (or face-to-Zoom) manager/direct report
touch base. More frequent conversations (especially ones when the
manager is—you guessed it—actively listening) get both sides to loosen
up, which makes giving feedback much easier because managers can
address concerns or hiccups in real time.

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 2. GET GOOD AT GIVING FEEDBACK
HOW TO DELIVER FEEDBACK:

1 Start with a question. Like “How’s ____ going? What’s working?

What’s not?” Feedback should be a conversation, not a to-do list.

2 Bring an objective perspective. Separate emotions from feedback.

Think of feedback as identifying an opportunity area and then
providing helpful, actionable advice.

3 Be specific. Effective feedback is on a focused topic.

4 Go in with realistic expectations. It’s important to accurately assess

where someone’s at in their career. Think of feedback as continuous
growth.

5 Understand that change takes time. Another advantage of the

weekly one-on-one is that you can see that change happening.

6 Ask for peer-to-peer feedback. 360-degree feedback can be

enormously helpful and insightful.

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 2. GET GOOD AT GIVING FEEDBACK
ROI
Engagement! Do you want your team to be
engaged? Do you want them to compete to win?
To go above and beyond for your customers? Give
them feedback! A whopping 85% of employees take
more initiative when they receive feedback in the
workplace. Not surprisingly, the opposite is true: 4 out
of 10 employees who receive little to no feedback are
actively disengaged from their work (Zippia).

KP Is
Frequency of Communication
Employee Satisfaction
Turnover Rates How Paycor Helps
Workforce Management, Career
Management, Pulse Surveys

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 3. RECOGNIZE A JOB WELL DONE
3. Recognize a Job Well Done
Be your team’s biggest cheerleader.
Strive to gain a deep understanding of what drives each employee and then
use that knowledge to inspire them. This is a case where one-size-fits-all is
never a good idea since something that motivates one employee might not
even be on the radar of another, and the gesture runs the risk of falling flat.

Motivation reaps rewards.

Only 1 in 4 employees say they’ve been recognized for a job well done in
the past week. But recognition drives engagement and engagement drives
results. For example, in a recent study, researchers found that if a company
could double that number­—if 2 in 4 employees felt recognized—the
business would see a 9% improvement in productivity and a 22% decrease
in absenteeism (Gallup and Workhuman).

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 3. RECOGNIZE A JOB WELL DONE
HOW TO MAKE IT PART OF THE CULTURE:

1 Make it easy. The easier it is for everyone—managers and peers—to

give one another recognition, the better. Your HR & payroll software
should enable team members to publicly recognize one another.

2 A little training never hurts. Not everyone knows how to give

recognition, but it’s a soft skill that can be developed just like any
other.

3 Lead by example. Here’s where the manager’s attitude is make or

break. A manager who is genuinely appreciative and vocal about it
will inspire others to do likewise.

4 Make recognition personal. Some people want a standing ovation.

Others want a heartfelt thank you email.

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 3. RECOGNIZE A JOB WELL DONE
ROI
Motivation by the numbers. Researchers conducted
an 11-year study of 12 companies with a culture of
motivation and 20 companies without one. The results
were astonishing. The businesses with a positive
atmosphere saw a 682% increase in revenue, while the
20 without only saw a 166% increase (Forbes).

KP Is
Employee Engagement Scores
Absenteeism Rates
Productivity Metrics

How Paycor Helps

Paycor Engage, Performance
Management, Paycor Paths

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 4. MANAGE CONFLICT EFFECTIVELY
4. Manage Conflict Effectively
Most of us don’t “do” conflict.
Less than a third of team leaders say they manage conflict well, even though
80% say it’s a very important skill (Paycor, How to Recruit, Coach, and Develop
Teams). Employee conflicts can either be destructive or productive, even
healthy. A lot comes down to how the leader handles it.

You definitely don’t want to have the bad kind of conflict.

Randstad found that 58% of workers have quit or are considering quitting
because of disruptive workplace politics. 38% want to quit because of poor
workplace culture. The overwhelming majority (86%) of jobseekers avoid
applying to companies that have been reviewed poorly by their workforce.

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 4. MANAGE CONFLICT EFFECTIVELY
FIRST, TAKE A DEEP BREATH, THEN…

1 Acknowledge the conflict: Avoidance only exacerbates the problem.

2 Listen actively: Set up a meeting and give each person the space
to express their perspective without interruption.

3 Clarify the issue: Ask open-ended questions to understand root

causes. This helps ensure you’re addressing the real problem.

4 Stay neutral: Avoid taking sides. As a manager, your role is to

facilitate a resolution.

5 Promote understanding: See if you can inject some empathy into

the situation. Ask each person to describe the situation from the
other person’s point of view.

6 Brainstorm solutions: Make it a shared goal to figure things out.

Encourage collaboration and compromise.

7 Agree on a solution: Close the deal. Here’s where you need to

reach alignment.

8 Document the agreement: Writing it down drives clarity and

accountability.

9 Follow up: Set a date to check in to see how it’s going.

10 Reflect & learn: The more you engage with conflict, the better
you’ll get at facilitating positive outcomes.

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 4. MANAGE CONFLICT EFFECTIVELY
ROI
Healthy conflict gets results. In a massive survey
of companies around the world, researchers found
that 76% of workers worldwide have seen a conflict
lead to something positive. 41% of them found that
it led to a better understanding of other people, 33%
experienced improved working relationships, and
29% even found a better solution to their problem or
challenge (Gitnux).

KP Is
Employee Satisfaction Scores
Turnover Rate
Recurrence of Similar Conflicts
How Paycor Helps
Peer/360-Degree Feedback
Learning Management, Paycor
Paths, COR Leadership Dashboard

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 ABOUT PAYCOR
About Paycor
Paycor’s human capital management (HCM)
platform modernizes every aspect of people
management, from recruiting, onboarding and
payroll to career development and retention,
but what really sets us apart is our focus on
leaders. For more than 30 years we’ve been
listening to and partnering with leaders, so we
know what they need: a unified HR platform,
easy integration with third party apps, powerful
analytics, talent development software, and
configurable technology that supports specific
industry needs. That’s why more than 30,000
customers trust Paycor to help them solve
problems and achieve their goals.

LEARN MORE AT PAYCOR.COM

CALL 844-981-0040

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