Introduction
Emotional Intelligence (EI) is thought to consist of soft attributes, which some people feel are uncharacteristic to those in the construction industry. However, project managers in this sector are time and again, working on dynamic and sometimes highly complex team projects. These need versatile leaders who have the technical know-how, but also the soft skills to communicate, motivate, and interact with their team. Recent studies show that positive behavioral traits, which are vital attributes of EI, can be advantageous to business and personal growth in any setting. EI can be an excellent recipe for teamwork and motivation, which are key performance indicators. Numerous authoritative sources maintain that people with high EI are also exceptional negotiators, collaborators, communicators, and all else that can influence team performance.
Popularly known as EI and sometimes EQ (Emotional quotient), emotional intelligence is an individual’s capability not just to identify, but also to manage their emotions and those of others. Srivastava (2013 p.97) Explains that EI allows a person to evaluate their feelings as well as the emotions of others. The author believes that a person with high EI should have the capacity to differentiate between a wide range of emotions and label each emotion in the best way possible. Savel and Munro (2016) Describe emotional intelligence as an approach that consists of critical skills, including emotional awareness, analytical and problem-solving, and emotional management skills and capabilities. They explain that an individual who possesses these skills can easily regulate their emotions, while also being readily available in helping others to manage their feelings. It’s a process that brings a balance of interests. It helps to bring about a safe and mentally healthy work environment, where everyone has a significant boost in morale and commitment towards their work.
Construction business is primarily project-based, and most positions include architects, contractors, and subcontractors. In the past, some of these groups worked in isolation, but this is no longer the case. There is a realization that no single group can work as a standalone, and there is an increased need to coordinate and collaborate. This boils down to the type of people that the owner brings onboard. Maqbool et al. (2017 p.58) suggest that working with senior managers who possess high EI can be quite useful for projects. The authors state that such managers can understand all that is happening within and around them. As such, they can quickly arrest situations that could cause harm to the project. Venkataraman and Cheng (2018) explain that every project consists of certain critical factors that can lead to its success. And key among them are attributes connected to EI. It’s, therefore, necessary to be on the lookout for these personal traits and industry during the initial hiring process of the project team. They state that the project-based background of the construction industry can be quite challenging. Hence, any hiring process needs to bring on board people with certain traits which fit within an environment that comprises of constant interaction and communication. Thus, besides the professional qualifications, which are always a standard requirement for most job entries, it’s now necessary to assess a candidate on their social and personal competencies. These include self-awareness, empathy, and optimism, which are viewed as part of the soft skills that create an exceptional working team.
Lindebaum (2009 p.225) says that it’s good if an organization wants to apply EI, however, they also need to advocate for self-initiated attitudes, which can eventually foster self-awareness. According to Hobbs and Smyth (2012 p.648), EI is an essential factor in team success. The only drawback, however, is that there is minimal empirical research that confirms this assertion to be accurate and reliable. The author adds that EI can deal with complex team issues in a project. But the construction and mining industries pose even deeper challenges than EI alone can handle and that the construction industry can only thrive with excellent leadership and managerial traits. According to Love et al. (2011 p.50), those project managers who depict high EI should effectively use those positive traits to regulate themselves as well as members of the project team. The author says that it’s possible to utilize emotional information to achieve project goals.
Meanwhile, Sunindijo and Zou (2012 pp.1-13) State that coordination, teamwork, and communication and management are crucial characteristics that every successful leader needs. And this can only be effective with high doses of emotional intelligence. The author states that a working atmosphere where a leader cannot hold it together under duress can create room for chaos. Such is an environment that makes workers jittery, fearful, and cannot concentrate well on the tasks at hand. On the other hand, a leader who is entirely in control, and can assess a situation and calmly deal with both negative and positive emotions, coming their way, fosters safety. They create a serene working area that allows deep concentration and eliminates any chances of committing errors. Most management practitioners maintain that the more a person in a position of leadership possesses traits such as personal and social skills, the more they can also handle any dynamic and highly driven people.
According to Clarke (2010 p.5), self-motivated leaders are known to relentlessly work towards achieving their goals, but also motivating others to do the same for their personal as well as professional growth. Besides, those leaders who possess empathy traits can understand where others are coming from. For example, they can identify stress triggers and eliminate them. But they can also deal with stress and anxiety whenever it occurs. Besides, they can also offer any criticism without causing further emotional harm. Sang et al. (2018 p.3406) state that active managers possess a wide range of competencies, including excellent social skills and the ability to communicate effectively. They maintain that excellent communication works so well, especially if you have a new project, and you want your team to collaborate. In essence, emotionally intelligent leaders and managers can foster a safe and healthy working environment in which workers can comfortably take calculated risks.
Based on the above, it’s indisputable that emotional Intelligence plays a critical role in complex and extremely varied work environments, such as construction. Besides the technical aspects of such type of projects, the necessity of soft skills, in the form of EI cannot be overlooked. Of course, for the longest time, the general thinking is that people in this profession are so collected and have what it takes, in terms of processing information and dealing with crises. Hence, the expectation is that nothing can ever go wrong in such an atmosphere. But this is simply a stereotype and a false belief. Studies suggest that EI intelligence can help people to reevaluate who they are, and how they interact with those around them daily in such a busy working environment. Construction workplaces are prone to more stress and anxiety due to the nature of their projects, which are usually quite demanding. Thus EI is a timely solution helping more people to cope. The more they learn to channel their emotions, the more comfortable they can work constructively, which then positively impacts the organization.
Sandberg and Räisänen (2016) state that site supervisory, managerial, and governance in the construction business is usually considered ‘handle-it-as-it comes’ type of leadership. Here, superiors quickly deal with issues as they crop up. This type of style, if there ever was, is gradually losing grip, and attention is now more people-centered. According to Mischung (2014), it’s the norm of most construction businesses to adopt new technologies and programs to boost productivity. However, the human element cannot be negated while doing so. The essence of EI, therefore, is that each member contributes to a collaborative environment that makes it possible to learn and make use of technology and new systems. One important thing to note is construction teams are usually large, dynamic, and often complex groups of people who need careful handling at any given time. EI has the potential to help build significant relationships, but it can also have a positive effect on the way people think. This usually has a substantial impact on the level of interactions between the project managers and each member of the team.
In situations where a project consists of sub-teams headed by team leaders, it always means that a project manager does not have direct control and communication with each person working on the project. Therefore, a lot of decision-making will have to be made by team leaders. This requires a high dose of EI to make sure that everyone is cooperative and that they can make sober decisions. Clarke (2010 p.119) says EI is necessary to bind such teams into single-minded units geared towards achieving predetermined goals and objectives. The author insists that soft skills are critical in building collaboration, motivating the team, and resolving any team conflict whenever they are bound to occur. Again, leadership skills are part of project management, which often comes with their share of demands. For example, a leader must be an influencer whose word can quickly move the masses in that particular work setting.
The truth is that its almost impossible to be an influencer without high EI. People need to see you from your human perspective. They can read and interpret your emotional tone, which elicits either optimism, motivation, or pessimism. Its quite apparent that a leader with a high EI sets a positive mood, where the rest of the crowd can gravitate towards a common agenda. But this skill goes beyond the immediate team. A wide range of groups such as the top management, operations, industry stakeholders, venders, and even IT support services are vital in contributing to the overall success of the project. Hence it requires that they are handled with utmost care. As a project manager, you also apply a specific leadership style that consists of rules necessary for the accomplishment of project goals. Some of the commonly used leadership styles in a construction environment include coaching, visionary, affiliative, and sometimes democratic. Most of these styles encompass significant aspects of EI. For instance, coaching has such qualities as empathy, developing others, and empathetic characteristics. Depending on which method is in operation, the focus should be to prioritize human relationships that form a working team. This can be a perfect recipe for team cohesion, which sets the pace for collective responsibility and accountability towards tasks.
Petrides (2009) emphasizes that several personality traits make up for emotional intelligence attributes. These traits include wellbeing, sociability, and self-control, as well as self-other. The author opines that besides cognitive abilities, EI depicts high reliability with immediate satisfactory elements. According to Barczak (2010 p.332), one key advantage of EI is that it helps managers institute and apply collaboration and negotiation skills. These can be widely used to influence the future of a project. For instance, a project needs a lot of goodwill and support from the top management and industry stakeholders. Thus, applying negotiation skills can work miracles to determine the direction of the project. Although some studies worry that EI can make people risk-averse, and the higher your EI, the more you would want to resist your impulses, the opposite is also true. Authoritative sources say that managers can use their collaboration and negotiation skills to take risks, which they see as beneficial to the project goals and objectives.
Regardless of whether EI is necessary or just nice, it all depends on individual projects, coupled with unique leadership styles. Some are inherently predisposed towards embracing tenets of organizational behavior as solid building blocks for their projects, others not as much. One of the outstanding reasons for the adaptation of EI in construction management styles is its ability to help in change management. Change is a subject that most people are never comfortable with. But its an inevitable oat of a growing and vibrant construction business. A leader with a high EI can communicate, influence, persuade and help to bring about the much-needed changes in a company. The level of anxiety in the face of any change can sometimes be indescribable. But if as a leader, you stay calm, you pass the same mood to your team. This allows any new processes to take their natural pace without fear or sabotage.
Last but not least, emotional intelligence remains a critical aspect of construction management. If effectively used, a practitioner can easily control, manage, and express a wide range of emotions to bring forth results. It’s quite applicable in highly stressful environments to ensure that things are working as expected. Besides, a projector manager can apply a handful of EI attributes to manage stress and anxiety, and extend the benefits of the same to the rest of the team. A calm and motivated team works exceptionally well, and positive results can always be expected.
Conclusion
The question as to whether EI is necessary or just nice should not be an issue. Construction comes with so much dynamism and works complexity that it dramatically needs soft skills to bring all matters to a balance. Besides tools and equipment, individuals are critical to bringing about performance and productivity. One of the most significant assets in this mix is people and how they conduct themselves around each other. Emotional intelligence improves teamwork, and there is good interaction between managers, teams, and other industry stakeholders. The recommendations are that first, EI is quite necessary and should be part and parcel of any management processes in construction businesses. Secondly, project managers need to sharpen their emotional intelligence skills to be able to handle multiple teams.
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