If you lead a team (whether at work, in the community, or within your own family), you can enhance the emotional intelligence of the team as a whole – at the level of the individuals on the team, at the level of team “mood”, and at the level of how the team relates to other parts of the organization or the world.
One of the best ways to “tune into” or enhance your awareness of your team’s emotions is to conduct interviews with each individual team member and ask some or all of the questions listed below.
This interview is likely to take about an hour, possibly longer. Your role, as team lead, is primarily to listen. Introduce the conversation by telling team members that you are interested in learning more about them, their goals, and their outlook on how things are working on the team, so you can better support them in achieving their goals. Ask permission to take notes. And then, listen as hard as you can.
Questions:
What brought you to work here? What do you enjoy about your work? What would you like to do more of?
What do you enjoy most about being on this team? What’s working for you? What’s not?
Who do you enjoy working with? Who do you find more difficult?
Are there skills or talents you would like to use more of in your work? What are they?
Are there skills or talents you would like to develop or grow in? How can I support you?
What do you see are your greatest strengths? What do you do best?
What are your career goals for two years out? How can I support you in achieving those goals?
When you are feeling frustrated or angry, do you let the team know? How can I know when you are not 100 percent behind a team initiative or decision?
Do you ever feel disappointed or frustrated? Do you let me know when that happens? How can I know when you’re feeling that way and how can I help when that happens?
Do you and I get together often enough to discuss how things are going? How frequently should we be getting together
Can I count on you to speak up during team meetings when someone “crosses the line” or behaves inappropriately? Do you need some urging from me, or will you just call out the inappropriate behavior? Can I count on you to do this with me as well?
What motivates you?
Are you okay with public acknowledgement of a job well done, or do you feel embarrassed when I acknowledge you publicly? When you really do great work, what’s the best way for me to acknowledge that (and you)?
Is there anything else you would like me to know about you and/or your interactions with me or with other team members?
Is there anything else I can do to support you or make you feel more effective or productive in your work here?
Again, remember, your role in this exercise is to primarily listen and acknowledge what you’ve heard. Also, please note, you may not need to ask all of these questions to get a good conversation started. Some questions may be more important than others, and you may also want to put some of these questions in your own words. The important thing is to take the time to ask them and then to listen carefully to the responses.
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