Emotional Intelligence Tips from Celtics Coach Brad Stevens
Emotional Intelligence is an attribute that takes time to acquire. Emotional intelligence is defined as, “The capability of individuals to recognize their own emotions and those of others, discern between different feelings and label them appropriately, use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior, and manage and/or adjust emotions to adapt to environments or achieve one’s goal(s)”.
When you think of the best leaders in the world, regardless of their title/position, a majority must possess a high EQ. They have the ability to handle difficult situations and remain calm in the process. This also means they do not react overly emotional to events that unfold before them. They stay level-headed, focus, diplomatic, and confident. Some companies you see leaders that do not possess this highly sought after skill set. Those are the companies that tend to have strong overturn margins, unhappy workers, in pending lawsuits, and/or on the brink of bankruptcy.
I came across an interview that Head Coach Brad Stevens of the Boston Celtics gave the other day. He had found out that he was not given a single vote for “Head Coach of the Year”, in the National Basketball Association (NBA) by his coaching peers. Instead, the coaches all had given the majority vote to Dwayne Casey of the Toronto Raptors.
It’s not that he isn’t well respected in the coaching community. It was more than he was overlooked and there were viable candidates. His team played exceptionally well for having all new players he had to incorporate into the team this past season. As well as, having his two-star players both get injured in the season.
The way the reporter posed the question it would have been easy to have some resentment, envy, or disgust for not receiving any votes. Instead, what he did was remarkable. Coach Stevens gave praise and congratulated Coach Casey for winning “Head Coach of the Year” and said it was well-deserved. This is one of many examples where Coach Stevens said the right things and kept his composure. Emotional Intelligence is a skill-set from leadership principles. Volspiro teaches leadership coaching because of how imperative it is to have EQ as a trait that will help us in all parts of our lives.
