If you could develop yourself so
that you were a more effective
leader, would you do so?
Members and clients
EQ is a powerful tool for connecting with members and clients,
motivating them and improving their results.
Actively work on becoming more aware of your own array of daily
personal emotions. These emotions will positively or negatively affect
your ability to inspire and lead those around you. A group fitness
instructor or a personal trainer is a role model, so well developed EQ
will put you ahead of the game. Listen well, react accordingly and
then use the appropriate persuasive tools to connect and engage.
Managing teams
When it comes to managing a team, emotional intelligence is an
incredibly valuable skill. Understanding and responding appropriately
to different emotions, overcoming stress in the moment, and being
aware of how your words and actions affect others are powerful
leadership attributes.
Leading your team with EQ will help you improve your business
results by enhancing your ability to recognise and regulate your
teams’ emotions. By harnessing the power of EQ, you can create an
environment of successful collaboration and cooperation within the
workplace, helping your team reach their true potential.
Understanding how the brain operates and how the emotional
response system works can also help manag ers to recruit the ‘best’
team members for maximum success. With a carefully selected
team, your business can also improve member retention. Macquarie
University Sport and Aquatic Centre has been running regular
EQ training sessions for leaders since 2008. Through developing
their EQ skills, team members have become better at avoiding the
communication deficiencies that create disengagement, distrust and
doubt. This has resulted in improved retention rates.
A leader with highly developed EQ will effectively gauge the needs,
The 30-second article
• Emotional intelligence (EQ) is the
ability to identify, use, understand
and manage emotions in a
positive way
• Research conducted in the 1990s
concluded that EQ comprises
self-awareness, self-regulation,
motivation, empathy and social skills
• EQ can be developed and used as an
effective leadership tool
• Fitness professionals can use EQ to
engage class participants and
clients and make them feel
empowered and successful
• Managers can use EQ to create an
environment of successful
collaboration and cooperation and to
recruit new team members more
effectively.
wants and expectations of their teams and
their members. The strong tribal club culture
is a reflection of a leader and a leadership
team with a sound EQ awareness.
Use the tips in this article to improve your
EQ skills, and then, when you feel ready, put
yourself in situations where you can flex your
EQ muscles to drive your team, clients and
members to higher levels of performance
and productivity.
It just might be that EQ matters more
than IQ when it comes to your health,
happiness and life success. If so, because
EQ can be learnt and developed, you have
complete control of these outcomes. You,
and everyone you come into contact with,
have everything to gain.
Leisl Klaebe is Acting Health and Fitness
Coordinator and Group Fitness Team Leader at
Macquarie University Sport and Aquatic Centre
in NSW. Prior to her fitness career, she worked in
the film and television industry, and she brings
her vast array of connection, engagement and
entertainment skills to her fitness work.
58 | NETWORK SUMMER 2015