Week 5: Emotional Intelligence at HCPI
This past week I was able to observe another important theory at HC Private Investments. After our team received some disappointing news regarding a potential investment, I saw the importance of emotional intelligence in business and in life.
After conducting extensive research and valuation on an intriguing company, the HCPI team was very excited about the possibilities on acquiring it. We had heard last week from the banker that was representing the company that they were leaning towards choosing us as their partner. However, this past week, we got a call from the same banker who explained to us that this company had received a significant offer in the final hour and were going to accept it. Our excitement for this company was crushed…but it was in this moment that I saw the emotional intelligence that John and Matt both have. As Daniel Goleman discusses in “What Make A Leader?”, two of the five most important aspect of emotional intelligence are self-awareness and self-regulation.
In this moment John and Matt could have easily shown their disappointment and allowed it to dictate their work and actions. Instead, they continued on with looking at other opportunities, while still acknowledging the disappointment. They were able understand their emotions and redirect these emotions into motivation to continue working. I think this is an extremely important skill to have in life, but also in the business world as things will not always go as planned. John and Matt are able to keep a level head even in the most frustrating times, and I believe that is why they have been so successful.
So funny that you talked about emotional intelligence in this reflection as I had started to invoke comments about John and emotional intelligence in my last response. Then I just decided to leave those comments out. But it appears that I would not have been off-base suggesting that John also displays emotional intelligence:) Seems like it is really critical for your two leaders to possess these abilities given the nature of the work. If they did get mired down in the disappointment it would be difficult to motivate the rest of the team to move forward in pursuit of the next possible investment. As you continue, and even after you finish, I encourage you to reflect and consider if there are other actions/behaviors you witnessed that illustrate other aspects of emotional intelligence.