I was wondering if anybody had sent any managers off to a good emotional intelligence course. We have a manager in need but want to make sure it is a good course before we waste their time.

Is the manager actually self-aware enough to benefit from such a course? Some of the best programs I know of are found at the Center for Creative Leadership. Others can be found, but the bigger questions remain:

- What undesirable behavior does the manager have?
- Will EQ training change his/her behavior?
- Is the manager important enough to the company that such an investment is worth it?
- What is plan B? Should the manager go to EQ training and not change, then what?

What I am saying is that unless this manager understands the negative impact of his/her actions have and has come to the realization that they must change...no change will occur--regardless of the quality of training.

EQ training requires self-reflection and for those that are not comfortable with that idea, they just will not go there in a class. If this person is a HIPO and a major investment is being considered, you may want to look to an executive coach in addition too or in place of EQ training.

We have an off-the-shelf Emotional Intelligence Training Course, which you might find beneficial. Particularly if you want to just test the water with this.

Dave makes some very good points. Another important point is this...

Is the manager aware of how his or her mismanaged emotions are negatively impacting his or her work performance, relationships, health and overall effectiveness?

The most important place to start is to help the manager understand the effects of mismanaged emotions and then to show him or her results that others have achieved by enhancing Emotional Intelligence skills. As Dave points out, if the manager isn't motivated to change, there's not you can do. You can send him/her to training, but he or she is not likely to apply what was learned.

We offer programs where each participant selects from a list of 17 personal goals to improve their work and family life (intra and interpersonal). We also share the immediate, significant and sustainable results that attendees typically achieve. You can find many examples of these results on our website.

The bottom line is - it's all about results.

Listen to Dave, and add a question to his extremely good list --

Who will hold this person accountable for changing his behavior? What are the consequences if he doesn't?

(assuming of course that EQ "training" is a good solution in the first place)