When you first encounter Paul Cheetham, the first impression you get is that he's the sort of bloke you could enjoy a few beers with. He's a Newcastle Utd fan, he's born and bred in the North East, he loves the region and the people. He understands how we do business.
And, as far as we can remember, he’s the only person we’ve ever met who’s got a glowing reference on their website…from his mother! When I asked Paul about this, he told me “When I created my website, I was looking for some good quotes from people who could vouch for me and so I thought who better than my Mam? She even said I was good-looking, but that is definitely through ‘Mam-tintedspectacles’! I kept the quote in the final version of my website, as I felt it reflected that I like to bring some humour to my work, while also taking what I do for my clients seriously.”
Paul is also one of those people who is informative and entertaining to listen to, especially when it’s a topic that can be initially rather difficult to grasp… Emotional Intelligence (EI). So, I asked Paul to enlighten me on what the heck this EI stuff was and how he got into it. “In my 30-year career in HR across a range of sectors, I got to see a lot of human behaviour that wasn’t conducive to successful outcomes…and I include myself in that! Back in 2017, I went on a week-long immersive course in EI, which changed the trajectory of my life. As a then 46-year-old bloke, I truly saw for the first time how emotions were shaping behaviours for me and for others – both in the workplace as well as in their personal lives. It was a bit of an epiphany! To be able to recognise and understand emotions and then use that data to make decisions that would make a positive difference for me and for others was really powerful. In summary, EI is simply being more intelligent with emotions, although it isn’t always simple to put into practice!
I was curious as to why EI would be something that businesses would be interested in, and I could see the gleam in Paul’s eye. He passionately explained “The best reason I can give is ‘Emotions drive people. People drive performance.’ Yet, workplaces still focus on technical training and don’t provide any support to harness and channel a core part of ourselves, which is our emotions. Our emotions give us energy and provide data as to what is important to us. Our anger, joy, contempt, fear, reluctance, acceptance, curiosity, antipathy etc. are indicators as to how we view the job we have, the work we do, the people we interact with, the life we are leading but left ignored we will just be reacting based on well-worn patterns rather than making conscious, deliberate choices…leading to less than optimal outcomes”
Paul continued “Also, research shows that your level of EQ (Emotional Quotient, which is the emotional equivalent of IQ) is strongly linked to success. The great thing is that with regular practice you can grow your EI/EQ which will support you to be more effective, have better relationships, increase wellbeing and enhance your quality of life. Who wouldn’t want that?”
It’s fascinating stuff, and it’s only when you listen to Paul that this starts to make sense. Granted, it’s very easy to be sceptical at the start…Paul will admit that…but it’s only when you really start to think about why we react to things in certain ways and how we may be able to have an influence on those emotions and why those emotions occur in the first place, that you can see how, if you fully understand your emotions and can learn how to use them, that your life and work really can improve.
For example, we’d suspect that everyone reading this will know someone…perhaps they work for you, with you, or perhaps they’re a friend or relative…and it’s blindingly obvious that they’re incredibly talented with a real gift for what they do, but unfortunately the way they behave or interact with colleagues means they always fall short. In other words, they could help themselves and everyone else around them to be hugely successful…but they’re not because they can’t control their emotions which affects what they do and everyone around them. Shame. What a waste.
This is where Paul earns his corn. I asked Paul who he would typically work with and how he works with them. “My work is almost exclusively business to business and so I consult with organisations to help them shape an organisation-wide culture of EI, I create and facilitate bespoke team EI sessions and I do 1-2-1 coaching. As I first got to ‘cut my teeth’ in a tech business, my speciality is working with people who have strong technical or professional discipline such as accountants, engineers, lawyers, marketers, developers etc. I learnt that although I couldn’t teach them anything about their chosen profession, I could help them amplify and direct their abilities to ‘be more joyful and successful through the power of EI’ – which is my mission.
So, has this article got you thinking? Good. That’s the first step… you’ve recognised that there just might be something in this Emotional Intelligence thing…
If you or your business wants to tap into the power of your people and their emotions, then get in touch with Paul.
w: www.paulcheetham.co.uk
e: paul@paulcheetham.co.uk
LI: www.linkedin.com/in/paulcheetham1
