Emma....

Emotional intelligence: you've about as much chance finding it in the managerial job spec as organic mung beans on the factory canteen menu. But what's popularly lampooned as liberal claptrap, says Emma Harbottle, operations director at gas sensor manufacturer Analox, is as effective as anything from Womack and Jones in boosting shopfloor performance. "Your biggest responsibility as operations manager is motivating your people and bringing their talents to the fore. It's far more important to have outstanding management and leadership skills than technical ones." The international business world is inclined to agree. Emotional intelligence – defined as a leader's aptitude for self-awareness, controlling emotions, empathy and social skills – is twice as important in driving performance as a manager's IQ or technical prowess, according to a study in the Harvard Business Review. Harbottle offers a case in point. The 26-year-old has propelled Analox to a Best Factory Awards double with the 59-strong site winning the health and safety award and a highly commended for product innovation in 2011. On-time in-full delivery has risen from 98% to 99% since the win. Business also continues to grow despite the ill winds of public sector spending cuts hitting major OEM customers in the military sector, where Analox supplies gas sensors that can be found in submarines, armoured vehicles and aircraft. Success is founded on enhanced product quality and customer service delivered through a highly-engaged workforce. All led, in operations, by a non-engineer who only came to the factory as a stop-gap. "I went to an all-girls school and everything was geared around going to university," recalls Harbottle. "When I finished my A-levels I came here to help fund a gap year – I'd planned to work a ski season." Best laid plans quickly veered off-piste. "When I came down into operations it felt like I had found what I wanted to do," says Harbottle. "My predecessor, Linda, was highly motivational and nurtured me. I just love the buzz of production: getting everybody together to discuss the challenges and coming out with fantastic results. I enjoy that, it's why I love my job. " Lacking an engineering degree, even in the manufacture of complex sensors, hasn't been a hindrance, says Harbottle. "I've taught myself a lot of the basics around electrical engineering and can tell you what we're doing with the gas sensors out on the floor. By not having my head in the detail, in the way you would as a technical expert, you can take a step back. I can give a broader opinion rather than deciding which resistor you're going to change and when." Harbottle complements her own abilities by incorporating technical experts into her immediate team. Such deft delegation calls out the apocryphal belief that an engineering degree is a prerequisite for running production. Harbottle says: "I don't understand why companies see engineering degrees as essential when they're recruiting for ops managers. Why? I spend most of my time on people management. You can be as educated or intelligent as you like, but if you can't do that then you might end up with everybody walking out." Analox's shopfloor walks very much in step. Harbottle sets the pace with constant communication. Ad-hoc performance feedback is backed up by formal monthly one-to-ones to discuss employee development. A monthly £100 prize is also made to those who display behaviours deemed noteworthy by the Analox senior team. Yet, while Harbottle might preach textbook management principles, she is pragmatic enough to adapt them to the idiosyncrasies of the shopfloor. "I abandoned 5S in favour of 'workplace organisation'," she reveals. "People respond better if it's something they can relate to." It reveals Harbottle's awareness of others that is crucial to emotionally intelligent management. "Every company has the people who've been there 100 years – the cynics of the world," Harbottle reflects. "Those people are the big characters. If you upset them you'll affect the mood of the entire team. Aim your communication at those people. I think 'who's my worst audience?'." Harbottle's ability to strike a rapport marks her out with another of the four key attributes of emotional intelligence (see the box, below left). It's not a huge leap of faith to suggest these skills come easier to someone who is a) not a classically trained engineer and b) female. Please bear with us, before you accuse WM of turning into the WI. Few would disagree that engineers are hardly famed for the self-awareness and social skills that are key to emotional intelligence. And men – who make up an estimated 95% of manufacturing managers – are outperformed by women on emotional intelligence tests, according to experts. That gap is usually evened out across a typical sample group, stresses psychologist Daniel Goleman. Comparing gender differences is like examining a set of results across two bell curves, he says. While the average woman might have more emotional intelligence than the average man, any given male can still eclipse the abilities of a female counterpart. That's fine for businesses recruiting from a balanced gender pool. The frightening thing for UK manufacturing is that our own bell curve is so disturbingly lopsided. The sector's heavy male bias and penchant for engineers in ops roles has created a strong selective pressure against 'soft skills'. Scream sexism and call Jeremy Clarkson if you must. However, this pernicious imbalance risks polluting the long-term performance of UK manufacturing. We trust the majority of you, male or female, have the emotional intelligence to see that too and will join WM's campaign to restore a healthier gender balance to British factories. Sign up to WM's Females in Factories campaign to fight the gender imbalance in manufacturing – www.worksmanagement.co.uk/fif What is emotional intelligence? What is it? Emotional intelligence has four components: self awareness, the ability to manage our emotions, empathise with others and social skills. Isn't it just psychobabble? No. The power of soft skills is backed up by hard facts. Emotional intelligence was ranked as more important than intellect and technical skills in the makeup of highly effective leaders in a study by psychiatrist Dan Goleman of 188 companies. Goleman says: "The best managers are high on emotional intelligence-based competencies like goal focus and empathy. There are a range of such abilities reflecting a diverse range of personal skill from self management to social effectiveness." Are women better at it? Yes and no, according to Goleman."Women, on average, tend to score higher than men because of an advantage on empathy and social skills," he says. "But that doesn't mean women are better managers than men." Any one man may still be as good as, or better than, any given woman or vice-versa depending on their cognitive make-up. Also, while women tend to pip men in emotional empathy (the ability to sense how others are feeling or reacting to a situation), men are typically better at seeking a solution to those feelings – further evidence of the need to have a healthy mix of both sexes to ensure the success of the factory team. Tell-tale signs of an emotionally intelligent manager: - realistic self-assessment - trustworthiness and integrity - strong goal focus - expertise in building and retaining talent - effectiveness in leading change Signpost: are you an emotionally intelligent manager? Tell us why at mgosney@findlay.co.uk