Business

The business of love

Your emotional intelligence is more important than your IQ
Your emotional intelligence is more important than your IQ Your emotional intelligence is more important than your IQ

I KNOW there is some time before Valentine’s Day, but this year it is important that in business we focus a lot more on love.

Crucial to all business successes are relationships and you cannot build great relationships if you are not authentic and true to yourself. Your emotional intelligence is more important than your IQ.

We need to first learn to love ourselves, in order to love our work, love our colleagues, customers and our family and friends.

Self-belief is critical to success. Building a strong relationship with ourselves means putting ourselves and our goals first, looking after ourselves and doing what is right for our career or business.

Remember also to make time for self-care and switching off – you can’t pour from an empty cup.

Through self-love we become more productive and motivated and this is essential in our professional lives and brushes off on others around us, be this in the working environment or at home.

Loving our work is paramount for our health and relationships. Working around our body clocks, prioritising tasks and embracing a positive mindset can all help in the quest to love our jobs.

Loving our colleagues helps us to become more motivated and enthusiastic. As business leaders it is important to remember that team members who feel loved, valued and trusted are more likely to perform positively, gain confidence, share ideas and become leaders themselves.

It is also important to recognise, acknowledge and be grateful for the services of suppliers and the trade of customers.

Without these people our businesses and jobs would not exist.

A healthy self-esteem is a prerequisite for a healthy mind and a healthy career, without self-love, we're not capable of truly reaching our full potential.

Jill Minne, strategic HR director of Northern Ireland Civil Service was a speaker at our Spotlight on Success Conference in December and she shared some of her leadership life hacks that have helped her stay at the top of her game.

• To thine own self be true. Be authentic -know your motivations

• Build your network, get a mentor, get a sponsor

• Build a coalition of the willing -collective leadership not heroic individuals

• Hold your nerve

• Keep track of your accomplishments

• Lift as you climb

• Cheer up –people won’t follow a grumpy leader for long -be a radiator not a drain

• Stay away from negative people. They have a problem for every solution

Wise words from a truly inspirational and successful woman, who has combined her career with her family.

To compliment this theme, we will be hosting The Love Me Gala Ball on Valentine’s night in the spectacular setting of St Anne’s Cathedral, to celebrate you!

This event will be an occasion for everyone; couples, singles, friends, employers, employees and the business community to celebrate love. We need to love our friends, love our partners, love our work but first you must #LoveMe.

The Love Me Ball will raise vital funds for the important work of the Women in Business charity in supporting all women to reach their full potential.

This Gala Ball will be the most exclusive, prestigious and stylish event to happen in 2019 and to book tickets and find out more visit www.womeninbusinessni.com

: Roseann Kelly (roseann@ womeninbusinessni.com) is chief executive of Women in Business (www.womeninbusinessni.com)