Written by My Collaborative Team President Edward S. Sachs, ACP
Many financial neutrals complete their basic introductory Collaborative training and believe they are ready to conquer the Collaborative world. After all, most forensic accountants serve as neutrals in the litigation world at some point and are quite successful.
However, what most Collaborative financial neutrals fail to recognize is that there is a paradigm shift for them too. The shift for neutral Collaborative financial professionals comes from the need to gain emotional intelligence.
Many psychologists have proposed definitions of emotional intelligence.
“It is very important to understand that emotional intelligence is not the opposite of intelligence, it is not the triumph of heart over head – it is the unique intersection of both.” From “Emotional WHAT? by David Caruso.
Another group of researchers defines emotional intelligence as a way of recognizing, understanding, and choosing how we think, feel, and act. It shapes our interactions with others and our understanding of ourselves.
Too often I am told of the shortcomings, and sometimes failures of Collaborative financial neutrals because they lack emotional intelligence. They enter team meetings with all the facts needed for the team, and especially the clients, to understand so that they can make informed decisions. But the delivery of the information without recognizing and understanding how each of the clients feels, thinks, and processes information can be fatal to the Process. It is vital that all members of the Collaborative team be mindful of the needs, wants, concerns and feelings of the clients. As the deliverer of the most critical information needed to settle our clients’ differences, we must be able to connect on an emotional level.
In the coming year, My Collaborative Team will be providing advanced training to financial neutrals in an effort to teach emotional intelligence.
And next week, I will discuss the need for advanced training for mental health neutrals who often lack the skills to facilitate a team, team meetings, and the Process.
