You're sitting at your desk, poring over spreadsheet afterspreadsheet, making correlations, drawing conclusions and oftencoming up with more questions than answers. Reports flow in on newvendor possibilities and issues with existing ones that require youto analyze and determine the best course of action.

Many tangible matters come across your desk each day that areimportant or even crucial to your credit union's overallsuccess.

All of these matters also contribute to stress, an emotion thatmany people have trouble coping with, but (and because) it can be apowerful feeling. Feeling? Emotions? Those don't belong in theworkplace, especially not a financial institution.

Wrong.

There's no way around it. An interesting article by DanielGoleman, “The Emotional Intelligence of Leaders” that appeared inthe publication Leader to Leader, points out that yourbrain literally can't work that way. Everything you know or everwill know passes through a piece of your limbic system, the partresponsible for emotions, before it arrives at the cortex, the partthat performs logical analysis.

So, yes, the numbers on the spreadsheets make you feelsomething. That can range from “yippee” to “this is hopeless,” andyour reaction to whatever's going on filters down to the rest ofthe employees. Then your members will be greeted by an angry telleror a nervous loan officer. This is not the impression that shouldbe conveyed to members, particularly by representatives of afinancial institution.

Unlike your spreadsheets, the brain does not organize anythingin clean rows and columns.

According to Goleman, who is a psychologist and prolific author,there are five dimensions to emotional intelligence. If you areself-aware, you'll recognize that a particular situation may beparallel to something you've experienced in the past and that helpsform your response today.

So when the results of a lending program are not going asplanned, your brain automatically thinks back to a time whensomeone questioned your judgment now that you're questioning yourown. It doesn't feel good.

Unless you're willing to acknowledge and accept it, the resultscan be a meeting that turns into a scream-fest because the boss isunwilling to look inward and instead points fingers at everyoneelse. If you're certain you're on the right path, you should be able to lead others down it.

Bullyingdoes no good, so being able to manage your emotions is a greatasset to any organization as a whole. The Society for HumanResource Management surveyed and discovered that 51% of companiesreported workplace bullying, which can lower employee morale andloyalty, reduce productivity and increase health care and workers'compensation costs.

There is a practical side to all this mushy stuff.

Workers who are better able to deal with stress alsodemonstrated higher profitability per square foot, according to astudy of a retail chain that Goleman cited in his article.

That doesn't mean a raised voice every now and then from anormally mild-mannered executive can't be a positive and effectivetool. It just can't be the only tool. Regular explosions hurtmorale and become easier to tune out, which is counter to theintended effect.

Being an optimist also helps, Goleman asserted. Optimists feel abit more in control and thus are able to regroup after setbacks.Optimists are more driven and outperform others, he wrote. Andeveryone watches how the leader responds. Self-awareness andself-control are crucial.

Demonstrating empathy and not self-interest is also important in leading anyorganization. That doesn't mean you have everyone in for a good cryand let them take the rest of the week off. But it does mean youneed to be able not only to listen to their words but also to readtheir body language and expressions.

You can't afford to find out too late that things have gonesouth, degrading into apathy or even sabotage. In the virtual worldthese connections can be very difficult to maintain, but findcreative ways to keep your fingers on the pulse of the people inyour organization.

Finally, it's all about staying connected. Being a leader meansrecognizing a prevalent feeling among employees and talking aboutit first, the Goleman article states. If morale seems low, don'tlive in denial because you feel it's your short coming – it's notabout you (or it is but not in the way you're thinking at thatmoment).

Addressing it will illustrate your self-awareness, your abilityto manage emotions, your effort to motivate others and your abilityto empathize, thus rounding out Goleman's five dimensions ofemotional intelligence.

Your credit union is not only as strong as its weakest link.Goleman says a great team creates something greater than any singleplayer could. Achieving what consultant Warren Bennis labeledorganized genius, Goleman wrote, is your team's emotionalintelligence.