The Relevance of the Person—Mastering Change Through Emotional Intelligence

This text of Chapter 7 is part of a modular system with concrete, pragmatically applicable tools for culture change. Culture change here refers to the so-called non-technical part of change processes, i.e. a sustainable change of behavior and attitudes of the people within an organization. While the previous chapters described the approach and the techniques to drive change in an organization, here the focus is on the person. Successful change requires the willingness and ability of all participants to accept necessary changes and to cope with the associated uncertainty. The relevance of emotional intelligence (EQ) in change processes is presented in connection with resilience and inspiring leadership. The chapter shows that EQ can be trained, for example, by mindfulness techniques and how one’s own continuous development through a change of habits can be achieved through willpower. Because: Change starts with oneself.