complete case study emotional intelligence at fedex

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Emotional Intelligence Case Study: Revolutionising Leadership at FedEx Express

• Jill McCrum
• July 9, 2019

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In 2014, an excellent case study was released that demonstrated the benefits of emotional intelligence training on internal leadership teams at FedEx. In this article, I will break down the case study, which shows just how valuable management training can be.

FedEx Express, a global leader in express transportation, delivers millions of packages across continents every day on over 600 flights. Behind its vast operations lies not just logistical prowess but also a deep commitment to leadership excellence through emotional intelligence (EI). FedEx’s leadership development emphasises EI as a pivotal tool for fostering a people-first leadership style that stays true to its People-Service-Profit philosophy . The 2014 case study delves into how FedEx integrated emotional intelligence into their managerial training , which had extremely positive results.

The Foundation of FedEx’s Leadership Philosophy

While founder Fred Smith placed a big focus on logistics and speed, however, from the start he always believed that people were the key to business and that leadership was about continuous growth. Smith’s vision prioritised people and led to improved service and, subsequently, profit.

Increasing the Focus on Emotional Intelligence

“Emotionally intelligent leadership means forming a connection between people at an emotional level”

Recognising the evolving complexities of modern leadership, FedEx has continually sought to enhance its leaders’ expertise and emotional quotient. This involves navigating diverse workforce dynamics, making swift yet accurate decisions, and cultivating a workplace culture that motivates exceptional performance.

In addition, in an extremely fast-paced, task-focused environment, a common challenge for managers was losing sight of the relational dynamics that ultimately sustain team performance ie. They were so task-driven, they forgot about the people. To build a team where people give their “discretionary effort,” task-based management was insufficient: people leadership was required. This meant forming a connection between people at an emotional level.

Integrating EI into Leadership Training

FedEx decided to increase the emotional intelligence focus of the leadership training and deliver a new course called LEAD1 to put EQ into action on the frontlines. It was a five-day course with a six-month follow-up coaching process. All new FedEx Express managers went through the program in order to provide a solid people-first foundation upon which to build their leadership careers.

In LEAD1, the new managers focused on how emotionally intelligent leadership would assist them by managing themselves first, taking charge of their own emotions and behaviours so they could be effective role models and influencers.

Action-Based Management Training

FedEx’s approach to emotional intelligence training is deeply practical and action-oriented. Unlike theoretical models, the Six Seconds Model of Emotional Intelligence, which underpins the LEAD1 program, provides actionable insights that managers can apply daily. The model is structured around three key processes:

This structure is designed to foster self-awareness among leaders, equipping them with the skills to manage their emotions and actions effectively.

The Results

“44% of participants experienced very large increases in emotional intelligence”

In all the competencies of EQ, 44% of the participants experienced very large increases (10-50% improvements). The largest increases were in the areas of “Apply Consequential Thinking” with 54% of the participants in this group experiencing large increases, and “Exercise Optimism” with 57% of the participants improving from 10-50%.

While the data are impressive, the human stories are just as compelling. Behind a 20% increase in relationships, we heard the story of a leader rebuilding trust with her team, or a marriage staying together. That 10% increase in decision-making is a story of a new manager finally “getting it” that people are what create value and change the way he treats people.

Participants have shared numerous stories of using the EQ tools to cope with loss, reunite with family members, step up to become better parents, and even make dramatic changes to improve health and well-being. By supporting new managers in this way, FedEx gains by having more competent leaders – and also by showing its people that the company puts its values into action. In turn, this role models the kind of people-centred leadership that FedEx expects from all managers.

Walk the Talk.

The company tells supervisors to put people first, so the company puts people first. By supporting new managers to be good people, and investing in their growth right at the start of their management careers, FedEx senior leadership is providing a powerful role model.

Emotions drive people, people drive performance.

The success story of FedEx’s LEAD1 program provides invaluable insights for other organisations aiming to leverage emotional intelligence for leadership development. It underscores the importance of aligning training with organisational values and the transformative potential of emotional intelligence in cultivating leaders equipped to face the challenges of the modern business landscape.

In conclusion, FedEx’s strategic focus on emotional intelligence exemplifies its pioneering approach to leadership development—a model that promises not only to elevate individual leaders but also to propel the entire organisation toward sustained success and growth.

How JEM Training Can Help!

Our training programs align seamlessly with corporate values similar to those of FedEx, which prioritize people-first leadership and continuous personal and professional growth. Like FedEx, which has successfully integrated emotional intelligence into its leadership training to remarkable effect, JEM Training aims to equip leaders with the necessary tools to improve decision-making, enhance the quality of professional relationships, and boost overall workplace morale.

Investing in emotional intelligence training through JEM Training can transform your workforce. It will lead to:

Enhanced Leadership Abilities:   Leaders will be better equipped to handle stress, resolve conflicts, and motivate their teams. Improved Team Dynamics:   A deeper understanding of emotional intelligence fosters empathy among team members, leading to fewer conflicts and a more supportive team environment. Increased Employee Engagement and Satisfaction:   When leaders are emotionally intelligent, they are more likely to recognize and address the needs and concerns of their employees, leading to higher levels of employee engagement and job satisfaction.

FedEx’s example serves as a powerful endorsement of the benefits of integrating emotional intelligence into leadership development. At JEM Training, we are committed to providing your leaders with the skills to not only meet but exceed the standards of today’s best corporate leadership practices.

For more information on Emotional intelligence training and improving the emotional quotient of your own workforce contact Jill McCrum today!

• Assertiveness , Case Study , Emotional intelligence , Leadership , Listening , management skills

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Emotional Intelligence for Performance

Case Study: Emotional Intelligence for People-First Leadership at FedEx Express

What happens when new managers receive emotional intelligence training? The six-month program is delivering significant improvements in EQ skills — tied to dramatic increases in influence, quality of life, and decision making.

The post Case Study: Emotional Intelligence for People-First Leadership at FedEx Express appeared first on Six Seconds .

• Federal Express
• Case Studies

Case Study: Emotional Intelligence for People-First Leadership at FedEx Express

Project Description

Integrating emotional intelligence assessment and development into a six-month process for new managers world-wide, the FedEx Express team at their Global Learning Institute is building the skills and expertise for people-first leadership.

The program is yielding an 8-11% increase in core leadership competencies, with over half the participants experiencing very large (10-50%) improvements in certain key emotional intelligence skills and leadership outcomes: 72% of the program participants experience very large increases in decision making; 60% in Quality of Life, and 58% show major improvements in Influence.

FedEx Express is the world largest cargo airlines with over 290,000 employees moving seven million packages each day with 600 flights a day. One of the top 20 Fortune “Most Admired” for a decade,[1] FedEx stands among the world’s successful enterprises.

While founder Fred Smith was focused on logistics and speed, from the start he believed that people were the key to business, and that leadership is about continuous growth: “Leaders get out in front and stay there by raising the standards by which they judge themselves – and by which they are willing to be judged.” This vision has translated to the “PSP Philosophy” – People-Service-Profit – which drives FedEx Express today.

Leadership means forming a connection between people at an emotional level.

The company sees that the people-side of leadership has grown more complex, and looking to the future, is committed to developing leadership capabilities to manage the changing workforce. The goal is leaders who are better at influence, make decisions that are both quick and accurate, and are able to build a culture where people feel the dedication and drive for exceptional performance in a way that’s sustainable and creates real value for all stakeholders.

To measure leadership performance, FedEx Express administers "SFA an annual survey where every employee can provide feedback about managers. SFA themes include respect, fairness, listening, and trust" leadership responsibilities that are all about relationships and emotions. This commitment to people-first leadership created an interest in “emotional intelligence” as a learnable skillset that would equip managers to deliver the FedEx way.

Implementation

Even though the leadership training was state of the art "among the top ten in the world" the FedEx Global Leadership Institute is charged with continuously updating and innovating in keeping with that Fred Smith call for continuously "raising the standards." Located near the company’s primary hub in Memphis, TN, the Global Leadership Institute, GLI, serves as the leadership university for FedEx Express.

In 2005, GLI implemented a new training program for managers to consider the impact they wished to have as leaders" the legacy they were creating. A core component of the LEGACY course was a module on emotional intelligence using the Six Seconds Emotional Intelligence Assessment, the SEI.[2] LEGACY results were very positive, in part because of the effectiveness of the Six Seconds Model as an actionable process.

Action-Based Emotional Intelligence

Where other approaches to emotional intelligence remain quite theoretical, the Six Seconds Model is designed as a process framework for using emotional intelligence on a day-to-day basis. At a macro-level, the model offers a three-step process with specific learnable, measurable competencies that support the three steps:

1 Know Yourself Increase self-awareness of emotions and reactions (competencies: Enhance Emotional Literacy and Recognize Patterns). 2 Choose Yourself shift from unconscious reaction to intentional response (competencies: Apply Consequential Thinking, Navigate Emotions, Engage Intrinsic Motivation, and Exercise Optimism). 3 Give Yourself align the moment-to-moment decisions with a larger sense of purpose (competencies: Increase Empathy and Pursue Noble Goals).[3]

With this in mind, under the leadership of SVP Shannon Brown, the company wanted a world-class leadership program that would move the company to be one of the top five in the world. With the support of Dennis Reber, Managing Director, and Ray Murphy, Manager, of the Global Leadership Institute, FedEx decided to increase the emotional intelligence focus of the leadership training and deliver a new course called LEAD1 to put EQ into action at the frontlines. All new FedEx Express managers would receive the program to provide a solid people-first foundation upon which to build their leadership careers.

Blended Training & Coaching

A team of eight GLI experts was certified in the Six Seconds Emotional Intelligence Assessment (SEI) through a mix of on-site and virtual training delivered by Six Seconds. Some team members undertook additional trainer-training in Six Seconds’ methodology to ensure that the implementation would go deeply into what drives people performance.[4]

Emotional intelligence provides the insight and skill to allow for a strategic use of feelings.

GLI Senior Management Facilitators Jimmy Daniel and Pamela Williams became certified as a SEI Master Trainer to deliver SEI Certification internally within L&D team in US and globally.

The FedEx GLI team designed LEAD1 as a five-day course with a six-month follow up coaching process built around the SEI.[5] Through the in-person training, participants learn about key concepts in FedEx leadership and what it means to lead people. In an extremely faced-paced, task-focused environment, a common challenge for managers is losing sight of the relational dynamics that ultimately sustain team performance. To build a team where people give their “discretionary effort,” task-based management is insufficient: people-leadership is required. This means forming a connection between people at an emotional level. Emotional intelligence provides the insight and skill to allow for this strategic use of feelings. In LEAD1, the new managers focus on how emotional intelligence will assist them to show up as leaders by managing themselves first, taking charge of their own emotions and behaviors so they can be effective role models and influencers.

44% of participants experienced very large increases in emotional intelligence.

The six month coaching process begins with a one-to-one debrief of the participant’s SEI profile as a framework for goal setting. The new manager identifies specific competencies to improve, as well as strengths to leverage, and how these can be employed to improve people-leadership. The coaching process is “specific customized,” meaning that while all participants are working within a shared framework of concepts and goals, each coach and participant work in partnership to develop personalized goals that can be made actionable. Part of the effectiveness of the coaching is that the coaches all now have several years of experience with emotional intelligence themselves, giving them added insight into what drives people.

At the end of the coaching process, participants re-take the SEI to clearly identify areas of progress, to set next goals, and provide accountability for the program.

At present, over 100 facilitators have been, or are being, trained to provide the SEI assessment and coaching, and to run LEAD1 worldwide.

Initial responses to the program are extremely positive. LEAD1 trained managers are showing increased ability to push the FedEx strategy and the “People First” leadership philosophy. In the words of a program participant, one of FedEx’s senior widebody captains,

“I began the week realizing that I was limiting myself with a single leadership style and an emotional intelligence level that was preventing me from reaching my full potential, particularly in stressful situations."

"I learned how to apply different leadership styles to meet specific situations, apply consequential thinking, and continue to improve my emotional intelligence. I am already applying this new found knowledge in my day to day work environment as well as my personal life."

58% of participants showed very large improvements in influence. 72% did so in decision making.

These insights and skills will shape the culture of FedEx for years to come. As Shannon Brown, Chief Diversity Officer for FedEx Express, and the senior HR leader for the organization puts it: “At FedEx Express, we’re committed to staying on the leading edge. For us, that’s always meant bringing out the best in people. As the business landscape becomes even more complex, we need additional capability. Leveraging the Six Seconds approach to emotional intelligence is helping us build a strategic asset that will let us maintain and strengthen our culture – which is essential to our competitive advantage.”

Quantitative Results

Another measure of success is through analysis of the SEI assessments given at the start and end of the six-month program. Based on comparisons of eight LEAD1 cohorts, 106 individuals (on pre-tests), the group experienced a median increase of 8% to 11% in EQ competencies. A paired t-test of individuals’ pre-test and post-test comparisons shows P < 0.0001, indicating that statistically, the change is extremely significant.

In all the competencies of EQ (as measured by the SEI), there were a very substantial number of participants with major increases. In any group, some participants will be more fully engaged in the process; 44% of the participants experienced very large increases (10-50% improvements). The largest numbers of these were the areas of "Apply Consequential Thinking" with 54% of the participants are in this group of large increases, and "Exercise Optimism" with 57% of the participants improving from 10-50%.

Again, the question arises, "What part of the group made serious improvements?" The largest major improvements were in:

Made major improvements in Decision Making

Made major improvements in quality of life, made major improvements in influence.

Qualitative Results

While the data are impressive, the human stories are compelling. Behind a 20% increase in relationships, we heard the story of a leader rebuilding trust with her team, or a marriage staying together. Behind a 15% increase in Quality of Life, we heard the story of someone finding meaning and recommitting to stay sober. That 10% increase in Decision Making is a story of a new manager finally “getting it” that people are what create value and changing the way he treats people.

The results of LEAD1 have gone far beyond the workplace. Participants have shared numerous stories of using the EQ tools to cope with loss, reunite with family members, step up to become better parents, and even make dramatic changes to improve health and wellbeing. By supporting new managers in this way, FedEx gains by having more competent leaders – and also by showing its people that the company puts its values into action. In turn, this role models the kind of people-centered leadership that FedEx expects from all managers.

As a result of initial success, LEAD1 has expanded to FedEx regional globally – Asia-Pacific (APAC), Latin America/Caribbean (LAC) and Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMEA). There are now certified SEI Coaches around the world providing one on one “specific customized” coaching for managers to begin this phase of their careers with the insight and skills for people-first leadership.

The success of the project at FedEx offers several insights for other companies looking to gain value from emotional intelligence:

Link to what matters.

At FedEx, concepts like "discretionary effort" and the leadership requirements from the annual SFA survey create an internal "case" for emotional intelligence. The champions of this project have helped leaders see that the learnable skills of emotional intelligence are building blocks to create the kind of people-first leadership the company wants - which, in turn, increases economic value. This recognition has built support of the initiative at very senior levels.

Build internal capacity.

By developing an internal team of emotional intelligence practitioners, the company has been able to assimilate the concepts and skills of EQ and "translate" them to work within the company culture. Having a large, strong team of emotional intelligence coaches and trainers means this program can be delivered at a large scale, creating a new "strand of DNA" to support the desired organizational culture.

Walk the Talk.

The company tells supervisors to put people first, so the company puts people first. By supporting new managers to be good people, and investing in their growth right at the start of their management careers, FedEx senior leadership is providing a powerful role model.

One of the basic principles of Six Seconds' work in business is:

Emotions drive people, people drive performance. This simple formula makes sense at FedEx where there is a very strong recognition that productivity is created by people - and leaders need the skills to understand what makes people really work: Emotional intelligence.

Link to article published on Six Seconds Global

Client: Federal Express

Tags: EQ, Performance

Developing Emotional Intelligence delivers better Leadership at Fedex.

Fedex had measured results on the benefits of Emotional Intelligence from previous programs in the mid Noughties which encouraged FedEx to increase the emotional intelligence focus of their leadership training and deliver a new  course to put EQ into action at the frontlines. All new FedEx Express managers would receive the program to provide a solid people-first foundation upon which to build their leadership careers.

The FedEx Team delivered a five-day course with a six-month follow up coaching process. In an extremely faced-paced, task-focused environment, a common challenge for managers is losing sight of the relational dynamics that ultimately sustain team performance. To build a team where people give their “discretionary effort,” task-based management is insufficient: people-leadership is required. This means forming a connection between people at an emotional level.

Leadership Emotional Intelligence Development Results

Initial responses to the program are extremely positive with managers showing increased ability to push the FedEx strategy and the “People First” leadership philosophy. In the words of a program participant, one of FedEx’s people stated:

“I began the week realizing that I was limiting myself with a single leadership style and an emotional intelligence  level that was preventing me from reaching my full potential, particularly in stressful situations. I learned how to  apply different leadership styles to meet specific situations, apply consequential thinking, and continue to improve  my emotional intelligence. I am already applying this new found knowledge in my day to day work environment as well  as my personal life.”

Overall the largest major improvements were in:

• Decision Making where 72% made major improvements.
• Quality of Life 60% made major improvements.
• Influence 58% made major improvements.

At Adeo we work with Leaders in groups or one to one sessions, building key leadership skills that are proven to improve both employee engagement and bottom line results. We have witnessed huge improvements in key Leadership skills that impact performance and success in work and personal life.

Aidan Higgins

Source for Fedex Study ©Six Seconds – 6seconds.org

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Garrick began his career with FedEx in New Zealand in 2007. Since then, he has held multiple roles in the Philippines, and now heads Indonesia operations overseeing corporate strategy. Garrick is based in Jakarta.

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Developing Emotional Intelligence delivers better Leadership at Fedex.

Fedex had measured results on the benefits of Emotional Intelligence from previous programs in the mid Noughties which encouraged FedEx to increase the emotional intelligence focus of their leadership training and deliver a new  course to put EQ into action at the frontlines. All new FedEx Express managers would receive the program to provide a solid people-first foundation upon which to build their leadership careers.

The FedEx Team delivered a five-day course with a six-month follow up coaching process. In an extremely faced-paced, task-focused environment, a common challenge for managers is losing sight of the relational dynamics that ultimately sustain team performance. To build a team where people give their “discretionary effort,” task-based management is insufficient: people-leadership is required. This means forming a connection between people at an emotional level.

Emotional intelligence provides the insight and skill to allow for this strategic use of feelings. The program helped new managers focus on how emotional intelligence will assist them to show up as leaders by managing themselves first, taking charge of their own emotions and behaviors so they can be effective role models and influencers.

Leadership Emotional Intelligence Development Results

Initial responses to the program are extremely positive with managers showing increased ability to push the FedEx strategy and the “People First” leadership philosophy. In the words of a program participant, one of FedEx’s people stated:

“I began the week realizing that I was limiting myself with a single leadership style and an emotional intelligence level that was preventing me from reaching my full potential, particularly in stressful situations. I learned how to apply different leadership styles to meet specific situations, apply consequential thinking, and continue to improve my emotional intelligence. I am already applying this new found knowledge in my day to day work environment as well as my personal life.”

Overall  the largest major improvements were in:

Decision Making where 72% made major improvements.

Quality of Life 60% made major improvements.

Influence 58% made major improvements.

At Adeo we work with Leaders in groups or one to one sessions, building key leadership skills that are proven to improve both employee engagement and bottom line results. We have witnessed huge improvements in key Leadership skills that impact performance and success in work and personal life.

Aidan Higgins

Source for Fedex Study ©Six Seconds –  6seconds.org

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