What is in your emotional bank account?

At work, we communicate a lot with colleagues. Sometimes this goes well, and sometimes not so well. Sometimes you feel understood and sometimes not at all. How satisfied a person is with relationships at work, as well as outside, contributes to their emotional bank account. What is it and how much is in it for you?

What is the emotional bank account?

The emotional bank account is a metaphor from the book "The 7 Traits Of Effective Leadership" by Stephen Covey. This metaphor is used to characterize relationships and the quality of relationships. A positive or negative deposit is made after each interaction. These deposits affect the quality of the relationship. There are two types of bank accounts:

The positive emotional bank account

First, there is the positive emotional bank account. In this, people make a positive attitude toward the other person which results in the accumulation of some kind of credit. This is done by showing genuine interest, giving compliments and showing appreciation. The recipient experiences this as positive and is therefore more likely to do something positive toward another person.

The negative emotional bank account

When something is positive, there is also a negative side. The same is true with the bank account. Then the relationship is "in the red," so to speak. This happens when there is a lack of attention for each other, unjust criticism and people are unfair to each other. The chances are then small(er) that you want to do something for each other.

In the daily interaction that colleagues have, for example, all sorts of deposits are made. Both negative and positive. In this a certain balance must be found. Only when more is "taken in," it makes the person less inclined to take up business and to go the extra mile. It is also an opportunity as a colleague, as soon as you notice this, to start the conversation about the way of, for example, communicating, keeping appointments and working together. Therefore, giving feedback, in a professional manner is good to get back to a healthy balance in the emotional bank account.

Importance of positive bank account for the organization

The culture that has in an organization greatly affects how easily the emotional bank account is increased or decreased. When there is a positive organizational culture, employees are more likely to express appreciation and give constructive and honest feedback to each other. When there is a negative organizational culture, it is again easier to criticize and be unfair to each other.

Building this culture requires a lot of time and energy from an organization's management; after all, they set the tone and their behavior trickles down to the rest of the company. Employer and manager must lead by example, also to positively replenish the emotional bank account, as well as address "wrong" behavior.

Deposit into the emotional bank account

To create a long-term positive bank account with employees and to ensure that feedback does not immediately lead to a huge uptake, organizational culture plays an important factor. Do you also want to improve your organizational culture? For more information, visit our website and contact us. We will work with you to make your organization sustainably employable.