Participating in the civilian workforce for 20 years, the drill before heading out
the door remains all too familiar for me: shined shoes, aligned belt, proper lapel
pin, etc. Does this resonate? If so, it’s because habits for the 21 million veterans
currently in the labor force are often lifelong in nature. These innate behaviors go
beyond aesthetics and can subconsciously cause missteps during transition. To
start off on the right foot, I recommend investing in your emotional quotient (EQ).
Start Your Transition on the Right Foot by
Investing in Emotional Quotient
Jen Martinez. Fireman, U.S. Navy (former). 1995-1997.
Setting Yourself Up for Success Today
& Tomorrow
Veterans may be skeptical of EQ. Who needs a Kumbaya moment?
It appears we all do to compete in the workplace. The World
Economic Forum’s 2016 Future of Jobs Report noted that by
2020, overall social skills like EQ “will be in higher demand
across industries than narrow technical skills.” Driving this demand
is disruption experienced across industries through trends like
demographics, IoT, and fintech, to name a few.
Veterans who take time to invest in EQ will improve critical
skills like agility, relationship building, stress management, curiosity,
empathy, and decision making. Ultimately, they will successfully
transition into highly sought talent to lead businesses and win
with customers.
LS
Jennifer (Jen) T. Martínez is Associate Vice President of
Nationwide Employee Benefits (NEB), a $65M specialty
insurance group within Nationwide Innovative Solutions
based in Columbus, Ohio. She leads all aspects of sales, finance,
and operations for NEB. Her leadership is focused on growth
solutions, strategy execution, and culture to generate results
like NEB’s milestone sales year in 2017. Jen joined Nationwide
in 2013 with 12 years of experience in economic development,
international trade, and manufacturing. Since then, her roles
within Nationwide spanned from staff operations to call center
and claims leadership roles. Jen is a first-generation, bilingual
American who served in the U.S. Navy.
Want to comment or have any questions on this article? Email
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A Veteran's Perspective
By Jen Martínez, Associate Vice President
Employee Benefits – Specialty Insurance
Nationwide Mutual Insurance
Invest in Your EQ
Beginning at the enlistment process, I experienced a plethora of
assessments that measured my intelligence quotient (IQ). Veterans
are praised for their performance on such assessments through
promotions and assignments. Today, IQ remains relevant though
it is more and more balanced with a candidate’s EQ. Science journalist,
Daniel Goleman, describes EQ as “how you manage yourself and
your social relationships.” EQ is organized in four components:
• self-awareness
• self-management
• social awareness
• relationship management
Recently, I became aware of continued opportunities to strengthen
my EQ after curating a high-level executive visit. The visit was
well-organized and highly regimented, yet I learned the executive’s
expectations were different afterwards. They were informal and
preferred less regiment. I wonder… if I had really listened to
planning calls and deepened relationships (EQ) versus focusing
on project management (IQ), would I have noticed subtle hints of
preferences to ensure expectations were met?
You could use this example in multiple scenarios for transitioning
veterans. A first interview with subtle clues about an interviewer
wanting to dig deeper into a question but the veteran moving on
after a short, concise answer. Perhaps it’s a transitioning veteran’s
first chance to present a project to peers that is received with quiet
glances because of a top-down briefing approach. Or it could be
a veteran’s frustration with a new leader because their style is different
and informal, and the veteran is struggling to build a strong relationship.
Below are initial resources to successfully navigate these types
of scenarios. Veterans should also research prospective companies
for clues on how they invest in their associates. Personally, I value
Nationwide because they provide a holistic approach for veterans
through mentoring, rotations, active associate resource groups,
and leadership programs. In fact, my last development program
spent considerable time on mindfulness and meditation because
EQ is highly regarded as a core competency.
• Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Travis Bradberry
• Emotionally Intelligent Leadership by Daniel Goleman
42 www.latinastyle.com LATINAStyle Vol. 23, No. 6, 2017