According to Stephen Covey, Emotional Bank Account is described as “the amount of trust that’s been built up in a relationship”. Covey explains the concept of an EBA as this: “By proactively doing things that build trust in a relationship, one makes ‘deposits.’ Conversely, by reactively doing things that decrease trust, one makes ‘withdrawals.’
Therefore, this concept focuses on the units we deal with emotions rather than the units of a monetary value. This is important in every organisation for it provides a great metric of the relationship that has been built and the consistent communication that is happening inside the business as well as with clients. Besides, this is a great cue in positioning trust as the foundation of relationship.
You may want to ask yourselves, as leaders, if someone made a mistake with the operation, how do you usually react/respond? Do you throw harsh words and blame them for the poor outcome? If the answer is yes, you are now aware that this reaction only results in withdrawals in your EBA. However, encouraging them instead and consistently guiding them as leaders to avoid making such mistakes will create deposits in the relationship.
Covey also describes 6 major ways of making deposits on your emotional bank account. These are:
Have you checked your current balance on your EBA?
Let me know with the comments below.