Emotional Intelligence

Goleman

In: Career, Career Development

The Hard Case for Soft Skills is the latest newsletter update from Daniel Goleman. Goleman first introduced us to the concept of ‘Emotional Intelligence’ back in 1995 with his book of the same name. The book remains high on the list of mandatory reading for MBA students and those interested in developing leadership skills. Goleman explains his model for Emotional and Social Competency (ESCI-360). He co-developed the model (ESCI-360), together with Richard Boyatzis. The model provides empirical evidence that Emotional Intelligence is the best predictor of workplace performance. The tool ESCI-360 (Emotional and Social Competency Inventory) has shown clear performance boosts from higher levels of Emotional Intelligence. The findings of the report include: Emotional Self Awareness is a solid foundation for Emotional Intelligence. Emotional Intelligence is a key predictor of leadership effectiveness. Leaders with high ESCI scores for Conflict Management are likely to create the most positive climates and haveContinue Reading

In: Emotional Intelligence, Motivation

Synopsis of an article from Forbes by Rasmus Hougaard, with Nick Hobson and Paula Kelley Published 8th July 2020 Rasmus Hougaard is the founder and managing director of the Potential Project, an organisation focused on building mindful leaders and organisations. In this article he makes the slightly contentious point that leaders often mistake empathy for compassion. Empathy is a foundational emotion for human connection, it is the spark for compassion but they are very different. With empathy we understand the suffering of others but with compassion we ask how we can help. For leaders recognising the differences is critical for “inspiring and managing others effectively”. Empathy is impulsive, compassion is deliberate Our empathetic feelings are an unconscious bias, they originate from the emotion centers of our brain and therefore we are less aware of and less intentional about those decisions. Compassion is deliberate and reflective response from the cognitive partContinue Reading

Manage Anxiety

In: Leadership, Resilience

A Synopsis of an article by Lolly Daskal taken from her book The Leadership Gap. Many leaders suffer from anxiety to some degree and its important to recognise that and consider appropriate tools that can help to manage it. Lolly suggests techniques to help manage anxiety as a leader: Acknowledge your anxiety without denying itseek to understand why its come up and enable yourself to better address and manage it. Accept your anxiety without attachmentThe best way to deal with it is to accept it, don’t try to fight or control it, instead accept it and you are already making progress in moving through it. Surf the wave without getting swallowed up by the currentRecognise that you might not be in top form until things settle down. The goal is to learn to surf the waves and harness their power without being overwhelmed. Watch for patterns and label your feelings“ItContinue Reading