RocheMartin Blog

Chariots of Fire

Posted by Stacey Newman on Friday, July 20, 2012

By Martyn Newman, PhD

Managing Director, RocheMartin

Tonight I saw the WestEnd production Chariots of Fire.

For Gen X and Y who may have missed the movie - it’s the true story of two athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian who runs for glory of God, and Harold Abrahams, an English Jew who runs to overcome prejudice.

It was nominated for 7 Academy Awards and won 4, including Best Picture.

The title is inspired by line, "Bring me my chariot of fire," from William Blake's poem but the original phrase "chariot(s) of fire" is, of course from the Bible and was the vehicle that transported the prophet Elijah to paradise.

When Eric Liddell accidentally misses a church prayer meeting because of his running, his devout sister Jenni disapproves of Liddell's plans to pursue competitive running and accuses him of no longer caring about God.

Eric tells her that though he intends to eventually return to the China mission, but that he feels divinely inspired when he runs, and that not to run would be to dishonour God: "I believe that God made me for a purpose. But he also made me fast, and when I run, I feel his pleasure."

Liddell goes on to win the 400 meters and Abrahams goes on to win the 100 meters.

The story of both athletes remind us of the power of personal belief and what we’re all capable of when we tap into the things that we really care about and believe in and stay true to our core values. It also reminds us that it’s when we’re clear about our own chariot of fire that we’ve got the best chance of being transported to those moments when we're at our best, our own paradise.


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EQ...It's not what you know, but what you do that counts

Posted by Stacey Newman on Friday, August 26, 2011

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE...It's not what you know, but what you do that counts.

People are attracted to psychology because they want to understand more about how people – including themselves - tick. But knowing and doing aren’t the same thing. Bringing emotional intelligence to the challenges of the workplace is not simply about understanding the world of work but knowing how to change it. And changing the world of work means having the right tools to do the job.

Tools such as the Emotional Capital Report (ECR) gives you the power to build a high performance culture.

Become the authority on Emotional Intelligence in your workplace. Get certified in the international benchmark on emotional intelligence and leadership – the ECR.

United Kingdom
London: 15 - 17 September 2011 -  Available
London: 23 - 25 November 2011 -  Available
London 25 - 27 January 2012 -  Available
Find out more...

Australia
Melbourne: 24 - 26 October 2011 -  Available
Sydney: 7 - 9 November 2011 -  Available
Brisbane: 21 - 23 November 2011 -  Available
Find out more...

Ireland
Dublin 5 - 7 December 2011 -  Available
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Sweden
Stockholm 29 - 30 September 2011 -  Available
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A closer look at Emotional Intelligence: Self-control

Posted by Tash Newby on Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Imagine this scenario; you are a Manager in a retail store and it is coming into your busy period when you realize that you have lost your phone. The last place you remember having it was on the counter and now it is not there. Immediately you get upset and panicked, asking all your staff where your phone is, no one knows. You are extremely upset and immediately assume someone has stolen it, you start yelling at the staff, then blame someone because they should have been standing behind that counter…

Have you been in a similar situation before? If you were on the receiving end how did it impact on you? Is this a productive response? Or is there a better way to deal with this situation?

I saw this very scenario not so long ago, understandably the Manager was upset, I’m sure we all know that feeling of losing a phone, there is nothing worse. This is the kind of day-to-day reaction that we can sometimes find ourselves delivering or encountering – what is important to look at though is the greater affect on the rest of the team. The store was about to go into it’s rush period, and the Manager was upset and yelling at everyone, everyone else then noticeably became upset, lost focus and their ability to deliver great customer service.

So is there an alternative response or a better way of dealing with this situation? Surely it is an emotional reaction that we can’t necessarily control?

This scenario relates to our self-control, a competency in Emotional Intelligence (EQ) that our Emotional Capital Report (ECR) measures for. Self-control encompasses calmness, a rational mind and discipline. When self-control is low in terms of emotional intelligence it can mean that we get emotional in stressful situations, find it difficult to control anxiety and can often act impulsive and unpredictably; consequently you may end up putting yourself and others under undue pressure, which contributes to a stressful working environment.

As talked about earlier in the previous blog piece, emotional responses are learnt and can become habitual responses; however by acknowledging this and giving yourself space to look at the situation, we can re-learn more productive ‘emotional habits’.

What are some strategies you can employ to help develop your self-control?

• Examine negative ‘self-talk’ that drives your emotional reactions in stressful situations.
• Respond, rather than react to difficult situations by introducing a pause before speaking and acting impulsively.
• Take time to pause and give adequate thought to the impact of your words and actions on others.

These are just a few examples, but as you can see, to develop our EQ it can really be a matter of taking simple practical actions. The first step is to acknowledge this, benchmark your EQ and then work on practical coaching strategies.

And the outcome of the above scenario?...

The Manager found her phone, it was where she had left it (on a different counter), and she ended up looking and feeling quite silly about the whole situation. So save yourself the frustrations and embarrassment of going through these motions, and make an active step towards your self-development today!




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