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
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Australia
Melbourne: 24 - 26 October 2011 - Available
Sydney: 7 - 9 November 2011 - Available
Brisbane: 21 - 23 November 2011 - Available
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Ireland
Dublin 5 - 7 December 2011 - Available
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Sweden
Stockholm 29 - 30 September 2011 - Available
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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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Posted by Tash Newby on Thursday, July 21, 2011
Autobiography in 5 short chapters, by Portia Nelson:
1.) I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I fall in.
I am lost… I am hopeless
It isn’t my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.
2.) I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don’t see it.
I fall in again.
I can’t believe I’m in the same place.
But it isn’t my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.
3.) I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I see it is there.
I still fall in… it’s a habit
My eyes are open
I know where I am
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.
4.) I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk
I walk around it.
5.) I walk down another street.
Just like a physical observable habit, emotional reactions and responses are learnt and programmed over time, like walking down the same path day after day. Eventually the path becomes worn and familiar; before you know it you are often at the end before you even realize what has happened. This is exactly what happens in our brain; emotional habits and reactions form strong neural pathways, which in turn reinforces particular behaviors.
In terms of emotional or day-to-day interactions, have you ever found yourself in a similar scenario or conflict? Feeling powerless, and or faultless ~ poetically speaking standing at the bottom of a hole wondering why this keeps happening?
Unlike physical habits, often our emotional habits are less obvious and even seemingly erratic; so how can we ever really be in control of a situation, move forward and excel in business and leadership if we are unaware of what part emotions play in our interactions and behaviors?
Emotions shape our behavior, relationships and decisions; and more importantly determine whether or not people will work well for you, buy from you, employ you and enter into business with you. As Jack Welch puts it ‘A leader’s intelligence has to have a strong emotional component.’
Research informs us that to change a behavior is more effective when both the emotional brain & rational brain are engaged, as decisions are made on emotions and justified by logic. People with strong EQ have a good dialogue happening between their emotional and rational brain.
The good news is it’s not too late! You are not destined to keep ‘walking down the same street and ending up in the same hole’ or predicament. By acknowledging the role that emotions play in our experiences, we can begin to observe patterns and move towards creating new pathways to change our behavior.
This is where the ECR and SmartCoach come in. The ECR produces a clear succinct report, which highlights our strengths and areas for improvement based around 10 core competencies for emotional intelligence in leadership. By focusing on these specific competencies it gives us a platform to review and acknowledge our current EQ. This platform coupled with SmartCoach is the most effective way to really move towards changing our behavior, as SmartCoach offers accessible personal coaching insights and strategies to help form these new lasting pathways through practice and repetition.
So make a decision today to stop falling down that hole, and let us help you find another street to walk down!
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