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For
centuries, emphasis has been placed on
academic learning, qualifications and how
intelligent a person was, i.e.: their IQ.
Anything emotional was encouraged to stay
hidden behind the "stiff upper lip" rather
than being acknowledged and expressed.
Attending "the school of hard knocks" was
character forming. When employee training was
introduced in the business world, the
programmes focused on areas relating to reason
and logic - anything to do with interpersonal
relationships was wishy-washy and classed as
soft skills.
However all this is changing and not before
time. The advances in neuroscience and brain
imaging techniques have enabled scientists to
confirm what we all suspected - that when we
are confronted by situations that are life
threatening or that we "perceive" are so,
reason and logic fly out the window and what
emerges is a primitive, ready-to-fight
Neanderthal in modern day attire. The section
of the brain responsible for this instant
bypass is the amygdala, hence the new term
"the amygdala hijack".
So for the first time, the importance of
emotions has been acknowledged. What we need
to ensure is that those emotions are
appropriate to the circumstances and to do
this we need to develop emotional
intelligence, which researchers now consider
to be far more important than traditional IQ.
Take for example, a group of senior managers
applying for a top position. They might all
have MBAs but who will make the most
successful leader? The answer: the person with
the highest level of EI - the person able to
create resonance with others, to display
empathy and be an inspiring leader without
being a traditional autocrat. Conversely, in
research undertaken by Hay/McBer and Goleman,
the two main reasons found for key executive
failure were:
Rigidity (unable to adapt or take on board
feedback and learn). Poor relationships
(alienating others) Daniel Goleman, who has
pioneered much of the information about
Emotional Intelligence, categorises E1 into
four main headings: Self-Awareness,
Self-Management, Relationship Management and
Social Awareness. These are then subdivided
into a total of 18 competencies, with each
competency containing a number of checklist
criteria. For example the competencies within
Self-Awareness are Emotional self-awarenss,
Accurate self assessment and Self-confidence.
The checklist criteria under Emotional
self-awareness being:
-Are attuned to their inner signals -
Recognise how their feelings affect them and
their job performance - Are attuned to their
guiding values - Can often intuit the best
course of action because in a complex
situation, they see bigger picture - Tend to
be candid and authentic, speaking openly about
their emotions or with conviction about their
guiding vision.
An effective business leader will display
strengths from at least one of each of the sub
categories.
So a good starting point is to become more
self-aware. This will mean that we can manage
our emotions more effectively, learn to
communicate more authentically, take ownership
of what we think and say, develop empathy and
respect difference. The end result is that we
feel more empowered and the knock-on effect of
that can only be positive.
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Andersen Counselling &
Advice, Chelmsford, Essex UK.
Andersen Counselling © 2005-2011.
All rights reserved. Created by CWD
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