Writing

A few years ago we enjoyed a business climate where companies flourished with little effort; stocks soared, cash was everywhere, and growth seemed automatic. Now we’re in a dramatically different realm.

What does it take to lead today? Not just to “muddle along,” but to truly lead? To take people and organizations to heights they would not otherwise reach, to be someone worth following?

While I am extremely concerned about our present and short-term future, I also see some tremendous benefits in the current economic crisis. One is the opportunity for true leaders to emerge.

What does it take? In keynotes and consulting projects, I frequently ask groups to tell me. I ask them to think of a leader who inspired them to go above and beyond — a leader who helped them be and do more than they thought possible.

In the last few weeks I’ve asked this of three widely eclectic groups: from leaders at Lockheed Martin, and the World Bank Group, to preschool teachers at the Stephen Wise Temple. Perhaps it won’t be a surprise that their answers were quite similar?

Before I share their answers, please take a moment to consider the question for yourself:

1. Think of a leader who helped bring out your very best. Someone you consider “a leader worth following.”

2. What did/do you feel with this person?

3. What did/does s/he do to inspire this?

While the answers vary somewhat each time I ask, there are a few comments that almost always appear. What do these exceptional leaders do?

• Listen deeply / Give me time
• Encourage / Challenge / Give me feedback (critical as well as praising)
• Take risks on me / Give me a chance
• Express their passion / Live their vision

What’s critical though, is that these behaviors alone are not enough. There is a “secret sauce” or “x-factor” that sets these people apart, and that’s the WAY they do what they do. Based in genuine care, they take these actions authentically, naturally, and consistently. Not only do they walk their talk, they also talk their walk.

This requires an exceptional level of self-awareness. The Six Seconds EQ Model calls this “Know Yourself,” and it’s an essential foundation. But it’s not enough. True leaders also need a match between who they are, what they do, and the way they do that. There are specific skills that facilitate this aligment (as I discuss in At the Heart of Leadership). When we apply those skills we unleash more of our capacity to connect at a human level.

We can take any action in multiple ways — when we take the right action, in the right way, and for the right reasons we get the most power. The mass of the shaft lines up behind the point of the arrow.

According to the groups I’ve surveyed, when leaders accomplish this alignment, they engender key reactions, including: Trust, commitment, and a passion for excellence. They help people feel both safe and “on fire.” Perhaps it’s only from a foundation of real safety that people can take the extraordinary risks to excel?

Given the power of these feelings, it’s no surprise that emotional intelligence is one of the hallmarks of great leaders (in a recent study, EQ was twice as strong at predicting performance than IQ — and stronger than business knowledge or other skills — see www.6seconds.org/case for more). Leaders who use their own feelings effectively create “the right” emotional climate because their feelings shape the feelings of those who follow. (For research on this, here is a white paper on emotional contagion).

In a recent poll on our web site, we asked people “Compared to a ‘typical day’ a year ago, how’s your stress level now?” The results are graphed here. You can see most people are reporting higher stress – the two “higher” options are 42% more prevalent than the two “lower” options. While this is not a scientific poll, it’s a reminder that many people, perhaps the large majority of us, have a sense that times are tough.

As “times get tougher” the skills of emotional intelligence become even more critical for true leaders. As stress and anxiety increase, people become more reactive, more survival-oriented, less innovative. Left to their own devices, these days people focus on the spiraling values of their IRAs, they stand around the coffee machine wondering if their firm is the next domino to fall, they call their husbands and wives to make sure there’s some extra cash in the house. In other words: They are afraid.

Now fear is not a bad thing. It’s right to be scared in times like these. Fear can help us clarify what we need to protect. It drives us to focus on the narrow path toward safety – on the here and now – on survival. One problem is that we can’t actually do much about the crises we face, so we go into a generalized anxiety and even obsession. The other is that the path of safety is not the route to success.

So in times of trouble, true leaders provide both comfort and challenge. They help people channel the general unease and take action to make a difference. They keep a vision of possibility without denying the pain of the present. They take risks in spite of, maybe even because of, the prevalent fear. They blend head and heart to be trustworthy, courageous, and authentic – to take care of their people and walk together toward a compelling purpose.

Then when the dust settles – as it always does – those leaders have taken their people head and shoulders above the competition.

So consider:

Are you a leader worth following?

Are you taking your people someplace worth going?

And, what skills do you need to “tune up” to stand out as a leader in times of challenge and controversy?

Whether you are in a formal leadership role or not, you have a choice about how you are showing up and using your influence and personal power. I was recently talking with a tough 14-year-old girl in an inner city school; she wasn’t willing to take much responsibility for her own choices, but when I asked, “are you a leader?” she gave a strong “yes.” Whether you’re a young teen or a gray-haired exec, I’d ask the same that I asked her: Be one worth following.

Updated Nov 15, 2009

Definitions and History of Emotional Intelligence

It all began about 2,000 years ago when Plato wrote, “All learning has an emotional base.” Since then, scientists, educators, and philosophers have worked to prove or disprove the importance of feelings. Unfortunately, for a large part of those two millenia, common thought was, “Emotions are in the way. They keep us from making good decisions, and they keep us from focusing.” In the last three decades, a growing body of research is proving just the opposite.

In the 1950’s, Abraham Maslow wrote about how people could enhance their emotional, physical, spiritual, and mental strengths. His work sparked the “Human Potential” movement which could be the greatest celebration of humanism since the Renaissance. In the 1970s and 80s this led to the development of many new sciences of human capacity. Serious research was occuring to define both emotions and intelligence. One of these researchers was Peter Salovey, now Provost and Professor at Yale University. He says that over the last few decades, beliefs about emotions and intelligence have both changed — where intelligence was once perfection, people were recognizing that there was more to life. Where emotion was once perdition, people were recognizing that it might have substantive value.

There is ongoing discussion about the origins of “EQ,” but consensus is that the seminal publication was an article called “Emotional Intelligence” by Peter Salovey and John “Jack” Mayer in 1990. The article defined EQ as a scientifically testable “intelligence.” Salovey says he and Jack were equal coauthors, and he got his name first because of a coin toss. The team has gone on to publish numerous articles, and their definition of EQ has evolved to:

“Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive emotions; to access and generate emotions so as to assist thought; to understand emotions and emotional knowledge; and to reflectively regulate emotions so as to promote emotional and intellectual growth.”

In other words, there are four parts:

1. Perceive or sense emotions,
2. Use emotions to assist thought,
3. Understand emotions,
4. Manage emotions.

As their colleague David Caruso writes, “It is very important to understand that emotional intelligence is not the opposite of intelligence, it is not the triumph of heart over head — it is the unique intersection of both.”

Daniel Goleman drew on the research of Salovey and Mayer, as well as several other key researchers and practitioners, for his bestselling book, Emotional Intelligence. In addition to the research, Goleman reviewed best practice in education. He wrote about two school programs, Six Seconds’ “Self-Science” and the New Haven Schools’ Social Development program. He also spoke with many “hard” science researchers and saw how their work connected with what was occuring on the leading edge in schools and organizations. (Here is an interview with Goleman where he discusses the origins.)

In 1997, Six Seconds’ team sought to take those best-practices and create a framework for teaching and practicing the skills of EQ. They went beyond the scientific definition to capture the practical value of the concepts that are worth teaching and learning. Their definition of emotional intelligence is, “The capacities to create optimal results in your relationships with yourself and others.”

Six Seconds also developed a model that captures those practices in three areas: “Know Yourself,” “Choose Yourself,” and “Give Yourself.,” with eight specific skills. Six Seconds’ approach mirrors David Caruso’s vision: The goal is to integrate thinking and feeling to live more effectively.

The Six Seconds Model is focused on action — within the three action steps, or "pursuits," are eight learnable competencies.  These are measured by Six Seconds Emotional Intelligence Assessment, and there is proof that with training scores on these skills increase (White Paper: Increasing EQ).

While the various models of emotional intelligence structure the concept differently, all are concerned with the integration of emotion, reason, and action.  Where "pre-EQ theory" suggests that emotion is a byproduct of thought, the EQ models all point out that emotion is meaningful unto itself.  Hence Six Seconds uses a triangle to show that thoughts, feelings, and actions are co-equally interlocking.

Another leading researcher whose work inspired both Goleman and Six Seconds was Antonio Damasio. In Descarte’s Error, Damasio outlines how emotions are functioning in the brain to create people’s sense of identity and guide rational decision making. He continues to discuss this work in The Feeling of What Happens, where he contends that our sense of being conscious comes from emotion.

Damasio’s contributions provide powerful evidence that it is artificial to separate thinking and feeling. Other researchers would go further. Candace Pert is a leading neurobiologist who wrote Molecules of Emotion, was the chief of the brain chemistry section of the NIH from 1982 to 1988, and is now a professor at Johns Hopkins Medical School.

Pert’s perspective is that “thinking” occurs in the brain and the body. All kinds of “information” is processed throughout the body — ideas, feelings, and maybe even spiritual impulses. While the brain has the most processing power, it is not necessarily driving the system. Pert’s assertion is certainly a far cry from the notion that the “rational” brain is the center of human essence. (Here is an interview with Dr Pert)

So, what does it matter? While some researchers have focused on defining the skills of emotional intelligence, others have looked at the effects. Reuven Bar-On has been interested in non-cognitive competencies since the mid-1980s. He developed a test that measures people’s self-report of these competencies, called the EQ-i.

Bar-On’s definition is: “Emotional intelligence is an array of noncognitive capabilities, competencies, and skills that influence one’s ability to succeed in coping with environmental demands and pressures.” Again similar to Six Seconds’ approach, Bar-On is focusing on the real-world results.

Dr. Bar-On explains how his work is similar to and different from Salovey/Mayer’s: “We are both assuming a cognitive schemata and attempting to empirically demonstrate that this construct is not personality. They are relating primarily to a specific set of emotional abilities and a potential for behavior (emotional intelligence), while I am focusing on emotional and social functioning or behavior (emotionally and socially intelligent behavior).”

The EQ-i assesses five areas: Intrapersonal (awareness), Interpersonal (relationships), Stress Management (problem solving), Adaptability (stress tolerance), and General Mood (happiness).

Another useful definition comes from Q-Metrics, the creators of the EQ Map. They say: “Emotional intelligence is the ability to sense, understand, and effectively apply the power and acumen of emotions as a source of human energy, information, trust, creativity and influence.” One key insight from this model is that having a capacity or skill is not enough to create real-world results.

Q-Metrics’ CEO, Esther Orioli, explains, “I know plenty of CEOs who have the skill to empathize or give positive support. They don’t do it. Why not? Because they just don’t think it important.” Orioli points out that when leaders see how certain behaviors create more positive results, they do change their values. “Values dictate how we spend our time and resources. If we teach people skills in a vacuum, without relating them to their value and belief system, there is no real benefit,” Orioli concludes.

One of the more recent measurement tools is the Six Seconds Emotional Intelligence Assessment (SEI – see www.6seconds.org/sei/); it was built “from the ground up” for development.  Focused on eight learnable competencies in a simple, clear model, the test provides insightful feedback and many development suggestions.  The purpose is to assist people to enhance the way they use EQ skills in their leadership and life.  A comparison of all these tests and more is online (www.6seconds.org/tests/).

No doubt the field of emotional intelligence will continue to develop. Bar-On says the key is refining the research of development, effects, and assessment. He predicts we will also see, “A more clear connection between EI, individual/group performance, and group/organizational productivity. As a result of this activity, we will have a much more accurate and empirical view of what this construct is — and what it can and cannot do.”

Dr. Salovey offers a similar conclusion: “I agree with Dr. Bar-On. I think in the coming decade we will see well conducted research demonstrating that emotional skills and competencies predict positive outcomes at home with one’s family, in school, and at work. The real challenge is to show that emotional intelligence matters over-and-above psychological constructs that have been measured for decades like personality and IQ. I believe that emotional intelligence holds this promise."

Comparison of EQ Models

All the models touch on understanding yourself, taking charge of yourself, and then applying that awareness and ability in your interactions with others.

This article first appeared in Six Seconds’ magazine: EQ Today, Nov 2002 by Joshua Freedman

In SEI Cert class today, Yoshimi said she really liked what I said about Pursue Noble Goals, so I’ll try to recreate it:

Pursuing a Noble Goal isn’t about taking some “lofty” action in the future. It’s about understanding why we might do such a thing, then putting that “why” in action today in “everyday” interactions.

Our lives are made in small moments that add up.

Pursuing a Noble Goal is about ensuring those moments add up to significance — that they add up to what we mean to create.

Sometimes people hear the word “pursue” as something abstract and outside us – it’s really about putting it in action within us.

Just listened to a fab radio show from The Really Big Questions about emotion. talks about some of the science and implications for us individually and collectively. The just forgot to say, “and if you want to learn how to effectively use these incredible resources, contact Six Seconds”

Definitely listen to this one and let me know what you think – and feel about it!!!

http://trbq.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=16&Itemid=43

In the Six Seconds EQ Model, the “capstone” is a competency we call “Pursue Noble Goals.” Members of the Six Seconds’ team were discussing this last week, and reflecting that especially in “tough times” it’s easy to feel stuck and have a sense that the work you really want to do is occluded by the “stuff you have to do.”When we say “pursue” Noble Goals, that could sound like, “I have to give up the day to day and totally focus on the truly significant.” Nice, but unlikely.

Pursue Noble Goals really means putting purpose into everyday action. If your purpose is supporting equity, how can you build more equity between the people in the elevator today? If your purpose is sustaining a vibrant earth, how can you change what you buy for lunch to be more sustainable? If your purpose is nurturing compassion, how can you think and feel as you wash the dishes so you end that experience more compassionate?

In other words:  Consider the alignment between WHAT you are doing each moment, each day — HOW your are doing that, and WHY?  Is your intention coming through both in the action and in the way that action is undertaken?

In promoting Satyagraha, nonviolent compassionate activism, Gandhi explained that you can not make peace through anger. Anger and violence make more anger and violence. Real peace only can be made through peaceful means. Sometimes we think the “end justifies the means,” but in this vision, the means IS the end and the end is made of the means. So when we talk about Pursuing Noble Goals, that’s the standard: Live it. It’s not something to work toward in the future, it’s a future to bring into the present. Everywhere, all the time.

Great experience w my kids discovering a way to make a difference – and how that connection to purpose created emotional transformation.  Wrote it up on family travel blog…

http://redsuitcase.wordpress.com/2009/10/30/j-orangutan-heart/

I admit it’s a terrible habit – again sitting in a restaurant listening to the next table… but the guy was so loud I could hardly not!  Three people, “Joe” and 2 friends, Joe says he’s so glad to see them again and launches into a story.  Eventually says, “but I don’t want us to just talk about my stories…” and the proceeds to dominate the conversation for half an hour of virtually nonstop monologue.  Every once in a while the others manage to slip in a word but Joe grabs back the conversation.  It seems like Joe KNOWS he dominates and has at least a vague intention of sharing the stage, but doesn’t.

So:  Is Joe self-aware?

And, if he is, what’s missing?

Sometimes people talk about emotional intelligence as “paying attention to feelings,” which is nice but inadequate.  Maybe even useless.  We do need to ACCURATELY identify and understand feelings, but I contend that to be “intelligent” we also need to use that data effectively.  When we use mathematical intelligence we accurately identify the info and use it to come up with answers that solve problems.  How about when we use EQ?

(And, how about my admission of my terrible habit?)
♥

From NurtureShock to Bright-sided, there are several new “anti-feel-good” books coming out, and they seem to be striking a chord with the current state of the world — and they are SO right.  I mean enough of this talking about feelings. As Marge Simpson said (more or less), “take those negative feelings and push them down inside yourself until you’re standing on them!”  What we need is more cold-hearted, analytic critics in the world, and clearly there’s good money to be made selling books that say so.  Look, suppression has worked for generations — one only has to look objectively at the data.  For example, our parents’ generation was raised to suppress feelings and avoid confrontation, and see how fabulously well they’ve done with the big challenges of life, such as holding onto ideals, building enduring marriages, leading businesses ethically, and reversing environmental depredations?

Oh, wait…

Look, as a society we’ve already tried the path of the supremacy of mean logic, and it hasn’t worked well.

In all seriousness, there is a piece of this “anti nurture” stance that I appreciate.  JUST being positive doesn’t accomplish much. Overpraise – that sloppy, saccharin way some people interact (especially with kids) – has terrible detriment (though underpraise is probably worse).

My daughter, Emma, recently entered a garden in the County Fair.  We were asking her how it went on the setup day, and what the adults there said to her.  “They said I did a good job, but I didn’t know if that meant I really did a good job or not.”

“Why honey, what do you mean?”

“Well, you know, adults always say how great kids’ work is to make them feel good, so you don’t know if your work is really good or not.  Except Suzanne [Emma’s fabulous and tough dance teacher], she hardly ever says something is good so when she does you know it’s really good.”

I also agree that JUST talking about feelings is pretty much useless.  Again, treating feelings as an anathema is probably worse.  But emotional intelligence requires more than “just talking,” it requires accuracy and insight.  Emotional wisdom is an even higher standard – it takes going from awareness to action – which requires a robust mix of skills.

One of the key principles we teach people learning to use our emotional intelligence assessment is that BALANCE is at least as importance as overall competence.  Someone who’s highly skilled in one competency can overuse that to their and others’ detriment – as I wrote a few days ago, even an incredible valuable asset like optimism can go awry when it’s used without the balancing effect of other strengths.

And, in the end, would you rather live in a world with well meaning happy people who are over-caring and over-praising, or in a world with steely-eyed grouchy “realists” who can’t be bothered to care and find praise a waste of oxygen?  Maybe somewhere in between?

Amy McConnell Franklin, Ph.D., Senior Consultant for Six Seconds and Educational Trainer and Consultant, will be in Singapore Nov. 23rd and 24th, facilitating a two day conference on Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) and Emotional Intelligence (EI). The Six Seconds model of Emotional Intelligence will be the foundation of this interactive workshop for school administrators, teachers and parents committed to bringing EI,  ”the missing piece” of education, to their children and school communities.

Emotional Intelligence is an achievement that is both teachable and learnable. A robust and growing body of research acknowledges the benefits and feasibility of systematically and consistently integrating EI in schools through teacher training and direct student instruction. EI training is the foundational building block of effective and sustainable SEL programs. Educators and school communities around the globe are increasingly realizing the need to model and teach the concepts and skills of emotional intelligence in school communities, as a core curricular component,  in order to create more circumspect decision makers, more compassionate, accountable and resilient members of society and more successful, creative students and problem solvers.

The author of the recently published Choose to Change: A step by step guide for fostering emotional intelligence in the classroom, @ 2009, Dr. Franklin has taught the concepts and skills of EI to teachers and parents in the USA and internationally since 2003.  This new book is a primer to help teachers and school systems begin to create more compassionate, interactive, safe and successful school environments. She returns to Singapore for this second annual  International SEL conference to share experiences and models for effectively bringing EI to schools communities. Join her in order to deepen your understanding of EI and explore ways and means of bringing these critical skills and concepts to your children, to your school communities and to the next generation.

For more information and registration pls see:
www.selconference.com
or contact:
Grace Garcia
Tel :6487 2901/ FAX 6341 5586
email: admin@elisher.com
Soci

In June, the project was going to take 8 weeks.  By August, clearly it would be 12.  Now, we’re hoping we can wrap everything up before we go past 5 months.

“Everyone” knows the remodeling projects go over budget and behind schedule, so I built a healthy 15% margin into our budget – should be plenty!  But I forgot my dangerous tendency toward optimism.

Looking at the results of my SEI assessment (Six Seconds’ emotional intelligence test), there’s a telling passage in the “snapshot” of a leader with optimism scores like mine…

Sometimes pessimistic people complain these leaders are “always wearing rose colored glasses.” In a sense that is true, and it can lead to unrealistically minimizing risks and overstating reward.

I definitely minimized the perceived risks — fortunately the results are not dire, just rather challenging, but in other circumstances  could have been a really serious financial issue.  Not to mention the stress!   Back in May & June making those plans, even though I recognized some risk, I focused much more on the excitement of the project and the potential (the “up side”) and so made decisions with inadequate caution.  I don’t regret the whole project, but there are certainly days where I say, “if I’d known it was going to be this difficult and expensive, I never would have started.”

Perhaps this is one reason those who prefer a pessimistic style don’t really trust those of us who tend toward an optimistic view.  They see that we “bite off more than we can chew” and sometimes break our teeth on the rocks of unexpected challenge.  “I could have told you,” they delight to say, “but you don’t listen.  I’m just trying to be realistic.”

Because we’re not realistic, of course. We live in a fantasy where almost anything is possible, and a great deal is probable.

On the other hand, the curmudgeon who loves pessimism is also living in a fantasy.  One where high walls and a careful defense is required at all times.  Where few things are possible, and little (good) is probable.

In which fantasy would you rather live?

Most of you would say, I suspect, “neither!  I want to live in reality….” but just for a moment, suppose that isn’t an option — that the universe’s optometrist  has run our of clear glasses so you can either wear “rose colored glasses” or “gloom colored glasses.”

I suspect that if I wore the gloom glasses, I would have no cause chorus the “if I’d only known” lament.  On the other hand, I’d never have taken on this challenge.  I suppose that in 15 years we can all look back and evaluate the merits of this decision with some balanced perspective, the data of hindsight, but in the present it’s a mystery.  Except, that while I’m poorer in cash, my life is very rich.  Yes, this continues to be an incredibly challenging process (especially since we’re leaving for 6 weeks in Asia in 10 days!!!), yet I’m feeling vibrantly alive, stretched to grow, awake to learn, engaged with my family in this endeavor, and going to bed exhausted by long days ripe with full effort.

And the house is looking amazing!