Writing

“…for leadership positions, emotional intelligence is more important than cognitive intelligence” – John Mackey, CEO – Whole Foods – Inc Magazine – July 2009

Here’s an excerpt:

Q: What traits should I look for when hiring for a leadership position?

A: My philosophy about this has definitely evolved over the years. I understand people a lot better today than I did 30 years ago. Back then, I was more impressed with people who were very articulate. In many companies, the person who talks the best usually gets the job. I got snowed by a few of those people over the years. I still think communication is important, but I don’t think there’s always a correlation between being a great communicator and other virtues that make for a great leader.

That’s why the first thing you should look at is character. I look for somebody who has classic virtues such as integrity, honesty, courage, love, and wisdom. Someone who is hard-working, candid, and ambitious, while still showing humility. I also look for people who have a high degree of emotional intelligence — a high capacity for caring. I think for leadership positions, emotional intelligence is more important than cognitive intelligence. People with emotional intelligence usually have a lot of cognitive intelligence, but that’s not always true the other way around.

More on John Mackey of Whole Foods on Hiring Leaders, Management Trends Article – Inc. Article.

Intriguing article — Made to Stick: Hold the Interview | Fast Company — confirms again that most interviews are useless for hiring.  Literally.  No better than flipping a coin.  Some good advice — of course they missed a key idea:  administer an emotional intelligence test…

Seriously – what are people so bad at hiring?

My experience is that there are too many conflicting variables.  I like some aspects of one candidate, I dislike that in someone else but it’s balanced by part of their history… I suspect that I try way too hard to “analyze” and I’d do much better with a simple criteria:  How does it feel?  I suspect that if I had 3 reasonably qualified candidates and I selected the one who “felt right” I’d be way better off than the hours of analyzing and discussing.

Occasionally we have a client serious about building an “emotionally intelligence” workforce, and of course we do extensive training, train-the-trainer programs for in-house follow-through, and ongoing coaching for senior leaders to bring this top-of-mind.  But one of the most important exercises is training people who will be doing the hiring to be able to recognize key emotional intelligence competencies and hire for that.  In that context, the interview in itself becomes a practical test – not just of surface behaviors like rapport and social skills, but of a deeper interplay of emotional connection.

When companies put this kind of process in place they get a better workforce.   “Times like these” are actually ideal for this type of work — in a few months it’s going to be very challenging to find time to improve processes like hiring and onboarding as there’s a huge backlog of positions to fill and a torrent of placement work as the economic pressures lift and all those who WANTED to leave finally do.  So smart leaders are getting ready now to ensure that the next “generation” of new-hires has what it takes to go higher.

Making great progress since my surgery last week.  Today I was up at our new house with the contractors, outside on the phone, and at my desk a lot.  Yay!  Yesterday had a funny moment with Max (who’s now 8):

After a busy morning, I ended up SOUND asleep on the couch. I managed to sleep through three kids playing lego star wars, wife packing some boxes, appliance repair guy calling out about the new switch he needed to go get from the shop… and finally it’s fairly quiet…  ’till Max comes and very sweetly, very softly touches my shoulder:  “Daddy, can please we have juice pops?”

I wanted to smack him for being selfish and thoughtless… but I figured I’d just appreciate the sweetness instead, and maybe it was time to be done napping anyway.

It reminds me that we all have very different priorities.  Someone’s “thoughtlessness” could be that… or it could be that what I think is important just isn’t important to them.  It’s easy to judge because what’s important to me is so important to me!  This is probably the source of most conflict.

You know that expression, “I’m waiting for the other foot to fall”? (as in, expecting bad news soon).

So Wednesday evening I was walking around with Patty and another friend, and I was standing up on a low retaining wall (just about 2 feet high), and I decided to jump down to the ground.

There was this little voice saying “maybe you should just sit down and step off instead” but I ignored that… And oh how I wish I could take that second back and Apply more Consequential Thinking.

I landed on my left leg because I am still “protective” of my right leg (2 years ago I completely ruptured my right quadriceps tendon).  And I felt a sharp POP in my left knee… Which gave out… And I was on the ground feeling a terrible deja vu.

While these seems like the most ridiculous bad luck, the surgeon I saw last night was not all that surprised.  She said there’s been a huge increase in this injury nationwide — correlated with obesity and high cholesterol.  And, that it’s not uncommon that when one quad ruptures, that the other follows because of the underlying causes — and because as I did, “protecting” the original injury leads to over-use of the other side.

The good news/bad news is I know the process… Six months in a brace with crutches, 18 months ‘till “normal.”  The upside is I’m not scared, I know just how painful and difficult this is, and I know I can do it.  The downside is I know just how painful and difficult this is…

I was joking on the phone with a colleague saying, “I guess this means I didn’t learn the lesson I was supposed to learn the first time.”  I’ve been reflecting more about that and I’m now seeing that it’s not a joke at all.  Coming off the first knee, I was starting to take my health more seriously, but in the last 9 months or so I’ve let that slip out of focus.  For years I’ve thought and felt and talked about making major lifestyle changes to take better care of myself, but somehow I keep making other things a higher priority.  So while this is a rather difficult way to re-start, I’m actually feeling hopeful and even excited.  It’s not a time for little subtle changes – it’s time to re-invent this aspect of my life — of our lives as a family.

Well, I literally got home from the hospital an hour ago and so I’m a bit groggy, think I’ll go take a nap!

By the way — I won’t be working regular hours for the next few weeks, so if you need something from me, please remind me a few times ‘till I reply.

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!

Six Seconds Network member Shahnaz Bahman shared this article she wrote for Woman magazine.  Are You an Emotionally Intelligent Parent? (PDF)

Found this fascinating – they don’t talk about emotional intelligence per-se, but a lot about emotions and trust — amazing that top economists are admitting that the science of economics is NOT RATIONAL, that there is an “animal spirit” that drives the economy (perhaps we could say take the radical step of using the word “emotion”?) — trust is a feeling!

The Science of Trust: Economics and Virtue [Speaking of Faith® from American Public Media]

I was consulting with a client recently about his work and the changes he’d like to implement in his healthcare services business.  He’s facing two changes:

• shifting from being a professional to being a manager & leader — instead of doing his hands-on care and sometimes checking in with others, the change would move him to mostly be managing and leading
• shifting from a “small business” to a “scalable business” model — instead of each site being completely unique, the change will require a consistent brand

Big stuff!!  Tough. Doable – but only if one is really serious about that shift.  So I wanted to know if this change was a match with his own vision of himself, and asked:

What do you want your job to be?

I suspect that many, many people find themselves in leadership positions without having really CHOSEN that.  This seems especially true in professional services – the doctor who finds herself leading an office; the investor who finds himself managing a team; the educator who finds himself leading an organization…

So before you get “further” in your career, it’s worth considering — what do you want your job to be?  What do you want to do more and less of?  If you “take that next step” in your work, will you still be doing the parts of the work that you love?

I travel a lot, and many countries have a space on their customs form for job.  I’m never quite sure what to put there.  It’s a little space, and I want to write something that’s not too confusing… EQ advocate?  Leader?  Teacher?  Author?  Consultant?  Trainer?  Executive?

Apparently I have some conflict and confusion about the changes in my own role!

While I WANTED our organization to grow, and pushed that, while I WANTED to do more leading and less doing, while I WANTED to build a team — I still sometimes regret how complex my job has become, and feel inadequate because I don’t really know how to do it.

Like so many of our clients, I’ve “evolved” into this role rather than being chosen for it, and a large part of what I love(d) about my own work is the “professional” hands on work, rather than the managing.

This reminds me about the work of Joy Palmer, one of our Network Members who primarily works with finance executives on this change.  She’s written about the process in The Rise of the Player Manager.

For myself, I’m someone who thrives on challenge and learning-by-doing… so it’s a great place to be… and I recognize that I only do my best when I pay close attention — I’ve chosen to be a leader.  Maybe that’s going on the next customs form!

Tidbit from my physical therapist:  When you’ve experienced a lot of pain, for example from a ruptured tendon, when you go to try to use that muscle again your brain says, “NO!”  Not because it hurts now, but because your brain “knows” that activity will be painful.

I’ve certainly experienced this in physical therapy with my knees… but also elsewhere in my life.  Before my dad died, for example, there were things I wanted to tell him, but I way afraid — not because it would hurt now, I suspect, but because by brain “knew” that activity would be painful.

So often we “protect” against the old and imagined hurts, and we don’t experience that we’ve grown past the memory of pain.

To get past it in physical injury, I have to risk, trust, hope, have an ally — and commit.  I suspect the same is true with the emotional injuries.