Archive for Leadership Development
EQ Numbers
Posted by: | CommentsThere are many, many numbers on EQ and its effects on performance, productivity, employee engagement and much more.
The following numbers are from Daniel Goleman’s book Working with Emotional Intelligence.
Daniel Goleman’s analysis of 181 jobs in 121 organizations found that emotional competencies were the best differentiators between star performers and typical performers.
In top leadership positions over 85% of the difference in performance is due to emotional competence.
Salespeople selected for emotional competencies at L’Oreal outsold collegues by $91,370 each, for net revenue increase of $2,558,360.
Met Life salesman who scored high on the optimism sell 37% more insurance in their first two years.
At L’Oreal sales agents who were selected for their strengths in emotional competence had 63 percent less turnover during their first year than those whose selection disregarded their competence profile. Daniel Goleman, Working with Emotional Intelligence.
Among newly hired sales reps at a start-up computer company, those hired for emotional competence were 90 percent more likely to finish their training than those hired for other criteria. Daniel Goleman, Working with Emotional Intelligence.
With some of these examples, and there are countless others, how can companies afford not to educate employees in these topics? What’s more, how can an employee, knowing education and training is out there, not take the opportunity to become better and more promotable?
Think of these statistics…..
The following are from Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves.
EQ is so critical to success that it accounts for 58% of performance in all types of jobs.
Only 36% of the people we tested are able to accurately identify their emotions as they happen.
People with the highest levels of IQ outperform those with average IQ just 20% of the time, while people with average IQs outperform those with high IQs 70% of the time.
The link to EQ and earnings is so direct that every point increase in EQ adds $1300 to an annual salary.
Self-awareness is so important for job performance that 83% of people high in self-awareness are top performers, and just 2% of bottom performers are high in self awareness.
What Next?
Emotional intelligence can be improved upon. In fact, it might be a great training focus for your employees or yourself. It takes constant focus to overcome old habits and make behavior changes.
Early in my career I found that I was stressed out and running around like a chicken all the time and I had less than 20 employees. I was very controlling, I didn’t care what was going on with my employees other than what they could get done for me. I found I snapped at people, was by the rules and really focused on results.
At the time, my direct supervisor was influential in my development. He had conversations with me where we would work out the rational of what needed to get done and why. He was always understanding, asked my input and there was more… He even knew people two tiers below him and would ask me if I knew so-and-so liked horses too. Did I know so-and-so’s husband was in the hospital…. On and on.
It dawned on me one day that if he could find time in his busy day to chat with me and all these other people, why couldn’t I? Didn’t I have more responsibility to my subordinates than he did? Didn’t he have more to do than I did? So… I dug in.
It took months and months. I then read Daniel Goleman’s book, Working with Emotional Intelligence and I finally understood all the components. It still took months, but with the use of my journal and my boss at the time I did become a better people person. I was also able to manage people more effectively and with a lot less stress. I smiled more, talked to my employees. Guess what happened next? It carried over into my home life as well.
I would never of won the awards I have won over the years or the monetary prizes. I would of never been able to help as many employees go on to become successful themselves. I would never of had the compassion to take an average or D player and find out how to make them successful.
It’s really that important.
EQ Definition
Posted by: | CommentsThe Hudson River airplane landing by Captain Sullenberger is a great demonstration of well-developed emotional intelligence. Once the audio recordings of Captain “Sully” were made public, listeners have been stunned and amazed at the immense calm Sully demonstrated and the resoluteness with which he told air traffic control, “We’re going to be in the Hudson.”
Why was Captain Sullenberger so calm when other people in a life-or-death situation would be hysterical?
Emotional Intelligence has everything to do with how you handle your everyday life. Think about your responses to some of these questions.
Do you feel outraged when someone cuts in front of you in line?
Do you scream at the road when you are driving?
Do you have arguments with a lot of other people?
Do you cut people off when they are talking?
Do you get tense when you have to ask someone a question about something that may not go your way?
If you answered “yes” to more than one of those then you are probably weak in some area of emotional intelligence.
Emotional intelligence
While a concrete emotional intelligence (called EQ and sometimes EI) definition is under debate, the emotional intelligence theory can be summed up very succinctly as a combination of common sense and maturity.
Emotional intelligence is different than the traditional intelligence quotient (IQ), which basically measures how smart a person is. IQ and emotional intelligence do not necessarily go hand in hand.
You might know someone who is very smart, never needed to study in school, and can build a radio from a tin can, a paintbrush, and some duct tape. But put that person in a social situation or in a leadership position and you’ll wonder where the IQ went. A person can be very smart (high IQ) and have low emotional intelligence, making them seem immature or weak under tough circumstances.
Then you may know someone that barely finished school, doesn’t like to read books and is super successful. They have a lot of friends, are highly regarded in the community and no one knows they didn’t go to college. They thrived, with some finesse, hard work and their ability to read and negotiate with people.
An overview of Emotional Intelligence
The Emotional Intelligence Quick Book by Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves is an excellent quick read. This book also comes with a free assessment as long as the book is new and someone hasn’t used it.
The book describes the difference of IQ from EQ. Your IQ never changes and stays the same. They have done studies and found that two people with the same IQ can have completely different levels of success. Also your IQ is your ability to learn and it does not change over time. On the other hand EQ can be developed even if you are not born with it.
Your senses enter your brain through your spinal cord and must travel through the limbic system before you can think rationally about your experience. Emotional intelligence requires smooth communication between the rational and emotional centers of the brain. When you practice emotional intelligence, the traffic flows smoothly in both directions.
The four emotional skills they identify are: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management. Understanding how they work and how they interact is important at gaining EQ.
When did EQ become popular?
Daniel Goleman is the person most responsible for the current interest in Emotional Intelligence. His research showed that emotional intelligence is twice as important as IQ and technical skill combined when accounting for outstanding performance. “And the higher up you go in an organization, the more important these qualities are for success,” Goleman says. “When it comes to leadership, they are almost everything.”
Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace
The importance of emotional intelligence in the workplace is clearly seen in the examples set by not only Captain Sullenberger, but also the air traffic controller who remained calm and highly efficient as he quickly located several other clear runways for the plane, then quickly summoned police, helicopters, and other rescue personnel to the Hudson, not knowing what kind of disaster might have happened.
Other examples of emotional intelligence are seen in people who work well under pressure, those who are good team players, and who set high examples for themselves and their team. The emotional competencies seen with the best leaders are:
- Initiative, achievement drive and adaptability
- Influence, team leadership and political awareness
- Empathy, self-confidence and developing others
Having a well developed emotional intelligence is as important as other leadership skills when it comes to being a supervisor, not to mention that it benefits you in all areas of your life.
Types of Leadership
Posted by: | CommentsDifferent types of leadership styles exist for different personalities and businesses. 
One leadership style might naturally suit you best, or you might have to adapt to one due to the company you work for.
All of these styles are important in the right environment. Don’t think one is the perfect method. In certain situations each of them has positives and negatives.
It’s best to understand how each of them work and watch them in your boss or other supervisors. Know how you are being managed. How does it make you feel? Which style do you prefer to be managed with?
Types of Leadership:
Laissez Faire
Laissez Faire leaders are very “hands off” in their management style. Face time with their team members is minimal.
Some managers seem to employ this type of leadership – if you can even call them leaders – because they don’t want to get involved. It’s more of a “lazy” type leadership for them. This is not laissez faire leadership.
The laissez faire style works well if you have a team of highly trained individuals who are also highly motivated. They know what needs to be done, they do it, and they do it well. One problem that can come up with this style is the employees don’t feel valued or appreciated.
Types of Leadership: Autocratic
An autocratic leader has the total authority to make decisions. They make the rules, period. The autocratic leadership style can work well on teams needing close supervision and are new or still learning. But it’s not so effective when you’re working in an environment where team collaboration is necessary.
Many people find this style to be stifling and they don’t feel valued if their boss uses this style exclusively. This is a good method when there is an emergency and someone has to take charge. This is also a good method when handling a dispute between a couple employees.
Types of Leadership: Democratic
The democratic leader, on the other hand, has the authority over the final decision, but they go to the employees to get their input and suggestions.
Because the team has a part in the process, they feel ownership of the decision and are more likely to embrace it. Even if they don’t agree with the ultimate decision, they know they were heard and considered. They also have the benefit of knowing the “whys” of the decision and understand the big picture better than someone under an autocratic leader.
This method is great for building teams and the why behind that will fill up another entire page!
A dry erase board or giant paper with an easel comes in handy when using this type of management style during a meeting. Ask a question or describe the problem then have everyone contribute ideas to answer a question and write them down. Then systematically go through the answers and ask the group the pros and cons of each.
I often knew the outcome of the question I asked but instead of just telling everyone what to do I knew they would do it better if I involved them in the decision.
This method is great if you are trying to develop junior managers. You can go through all the steps of your thought processes by asking questions and letting the group begin the journey of understanding the why behind solutions.
If you use this method exclusively you can run into problems just like the other methods, although this leadership style has the least amount if used correctly.
The people that don’t appreciate it are the people who want things “perfect” or who believe completely in the chain of command. I have had employees that would rather not be involved in a decision, they want to be “told” what to do, it reassures them and makes them more comfortable.
The other people this method doesn’t work well with is the disengaged employees, they might think you are “weak” just because they aren’t in touch with the rest of the group.
Types of Leadership: Bureaucratic
If you’ve ever been managed strictly “by the book,” you’ve experienced a bureaucratic leader.
While it might sound outdated and unpopular, “by the book” bureaucratic leadership types work well and are necessary in some fields. Universities, hospitals and banks benefit from bureaucratic leadership. The strictness of following particular rules helps increase security within the company, and reduces corruption. A downside is that it’s slow-moving in order to ensure adherence to policies and procedures.
This leader has a tendency to be very un-motivating and is prone to not having synergy in their teams. They don’t like “flow” because you have to “fly by the seat of your pants”, they just want things exactly as they have dictated. They are necessary and excellent in certain fields or positions.
If this type of manager works for you it’s important to follow up with their people and ensure they feel appreciated and valued. It’s easy to forget to tell this manager the same thing, so make sure they get told, usually they won’t tell you they enjoyed hearing it, but they do.
Types of Leadership: Charismatic
Charismatic leaders are all about energy and motivation. Teams led by a charismatic leader can have a very difficult time when that leader leaves. If you are taking over a management position that was previously led by a charismatic leader, be prepared for some challenges.
In certain positions at certain times I have been very charismatic, and indeed the manager behind me had a difficult time.
This method is perfect if you are trying to feed energy into a group. Feed energy you may ask, yes, FEED energy. When I was doing this it was to bring the intensity level up in the group, the energy level, the drive.
It is extremely exhausting to do it, you have to be consistent, do it every single day. But it works! It’s a great method to increase sales or get some big projects done. You also need to make really big deals out of every positive, thank EVERY person exuberantly. Say “hi” to everyone. You have to stay highly visible for it to work.
Plan this well because it can take a few days or even a few weeks for it to even begin to work, but once the energy in the group is going it usually starts to snowball and feed itself. Also be aware, this method doesn’t work if you don’t have employees that care and respect you. You have to have trust and respect first.
Types of Leadership: Relational
A relational (or transformational) leader is opposite the laissez faire leader. They are highly communication based and highly visible. This is not to be confused with a micromanager. Relational leaders are focused on the big picture and they are surrounded with people who accomplish the details of the big picture.
They don’t usually care about the details of something, they care about the who. Who is doing what? How is so and so doing? How was your weekend? Who is doing that? If you start to go over a bunch of details you will find their eyes start of glaze over and their mind wanders. They care about the who.
What’s Your Style?
You might have natural tendencies towards particular types of leadership. Your company may require you to lead in one of these particular methods, which can be difficult if you’re used to an opposite style.
Learning to manage in a different style will only benefit you in the long run. If fact, using only a couple will slow your career down. You need to understand when to use the different styles to fit your employees.
It’s even possible… NO… I would say you will need to alter your leadership type multiple times working for the same company if you take on different teams or projects over your years of employment.
Most likely you will need to change your style multiple times a year at a minimum.
Define Leadership
Posted by: | CommentsTo define leadership is akin to holding onto a big blob of Jell-O. It’s not the easiest thing 
to do, but in its most basic definition, a leader does just that — leads.
Do you want to be a leader? Do you have natural leadership skills? Have you taken a leadership test and been pegged as a good leader — or perhaps a bad leader?
Even if you’re not a manager or supervisor at your job, you can still learn effective leadership skills and apply them throughout your life. Your job, your family, your marriage, even your social activities call for the skills of a leader.
There are several types of leadership and many leadership theories.
Some experts say leadership attributes are innate, that we’re born with them. Others say they must be learned. Innate or not, leadership skills can be learned and improved all throughout life.
Trying to list all the qualities of good, motivational leadership will end up in a very long list, very quickly, but some of the top traits or skills that really define leadership are: integrity, dedication, giving credit where credit is due (magnanimity), humility, fairness, assertiveness, and being open to new ideas.
Young Leaders
Age knows no bounds for those who are led and for those who are leaders. You’ve seen leaders all your life. Back when you were growing up, playing in the neighborhood, a leader emerged from among your group of friends. Leaders emerge in school groups, in athletics, in peer groups. Leaders even rise up among siblings. Leaders are the ones other people follow.
An informal leader in the workplace might well be one of the lowest-level employees. It’s not an official leadership role, but he or she may be a leader among their coworkers.
And certainly not all managers or supervisors are leaders, despite their defined leadership title of Team Leader, Shift Leader or whatever.
Define leadership
Leadership is one of those skills that gives back to you what you put into it. It is a growing and continually evolving skill, like a mountain you are climbing who’s peak is always just out of reach, you never really arrive. There is always something you could do better, someone you could have done more for.
Leadership skills are something often looked for in every level of staff. While contemplating the next promotion most managers don’t just look at tenure or skill, they look at the person who also is the problem solver, who makes a decision, who is confident in what they are doing, able to network and get others involved.
Leaders are also those who do things without asking, who make sacrifices without fanfare, who simply do what needs to be done.
Not all leaders are necessarily good people leaders. Many times we promote someone because they show all the qualities we want a leader to have but maybe they haven’t been taught good leadership theories–the philosophy of managing, communicating, delegating, etc. It’s not enough to be told you need to do something, it’s important to understand the mechanics of why. If you don’t know that you can’t teach others and develop leaders under you.
Leadership is one of those areas of life in which continued learning is never a waste. Leadership training seminars are great for learning new techniques or as a refresher for that which you already know. Most individuals can write off a few hundred dollars a year towards their own work related self improvement. Check with your tax adviser.
Leadership training seminars are available for new and current managers, most training is done online and on the phone depending on the subject being covered.
Leadership
Posted by: | CommentsLeadership is a critical part of our day to day lives……
It determines how we handle things in our day to day life. Those with strong leadership skills typically take control of most situations they find themselves in. They typically know where they are going.
It is easy to use to skills for the good of others and to the detriment. Some leaders feel they are entitled to let their mouths fly with every trivial thought. That isn’t really being a leader.
A great quote that says a lot about people….
Excellence is an act won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but rather we have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit. – Aristotle
