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THE INSIDE CONNECTION: Focusing on what's most important.
A free newsletter from Kesslin Associates Inc.
http://www.kesslin.com
mailto:insideconnection@kesslin.com
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ISSUE NO. 5 – MARCH 2002
In this issue...
1) Welcome
2) Inside The Inside Connection
3) Feature: Emotional Intelligence Excerpts
4) Action Tip
5) Related Resources
Subscription, unsubscribe and copyright information can be found at
the end of each issue.
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1) Welcome
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Thank you for joining us to explore The Inside Connection. We want
to encourage, challenge, and support you to explore your full
potential. We believe that success comes most directly when you
look inside yourself first, before seeking change from other people
or the things around you. If you enjoy our e-zine, please forward
it to colleagues, friends and family who might benefit.
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2) Inside The Inside Connection
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During the past 10 years, the field of Emotional Intelligence (EI
or EQ) has generated lots of media attention along with lots of
scholarly research. It's also provided us with a reliable guide to
developing greater personal and professional effectiveness. In many
respects, Dan Goleman's best-selling books on the topic provide
research data to back up what were previously just anecdotal
connections between leadership effectiveness and emotional
awareness or relationship abilities. His series of books make a
compelling case that the extraordinary results achieved by our most
talented leaders are largely due to their high level of emotional
intelligence.
Many of the "inside connections" that are most important
for
personal and professional effectiveness fall into this area of
Emotional Intelligence. This month I share with you some of the
gems I've found in recent writings about leadership and emotional
intelligence.
It's encouraging to know that the experts agree that unlike your
IQ, your EQ can be developed and significantly enhanced through
experiential training, practice, and developmental coaching.
Luckily, your EQ also improves with age!
The books and articles referenced below are all wonderful
leadership and emotional intelligence resources.
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3) Feature: Emotional Intelligence Excerpts
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From the recent Harvard Business Review: Special Edition on
Breakthrough Leadership, December 2001
http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/products/hbr/dec01/index.html
"The term 'breakthrough leadership' [...] involves breaking
through old habits of thinking to uncover fresh solutions to
perennial problems. It also means breaking through the
interpersonal barriers that we all erect against genuine human
contact. It's leadership that breaks through the cynicism that many
people feel about their jobs and helps them find meaning and
purpose in what they do. And it breaks through the limits imposed
by our doubts and fears to achieve more than we believed possible."
-Harris Collingwood, Special Issue Editor
"Followers want comfort, stability, and solutions form their
leaders. But that's babysitting. Real leaders ask hard questions
and knock people out of their comfort zones. Then they manage the
resulting distress."
-Ronald Heifetz and Donald Laurie, The Work of Leadership
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From The Other 90% by Robert K. Cooper, published 2001
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0812932870/kesslinassociate
"The next frontier is not only in front of you, it is inside
you. You have a vast hidden potential and a destiny beckoning to be
lived. So do we all. No one else can live in your place."
"When we suppress our originality, we lose touch with the
source of our vitality and initiative. The greatest learning and
achievements come not from the standardized group work but from the
unique efforts of individuals. In this regard, the human spirit has
its own set of rules. In many ways, it is rebellious. The
imperative to live life differently, on our own terms, keeps
building until it breaks through the surface. It is then up to us
not to let it fade away."
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From Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional
Intelligence by Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee,
March 2002
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/157851486X/kesslinassociate
"The fundamental task of leaders, we argue, is to prime good
feeling in those they lead. That occurs when a leader creates
resonance – a reservoir of positivity that frees the best in
people. At its root, then, the primal job of leadership is
emotional.
We believe this primal dimension of leadership, though often
invisible or ignored entirely, determines whether everything else a
leader does will work as well as it could. And this is why
emotional intelligence – being intelligent about emotions –
matters
so much for leadership success: Primal leadership demand we bring
emotional intelligence to bear."
"Real leadership development starts from a much broader place
than 'career planning': It begins with a holistic vision of one's
life, in all its richness. To achieve improved business
performance, leaders need to be emotionally engaged in their self-
development. And that requires connecting the effort to what really
matters to them."
"The key to learning new habits for leaders lies in practice
to the point of mastery. Otherwise they invite a relapse, a return
to old habits. If you've ever played a musical instrument, you know
that when you rehearsed your sheet music just enough so you made no
mistakes, you were practicing to the point of comfort; you could
wing it when playing for your teacher. But under the stress of a
recital, you might forget parts of the piece. Professional
musicians, however, go a crucial step further: They rehearse and
rehearse, and then rehearse some more. They practice until the
fingering of their instrument or breathing is automatic. The
practice until they can play it without thinking about it and can
just feel it."
"…EI [Emotional Intelligence] contributes 80 to 90 percent
of
the competencies that distinguish outstanding from average leaders
– and sometimes more."
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From Flawless Consulting by Peter Bock, second edition
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0787948039/kesslinassociate
"In the 'new' economy, leadership consists in finding the
kinds of conversations that will be perceived as constructive, as
bringing bottom-line results."
"Wealth is more fragile than those who are not affluent may
think. Nor does wealth for those who have it solve the problems
that ambitious strivers think it will. The fear of death and the
need for love remain, as personal meaning and significance are as
elusive as ever."
"Change is as much about coming to terms with who your are, as
it is about strategy and process. For each of us, successful change
involves becoming more of who we already are."
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4) Action Tip
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Emotional intelligence is built on the foundation of self-
awareness. That means knowing yourself accurately - being able to
see yourself as others see you. In order to test your self-
awareness, start asking people who know you well for feedback about
yourself - your strengths as well as your weaknesses. See if their
feedback matches your own honest self-evaluation.
There are many questions you can ask others that will help you get
the feedback you need to test your self-awareness. These are just a
small sample. Modify these questions to fit you and your situation:
<> What did I do well?
<> What could I do differently next time to improve my
effectiveness?
<> What do you see as my strengths?
<> What do you see as my weaknesses?
<> What do you notice that I do repeatedly that interferes with
my
effectiveness?
Whenever doing an assessment of your own emotional intelligence,
it's vital to get the input of others who know you well. This is to
ensure that the foundational competency of self-awareness is
present. If your self-awareness is low, you won't be able to rate
yourself accurately. And the only way you know that is by asking
others to rate you and to compare that with your own self-rating.
That's the reason that professional assessments of emotional
intelligence, like the Emotional Competence Inventory 360(ECI 360)
are done with multiple raters (peers, direct reports, boss,
family/friends, etc.).
All of the coaching we do at Kesslin Associates involves the
development of emotional intelligence - whether or not that's the
primary focus of the coaching engagement. If you'd like to discuss
ways we can help you increase your emotional intelligence and
maximize your leadership effectiveness (or the effectiveness of
your team or organization), just give us a call at 212-865-2999 or
email
us for more information.
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5) Related Resources
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http://eiconsortium.org
The Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in
Organizations is a great portal for much of the current research on
EI and organizational/leadership effectiveness.
http://ei.haygroup.com/default.asp
Emotional Intelligence Services (EIS) provides emotional
intelligence programs and services to business. The company was
founded by Dr. Daniel Goleman.
http://www.eq.org
The EQ Directory is the Internet's directory of EQ / EI / Emotional
Intelligence sites, resources, and organizations.
http://www.cfapress.org/casel/casel.html
Collaborative for the Advancement of Social and Emotional Learning
(CASEL) is an international collaborative of educators, scientists,
policy makers, foundations, and concerned citizens promoting social
and emotional education and development in schools.
http://www.eqparenting.com
EQParenting.com provides information about the application of
emotional intelligence to parenting. It also highlights the book
Emotionally Intelligent Parenting published by Harmony Press.
http://www.uq.edu.au/emonet/
EMONET was established in January, 1997. It's purpose is to
facilitate scholarly discussion of all matters relating to the
study of emotion in organizational settings. EMONET is a restricted
list. All subscription requests must first go to Neal Ashkanasy for
authorization.
http://www.rci.rutgers.edu
The Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology (GSAPP)
is the administrative home of The Consortium for Research on
Emotional Intelligence in Organizations. Much of the research of
the Consortium was conducted by faculty and students of (GSAPP).
http://www.6seconds.org
Six Seconds is a nonprofit organization supporting the development
of EQ in schools, homes, and communities. The site has many
articles, resources, and free information as well as an online
store. The organization publishes the Self-Science curriculum as
well as other materials for schools and families, provides teacher,
parent, and trainer-training, and runs educational programs for
children.
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THE INSIDE CONNECTION is a free monthly publication from Kesslin
Associates designed to help you stay focused on what's most
important for lasting success. Most of our readers are passionate
leaders who understand that they must BE the change they want to
see in the world.
Kesslin Associates is a success coaching and training company
dedicated to helping you become an extraordinarily effective
leader. We help you strengthen your inside connection to values,
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The Inside Connection
ISSN: #1535-1076 Library of Congress, Washington, DC
Copyright © 2002 by Ken Kesslin – All rights reserved.
http://www.kesslin.com
mailto:insideconnection@kesslin.com
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