Tag Archives: Emotional Intelligence

How to Prepare for Leadership Positions

Contributed article in our leadership series. Enjoy! – Kimberly

With several years of professional experience under your belt, a time will come when you feel you need to take your career to the next level and assume a leadership role in the organization you are working for.

This is when you now understand the complexities of the business and you have grown in your career to feel ambitious enough to lead other people. Of course, you need to back up your ambitions with a history of stellar performance otherwise no one will take you seriously. Even if you rise to the level you want, your subordinates won’t give you the respect that the office you hold deserves.

You need prepare well before you assume leadership roles.

Attitude Adjustment

Start working on your attitude if you want to be a leader. Attitude is the first signal that you are ready for the altitude. Do you sulk when given roles beyond your job description? If yes, then you need to change your attitude.

Does your boss know that he/she can assign you tasks and trust that you will complete them with minimal supervision? Do things that bothered you before; like impromptu tasks no longer bother you? In fact, you even find yourself more flexible these days and somehow understand that the only constant thing is change. If you no longer take last minute requests and disruptions from your boss personally you are well on your way there.Continue reading→

Increased Emotional Intelligence and Teamwork Through Snack Foods

M&MsUnless you’ve spent your entire career with your face bathed in the light of your computer monitor, you’ve probably come across the concept of emotional intelligence. Popularized by Daniel Goleman at the end of the last century, emotional intelligence, or “EQ”, can be condensed to three criteria: self-awareness, the awareness of our impact on others, and the good sense to make better choices as a result of that awareness. (I’m not recommending increased awareness, mind you, because I was a heck of a lot happier when I thought other people were to blame for all of my problems. But if you want to be an effective leader you’ll probably have to risk it.)

There’s no guarantee that a bunch of high EQ people will form a high EQ team (witness the US presidential campaign), but it’s a good start. Reflecting on a couple of decades of leading and working in teams, I’ve had the opportunity to work in teams that that were emotionally intelligent, and in teams with the collective “EQ” of a scallop. Emotionally intelligent teams are a lot more fun, and get way better results. The Enneagram, available from The Enneagram Institute and numerous other sources, is one tool that I’ve found extremely useful for increasing the EQ of a team.Continue reading→