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Note about EQ - Good idea generation - Noah's Ark - TheParadox - Fun workplace possible?

A Note about EQ (a.k.a. EI)

By Robert W. Eichinger and Michael M. Lombardo
Lominger Limited, Inc.

April, 1999

In the October 26, 1998 issue of Fortune Magazine, there was an article called Success Secret: A High Emotional IQ, by Anne Fisher with the tag line, "Psychologist and best selling author Daniel Goleman says his research proves that business prizes emotional intelligence over expertise in its managers" (page 293). In the article, Dan says that "…emotional intelligence more and more comes to determine who gets promoted and who gets passed over—or even who gets laid off and who doesn't." He further states that in a survey he did with 121 companies looking at the success profiles for 181 jobs, he found that "…two out of every three of the abilities considered vital for success were emotional competencies…." He also states that many studies have shown that "… emotional competencies are twice as important to people's success today as raw intelligence or technical know-how". In the November-December 1998 issue of the Harvard Business Review, Daniel Goleman has an article called "What Makes a Leader?". It's all about EQ or emotional quotient. He is also the author of the very popular book EQ and has another book that just came out—Working with Emotional Intelligence—on using EQ in the work setting. Dan is a frequent Linkage speaker. There are a number of new "EQ" surveys and 360° questionnaires with various claims of uniqueness out or coming out shortly. We're sure some of you are, or will be, wondering whether the 67 competencies in the LEADERSHIP ARCHITECT ® measure this brand new, recently discovered competency called EQ. The answer, of course, is yes.

EQ is, of course, not new, and not recently discovered. EQ is really popularized EI. EI is emotional intelligence and has been around for more than 30 years (Mowrer, 1960). More to the point, there are not going to be any new competencies discovered in our lifetime. In that same sense, it's safe to say there also aren't going to be any new body parts discovered. We know what they all are in both cases.

People, from time to time, rename things and group previously ungrouped things together to make it appear that there is a new competency. That's what EQ is.

There will, however, be new research and therefore new emphasis. Goleman and the EI academic researchers say that EI accounts for or predicts more of the variance of job and life success than IQ. We believe that's correct. We have been saying that since Lominger's inception. It looks like IQ predicts about 5% of executive success (.225 squared) whereas EI predicts about 25% (.50 squared). This is similar conceptually to the Sternberg and Wagner findings on tacit knowledge or street smarts (in various studies it correlates .40-.50 with level achieved). The CHOICES ARCHITECT ®, which also measures learning agility or street smarts has similar correlations with potential, accounting for 30% of the variance in potential ratings. This is not to say that CHOICES ARCHITECT ® is somehow superior to EI or IQ; that would depend on the job, the sample, what is being predicted and putting the measures in a head to head comparison. All have real world practical impact.

As an example, most succession systems are fairly random—in a Knowledgeworks survey only about half the job fills came off the succession lists (it's random whether being on the list leads to being selected for a job). Using the CHOICES ARCHITECT ® data, you could improve your hit rate to 70 to 84% depending on the criteria used for selection. Similar results could be achieved from EI or tacit knowledge. All are related and powerful additions to human resource measurement.

So what is EI and how do we account for it in our 67 competencies and in CHOICES ®? CHOICES ® is a large part of EQ, as you will see.

There is an academic EI and the popularized EQ. Academic EI is best described by Mayer and Salovey (1997). Mayer and Salovey have offered the most comprehensive model to date taking into account all the EI research before that point. Their model has four major components and 16 subcomponents. We have listed some of the 67 competencies that might cover each subcomponent. There will be a full EI/EQ translator available.

A) Perception, appraisal and expression of emotion

  1. Ability to accurately identify emotion in one's physical state, feelings and thoughts (Lominger Competency 55, Self-Knowledge)

  2. Ability to identify emotions in other people (10, 45, 56)

  3. Ability to express emotion accurately, and to express needs related to those feelings (11, 27, 29, 31, 44)

  4. Ability to discriminate between honest and dishonest expressions of feelings (45, 56)

B) Emotional facilitation of thinking

  1. Emotions prioritize thinking by directing attention to important Information (32, 50, 51, 55)

  2. Emotions are sufficiently vivid and available that they serve as aids to judgment and memory concerning feelings (44, 55)

  3. Emotional swings change the individuals perspective (e.g. optimistic to pessimistic) encouraging consideration of multiple points of view (11, 40, 46, 51)

  4. Emotional states differentially encourage specific problem-solving approaches (55, 46, 32, 51)

C) Understanding and analyzing emotions

  1. Ability to label emotions and recognize relations among the words and the emotions themselves (32, 55, 56, 64)

  2. Ability to interpret the meanings that emotions convey regarding social relationships (21, 31, 38, 48, 56, 64)

  3. Ability to understand complex feelings (e.g., blends) (10, 21, 31, 56, 64)

  4. Ability to recognize likely transitions among emotions (32, 45, 56)

D) Reflective regulation of emotion to promote emotional and intellectual Growth

  1. Ability to stay open to feelings, both pleasant and unpleasant (3, 10, 11, 12, 13, 31, 34, 44)

  2. Ability to engage or detach from an emotion depending on its judged informativness or utility (11, 12, 32, 50, 51, 55, 56)

  3. Ability to monitor emotions in relation to oneself and others (11, 32, 45, 55, 56)

  4. Ability to manage emotions in oneself and others by moderating negative emotions and enhancing pleasant ones, without repressing or exaggerating the underlying data (11, 45, 50, 51, 56)

You are more likely to encounter EI in its popularized form. That means using Goleman's (1995) five-factor model from his book on EQ.

  1. Emotional self-awareness

  2. Managing one's own emotions

  3. Using emotions to maximize intellectual processing and decision-making

  4. Developing empathy

  5. Managing emotions in others (The art of social relationships)

In the Goleman latest HBR article, he has further adapted and simplified the model (a full translation is available for these most recent five factors):

  1. Self-awareness - the ability to recognize and understand your moods, emotions and drives, as well as their effect on others—measured by self-confidence, realistic self-assessment and a self-deprecating sense of humor. LEADERSHIP ARCHITECT ®—2, 11, 33, 55, 56 CHOICES ARCHITECT ®—components 8, 9, 10, 22

  2. Self-regulation - that ability to control or redirect disruptive impulses and moods; the propensity to suspend judgement; to think before acting - measures by trustworthiness and integrity, comfort with ambiguity, and openness to change. LEADERSHIP ARCHITECT ®—2, 11, 12, 32, 40, 41 CHOICES ARCHITECT ®—components 2, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 18, 19, 22

  3. Motivation - a passion to work for reasons that go beyond money or status; a propensity to pursue goals with energy and persistence - measured by strong drive to achieve, optimism, even in the face of failure and organizational commitment. LEADERSHIP ARCHITECT ®—, 35, 43, 53, 57 CHOICES ARCHITECT ®—components 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 14, 17, 21

  4. Empathy - the ability to understand the emotional makeup of other people; skill in treating people according to their emotional reactions - measured by expertise in building and retaining talent, cross-cultural sensitivity, and service to clients and customers. LEADERSHIP ARCHITECT ®—10, 21, 31, 33, 36, 56, 64 CHOICES ARCHITECT ®—components 8, 11, 14, 15

  5. Social Skill—proficiency in managing relationships and building networks; an ability to find common ground and build rapport - measured by effectiveness in leading change, persuasiveness and expertise in building and leading teams. LEADERSHIP ARCHITECT ®—8, 31, 36, 37, 60, 64, 65 CHOICES ARCHITECT ®—components 3, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 14, 15, 17, 19, 20, 23

IQ is for the most part a function of the neocortex in the brain whereas EI is centered in the limbic system and specifically dependent upon the amygdala. Most researchers (e.g.; Bouchard—the twin studies; Kagan—timid children, etc.) agree that there is a major (possibly around 50%) make-up component to EI. We have acknowledged this in our work on competency difficulty at the atomic level. On the other hand, they all agree that lots can be done with the other 50%. Goleman also makes the point that IQ cannot be trained with EI technology and EI cannot be significantly improved cognitively (you can't read a book or attend a lecture, both neocortext activities to fix an EI problem). He makes a plea for "limbic" training strategies.

So:

  • EI (EQ) is real

  • It's not new - it can be traced to at least 1960

  • It's now more important than was previously thought

  • A number of the 67 LEADERSHIP ARCHITECT ® competencies measure it.

  • The top 13 competency connections to EQ/EI in order of power are:

  • Listening (33), Sizing up People (56), Conflict Management (12), Understanding Others (64), Dealing with Ambiguity (2), Motivating Others (36), Patience (41), Composure (11), Interpersonal Savvy (31), Self Knowledge (55), Building Effective Teams (60), Standing Alone (57), Problem Solving (51)

  • CHOICES ® also measures part of it.

The top connections in order of power are:
Transaction Quality (14), Cool Transactor (8), Open to Diversity (11), Self Talk (22), Hot/Direct (17), Helps Others Succeed (15), Experimenter (12), Tinkerer (19), Self Aware (9), Visionary (6), Essence (2), Creator (3)

LEARNING SKILLS™, an exercise within the LEARNING ARCHITECT ® also measures part of it.

So you can continue to use your Lominger tools and measure EQ/EI.


Good Idea Generation - a process
www.managing-creativity.com

It seems incongruous that good idea generation can be a process or that a process may lead to insight. However, if you examine the behaviour of people who regularly generate good ideas - such as creatives in advertising - you will find that common patterns of behaviour do emerge and it is possible to make insight more likely.


a) Creativity is often triggered by the need to solve a problem.
People who generate good ideas tend to clearly identify the problem through a tangible process. They will look at a problem from various perspectives, create multiple definitions of it and ask many others to contribute to the precise nature and basic qualities of the problem as they see it.

b) Problems require intense investigation.

People who generate good ideas intensely investigate the problem using various knowledge bases and information sources. This allows frame breaking, reduces path dependency and parochialism and allows the intellectual cross-pollination that gets people thinking in new directions.

c) Forced productivity.

People who come up with good ideas force themselves to produce ideas without evaluating those ideas. They will separate creative from critical thinking and simply bash out ideas using a variety of techniques. Common methods involve linking to diverse objects and concepts, vertical and lateral thinking techniques. They will regularly maximise the size and quality of their idea pool. This patterns the mind into seeking answers and triggers cognitive activity at multiple levels.

d) Seek stimuli.

People who think of good ideas seek out stimuli from novel, diverse and numerous sources. The range of stimuli is infinite and this tends to suit people who have or benefit from a life long interest and curiosity in many subjects.

e) Constant conscious thought.

People who generate good ideas constantly think about the problem at all times. Often they describe themselves as incapable of thinking of anything else, no matter what distractions may be present. Hence the common occurrence of descriptions such as "obsessed," "single-minded," "preoccupied," "compulsive," "consumed," "captivated," "infatuated," "absorbed", "immersed," "possessed," "hooked" and so forth.

f) Engagement in rest and unrelated activities.

People who generate good ideas will allow for rest and engagement in unrelated activities, which allows unconscious processes to take over. It is at this point that insight is common. Having progressed past the previous stages numerous times, the solution presents itself when engaging in something completely unrelated.

g) Incubation.

Following intense cognitive activity, it may be that the problem is set aside. A solution may present itself at any point thereafter.


The above process can be learned, controlled and the effective use of it is just as much a matter of practice as any tool. It explains why some people are more able to regularly generate a large number of diverse and novel ideas. Two relevant footnotes should be applied:


a) It is compelling that the more complex the problem, the longer the
process.

b) Further, the closer the idea is to the origin of the S-curve (a
measurement of impediments), the greater the number of intermediary issues requiring resolution before a solution can be obtained.


Some words of wisdom sent to us by a friend of a friend

Everything I need to know, I learned from Noah's Ark.


ONE : Don't miss the boat.
TWO : Remember that we are all in the same boat.
THREE : Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark.
FOUR : Stay fit. When you're 60 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big.

FIVE : Don't listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done.
SIX : Build your future on high ground.
SEVEN : For safety's sake, travel in pairs.
EIGHT : Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs.
NINE : When you're stressed, float awhile.
TEN : Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the titanic by professionals.
ELEVEN : No matter the storm, when you are with God, there's always a rainbow waiting.

Most people walk in and out of your life......but FRIENDS leave footprints in your heart

 

The Paradox of our time

By George Carlin

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower view points.

We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less.

We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time.

We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgement, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch too much TV and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.

We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We learned how to make a living, but not a life.

We have added years to life, not life to years.

We have been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbour.

We conquered outer space but not inner space.

We have done larger things but not better things.

We have cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul.

We have conquered the atom, but not our prejudice.

We write more, but learn less.

We plan more but accomplish less.

We have learned to rush ... but not to wait.

We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships.

These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes.

These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throw away morality, one night stands, overweight bodies and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill.

It is time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom.

As time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or just hit delete.

Remember, spend time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn’t cost a cent.

Remember, to say, “I love you” to your spouse and your loved ones, but most of all mean it.

A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak, and give time to share precious thoughts in your minds.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER;

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

George Carlin, a comedian of the 70/80s, wrote this following the death of his wife.



IS A FUN WORKPLACE POSSIBLE ?

The business world is an environment where competitive wars are waged in a sometimes cut-throat, dog-eat-dog environment. CEOs (Chief Executive Officers) and Management are often likened to military leaders who take their troops into battle where only the best strategists and tacticians survive. And some don't, often falling on the very swords that once knighted their brilliance. There is no room for the weak and the faint-hearted. As such, management has to often wear a straight no-nonsense face and power dressed attire lest they lose control of the troops.

The proponents of Theory X will insist that employees will take advantage of the company the moment they get the chance.

So.. FUN?. What a sacrilege!. We are here to work, kill our competitors, increase the bottom line and keep the share-holders happy. There's no room for this juvenile behaviour.........FUN........indeed!!. You either run a tight ship or it will surely sink.

 

We only have to look around us to realise that the world has changed. SONY was perhaps the first to be criticised for producing the walkman, multi-coloured at that. Who would want another portable radio?. Well people did, especially when the radios and cassette players came in fun colours and shapes. McDonalds don't just sell Big Macs. They sell an experience that is fun and enjoyable; the colours, the toys, the playgrounds. IKEA offers some of the most simple, colourful and practical furniture we've encountered. All displayed and sold in a fun and enjoyable environment. The list goes on and on. We are surrounded by colours and fun everywhere we turn.

It's not just in colours and retail?

Compaq Computers used to have a culture where vending machines spit out free cans of Coke along spacious, leafy and colourful corridors. The gym is well used and so were the landscaped grounds where employees and their families could enjoy a picnic or a BBQ. It was totally egalitarianistic with first-in-best-dressed parking lots and designer cafeterias where positions don't matter and the CEO queue to ber served like everyone else.

The official dress code at Apple Computers wasn't a three piece powered-up killer suit. It was T-shirt and jeans and you like most of us must have been quite intrigued by the striking colours they have applied to their hardware.

Having Fun is a choice and how much Fun and in what manner depends on the culture of the corporation. We should add that it is not for every business but it can come in various forms and almost any organisation can increase its morale, productivity and customer-relations through the following:

Create Excitement - create buzz, making people feel special. Seek out uninvolved employees or those needing encouragement to offer more support. Encourage the more successful employees to help the weaker ones.
Be Flexible with people not straight-jacketed. Focus on the results of their work and goals attained not on time-clocks, reports and how time is spent.
Reward the Group not just the individual.
Remove barriers that prevent two-way communication and Celebrate - find reasons to celebrate; birthdays, corporate achievements, delivery of order, securing major accounts, new products, new markets, above normal results, major milestones reached. Make it a group celebration. Find occasions for the group to do fun things together.
Make Fun A Business -be very committed, dedicated and serious in what you do, but make every occasion fun, even those boring department or Board meetings. Involve your customers, suppliers and employees
Incentives and Perks for everybody, even family members and not just the individual. Everyone in the work team including family members have a part to play in an individual's performance and success. So why not reward them
too?

Fun can be simple. It doesn't have to be elaborate or costly. It is an investment towards greater productivity and motivation to achieve. It makes people want to go to work, stay longer at work and do better.

It goes without saying that there's no panacea for the world's woes likewise our corporate problems but if we have to spend the better part of our lives with one another, we might as well enjoy every minute of it.






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