In yesterday’s Advisor, we looked at self-awareness aspects of Emotional Intelligence or EQ. Today, again courtesy of Travis Bradbury and Jean Greaves, we’ll explore some of EQ’s social awareness strategies, and we’ll also talk about building your HR IQ for 2010.
Bradberry and Greaves are co-founders of TalentSmart®, a leading provider of emotional intelligence tests and training. Today’s suggestions for putting emotional intelligence into practice come from their new book, Emotional Intelligence 2.0.
Clear Away Your Clutter
We’re always having internal chats, Bradberry and Greaves say, but we need to clear out that clutter before we can listen and have conversations. And then we have to avoid focusing on how we’re going to respond to the other person—that’s counterproductive. You can’t listen while at the same time thinking about how to respond. To focus your listening, try leaning in toward the speaker.
Develop a Back Pocket Question
Some conversations just don’t seem to get rolling, and others die away quickly. When that happens, you need to pull something out of your back pocket, Emotional Intelligence 2.0 says. It can be something like “What do you think about x?” However, avoid politics, religion and other potentially sensitive areas.
Live in the Moment
Make being in the present a habit. If you worry about the past (“Oh I should not have done that”) or stress about the future (“How am I going to handle this tomorrow?”) it’s impossible to focus on the present.
It’s 2010—What’s your readiness status? Up on the new laws and requirements? How about a New Year’s checkup—BLR’s January 13 webinar lays it out for you. Get more information.
Practice the Art of Listening
Listening isn’t just about hearing words, it’s also about listening to the tone, speed, and volume of the voice. What’s being said? What’s not being said? What hidden messages exist below the surface? When someone is talking, stop everything else and listen fully until the other person is finished speaking. For example, when you are on a phone call, don’t type an e-mail.
Understand the Rules of the Culture Game
Our world is a vast melting pot, Bradberry and Greaves say, and because there is no way around it, you must learn how to become emotionally intelligent across cultures. The secret is to treat others as they want to be treated, not how you would want to be treated.
The first step in building cross-cultural EQ is to listen and watch more than you would when dealing with people from your own culture. And ask specific questions.
Test for Accuracy
Sometimes you just can’t read a situation. In these cases, there’s a simple social awareness strategy—just ask. If Steve has a sullen face and looks at the ground, but says he’s doing fine, you might say, “It looks like you are feeling down about something. Did something happen?” Stating what you see and asking a direct question is a reflective statement at its best. You will likely find out as much as Steve wants you to know, but at least you’ve reached out.
As we mentioned in yesterday’s Advisor, authors Bradberry and Greaves claim that emotional intelligence is responsible for 58% of performance. We suspect that your HR intelligence may be responsible for the other 42%, and where are you going to go to get that?
Our editors have a simple solution—BLR’s special webinar, What’s New for 2010: The Pending Federal Legislation, Regs, and Court Cases You Need to Know About.
This past year was a big one for employment law, with revised FMLA regulations going into effect and employers struggling to sort out just how the ADA Amendments Act altered their responsibilities and expanded workers’ rights.
But brace yourself—2010 is stacking up to be another blockbuster year for labor and employment law.
Hoping 2010 holds no surprises? Good luck—experts suggest it could be a banner year for HR challenges. Get your briefing January 13 at BLR’s exclusive webinar, What’s New for 2010: The Pending Federal Legislation, Regs, and Court Cases You Need to Know About. Get more information.
Chatter continues from Washington on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, the Employee Free Choice Act, and the Paycheck Fairness Act. And the circuit courts across the country have been hard at work handing down decisions that affect your obligations.
Add to the mix the Obama administration’s resolve to hammer out a workable solution to the nation’s healthcare crisis, and employers face the tall task of anticipating where they will need to focus their compliance efforts in 2010 and beyond.
You need a quick briefing on 2010 and BLR just scheduled it—a new 90-minute webinar called What’s New for 2010: The Pending Federal Legislation, Regs, and Court Cases You Need to Know About.
The date is Wednesday, January 13, 2010. The time, 1:30—3 p.m. (Eastern time—adjust for your time zone). As with all BLR webinars, one fee trains all the staff you can fit around a conference phone, you can get your (and their) specific phoned-in or e-mailed questions answered in an extensive Q&A that follows the presentation. And your satisfaction is assured or you get a full refund.
What if you can’t attend on that date? Preorder the conference CD. For more information on the conference and the expert presenting it, to register, or to preorder the CD, click here. We’ll be happy to make the arrangements.
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