Lee Ellis's Blog, page 211

4 Steps to Battling Leadership Emotions with an EQ Plan

The commercials on television today highlight treatments for low this and low that, but unfortunately, we don’t hear much about low Emotional Intelligence (EQ). Here are some symptoms: You know you’re brilliant, yet you find yourself reacting with impatience and anger with others who just don’t get it. Maybe your feedback to a teammate failed to come across the way you had intended.  If as a leader at work, at home or in your community you have any of these symptoms, you’re possibly suffering from low Emotional Intelligence (or Low EQ).

As we know, the natural behaviors of each person are unique and specialized. The key to good Emotional Intelligence is awareness of our emotions and those of others.

“Until we become personally aware of and accountable for our own emotions, we’re clueless as to how to manage them as a leader.” [Tweet This]

Likewise, an awareness of the emotions of others helps us manage our response to facilitate the most effective interaction.

Let’s walk through the four steps of emotional intelligence.

1. Recognize your own emotions. You’re in a meeting and Bob says something that you “know” is absolutely wrong. Your first instinct is to publicly call him out and correct his error—but you’ve been down that road in the past. Fortunately, you recognize that you’re irritated and coach yourself to hold back on your response.

2. Manage your emotions.  You’re a quick thinker and you remind yourself that Bob is a bright guy too. To show him respect, you could say something like, “Gee Bob, I had not thought of it like that before. Can you explain the logic of how that would work?”  Of course, your tone of voice and body language are very critical because they reveal your true emotions.  Once Bob gives his explanation, more than likely you will see that he’s just operating with a different perspective.  In any case, you’ve managed your emotions and maintained your decorum—signs of good EQ.

3. Recognize the emotions of others. On the way back from the conference room, you run into a peer, Jen, who seems a bit down and overwhelmed.  You’re depending on her to deliver the data that you need for the next step of your project and the deadline is tomorrow. Your immediate fear is that it’s not going to happen. Now that you’ve been working to raise your EQ, you mentally push back on your fear and consider what your teammate is up against and how her confidence and energy are sagging. It doesn’t take an EQ genius to realize that putting a guilt trip on her is probably not a good idea.

4. Respond appropriately/effectively to the emotions of others. Because you’re not fear-motivated, you focus on encouraging Jen.  After all, she does good work and what she needs right now is an emotional boost.  So you choose to show her some empathy and encouragement, telling her that you understand things are difficult right now and asking if there are ways that you and your team can help. You close out by reminding her that she is a great teammate, valuable in your company’s culture, and that you have confidence in her.

The Power of EQ

Having good EQ may sound somewhat soft, but it’s actually very powerful because it’s about being the most effective leaders possible. It begins with awareness of ourselves and our unique behavior and perspective. During leadership development training, we use a behavioral assessment like Leadership Behavior DNA to get a baseline for all team members and then coach them on how to relate and communicate with different behavioral types. The results are immediate and very effective!

“Developing a sharp EQ gets easier with practice, and it makes you the kind of leader that others want to follow.” [Tweet This]

Try it and see for yourself. Also, please comment on your experience and suggestions in the section below.

LE

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What Emotions Can Stall Your Leadership?

[image error]Knowing an individual’s natural leadership behaviors of your team is the smart way to lead. With this valuable information, you can determine the right fit for a particular job, evaluate timing for staff promotions, or train an entire team how to work better in unity, productivity, and performance.

Learn More about Leadership Behavior DNA(tm) and Contact Us for customized proposal.

 

 

 

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Insightful Mini Biography Clip – Thomas Edison

Today, we all benefit from pioneer and leader, Thomas Edison. Have you seen the short biography clip below? His inventions such as the light bulb and movie camera changed the world. Please watch and let us know your comments –

 

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Leading with Honor Wisdom for Today, April 20, 2018

“Organizations are not designed for innovation. Quite the contrary, they are designed for ongoing operations.” – Vijay Govindarajan

 

 

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The Latest Leadership Recommendation from Lee’s Bookshelf – “The Three-Box Solution”

The Latest Leadership Recommendation from Lee’s Bookshelf – “The Three-Box Solution: A Strategy for Leading Innovation” by Vijay Govindarajan.

How do you envision a change in your current business model before a crisis forces you to abandon it? The three-box framework makes leading innovation easier because it gives leaders a simple vocabulary and set of tools for managing and measuring these different sets of behaviors and activities across all levels of the organization.

Read More on the Good Reads website. And if you’ve read this book, please let us know your thoughts too – thank you!

 

 

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Quick Advice: 4 Steps to Better Leadership Boundaries

In today’s culture, far too many people seem to lack respect for many of the boundaries that establish order and hold us together as a civilized society. Perhaps you have noticed the same situation. Here are four steps from our Courageous Accountability Model that can guide you to create healthy boundaries with colleagues, clients, or customers –  

Clarify.

Make sure everyone understands expectations, the boundaries and their purpose and why they exist. Consequences must also be understood when boundaries are violated. Every sport has a rulebook to clarify the rules and penalties. You need to make sure your expectations and consequences are clear also.

and 3. Connect and Collaborate effectively.

Consider the unique people and groups and how their expectations about boundaries and consequences may be different. For example, sales people will make more mistakes with details than ops people. Always have and always will.  You must connect with them differently.

Discuss boundaries with others. Seek wisdom and be willing to flex when the need arises. Look for areas where you may be setting a boundary that is inappropriate for the current situation. A new hire may need a boundary that may be unnecessary and undermining for an experienced person.

Keep an open and ongoing dialogue about boundaries and help others see the value in them for themselves and the team.

Confront or Celebrate.

Celebrate those who meet expectations and confront those who don’t with appropriate consequences.  Be wise, don’t react, follow up with a balanced and firm response.

LE

 

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Clear Your Path to Building Courageous Leadership Culture – See Inside

Do you need a clear path to building a culture of courageous leadership? No matter your work or industry, this infographic is a practical tool to understand the lack of accountability, the obstacles, and the 4C’s of making accountability a regular part of honorable leadership.

Please get your free copy and let us know what you think in the comments section below – thank you

 

 

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Turning a Blind Eye – Insight from Tommy Spaulding

Author and speaker Tommy Spaulding shares his biggest regret as a leader in the article below. Great insight and an opportunity to learn from another leader on doing the right thing.

It’s worth the read on his blog.

Please let us know what you think by commenting below – thank you

 

 

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On This Day in Leadership History, April 15th

On this day in leadership history in 1865, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln died from injuries inflicted by John Wilkes Booth. He was only 56 years old. John Wilkes Booth was shot and killed a few days later at the age of 27.

What’s the leadership lesson? Two different lives, two different paths. Over 150 years later, what will be your lasting legacy as an honorable leader? What will you known for by others? Pace yourself for the long haul versus the short-term gains.  

Abraham Lincoln – Wikipedia

 

 

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Leading with Honor Wisdom for Today, April 13, 2018

“In an effort to have a strong, distinctive voice and be heard, boundaries are ignored that would’ve ironically given a leader more influence and credibility.” – Lee Ellis

 

 

 

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A Leading with Honor FAQ – Breaking the “Nice” Culture

A Leading with Honor FAQ – “We have had an old style ‘nice’ culture for a long time, and as we start implementing accountability for higher standards, folks are balking and doing a lot of whining. How can we handle this?”

Lee Ellis’ Answer – “I’ve seen this firsthand in several companies so I know what you are talking about. First, you have to almost expect this since no one likes change—and especially when they feel it tightening down on their old ways and habits. It’s hard, and some people are just not able to make the change. I believe in giving people choices. If they can perform to reasonable standards and not complain, then they can stay—with the understanding that they will have to adapt to the changes in technology and processes that may come. If they want promotions and incentive pay raises, they must pick up the pace. Realistically, it takes about ten years to completely change the culture in an old line company, especially where they have been a protected monopoly like a utility company.”

Please share your comments and unique perspective below, too.

(This FAQ was taken from Lee’s latest book, Engage with Honor – learn more at www.EngageWithHonor.com.)

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