Harvard Emotional Intelligence Class

Chapter 77 Using emotional intelligence to develop leadership (1)
The emotional blueprint can improve everyone's emotional processing ability, helping people to do a good job and live a happy life.If you are a leader, emotional intelligence can also help you better solve various problems encountered in management work, making you a leader with high emotional intelligence and promoting your career to glory.

(Section [-] Managers need to accommodate emotions

There is room for emotion in the sports field, so can there be room for emotion in the conference room?Some leaders may say that there is no room for emotion in the boardroom, nor should there be.In fact, managers (leaders) cannot make ideal decisions and effectively manage themselves and others without the involvement of emotions.Emotions work, they exist in our work, and they can be used by us.

Through hundreds of research studies, scientists have learned a lot about the role of emotions at work.Some of these research results may surprise you.For example, the manager's feeling is an important indicator and predictive sign of the work performance of the entire organization, and the management's feeling will have a direct impact on the company's profitability. A company with a common emotional outlook and a senior management with a positive emotional outlook will gain The profitability of the market will be 40-60% higher than that of companies with management with different emotional views.

How a leader feels also affects how and how strongly he or she influences others, which is key to leadership.A leader who is in a bad mood is more likely to make persuasive, thoughtful arguments.Generally speaking, sadness can help you think about problems more deeply and systematically.The same leader, if he is in a good mood, may have more creative and unique ideas in the process of influencing others.Leaders tend to generate more insights when they are in a good mood than when they are in a bad mood.In general, at work, feelings affect your judgment, job satisfaction, mutual-help behavior, creative thinking in problem-solving, and decision-making.

Doing these things well depends largely on whether you realize the role of emotion and whether you apply it to practice.When everyone is at a low point, do you consciously activate the team to encourage people to generate creative ideas, or use this time to evaluate and revise the proposal?Emotionally intelligent managers will align the emotions and actions of the moment.

★Comparison of Don and Pat
Don: A manager who can't judge feelings
Don is an excellent manager.In many ways, he is very efficient in his work, he is very satisfied with his work performance, and the feedback from others is also very good; at the same time, he has the ability to complete the project plan on time according to the needs of customers.However, at one of the most influential firms on Wall Street, there was a sudden and unexpected change in Don's work group: morale was significantly low and productivity dropped sharply.This surprised Tang very much.

Don was reminded of the problems that arose during and after the reassignment of staff eight months ago as he recounted the situation with the task force.After Don analyzed and resolved all the problems in a very unique way, the work could continue.He went on to analyze the workgroups there in detail, discussing other problems they encountered, as well as the nature of the workgroups' projects and a range of other reasons that might have caused a sudden drop in productivity.

Tang Luo listed possible reasons for the decline in productivity.There seemed to be many reasons, but Don ruled out all of them.None of these reasons seemed to be enough of a reason to have such a negative impact on staff for this highly productive group.Don's ability to analyze things is as good as his management and business ability, and he is also very open to personal failures.His analysis is very systematic, detailed, logical and reasonable, but his analysis is wrong.Don methodically addresses specific issues without making an emotional analysis of the situation.After the reassignment of the company's personnel, although the staff's commute to work was shortened, their sense of belonging was weakened, and the employees who were left in the original Wall Street company felt a sense of loss.

Only by accurately analyzing the root causes of morale and productivity declines can the correct actions be taken and positive outcomes achieved.Don was able to turn things around only when he addressed the real problem, the deep unspoken need of the staff.As a manager, this is part of what it's like to be a manager: to judge how others feel, to analyze how their feelings guide their thinking, to understand the reasons for their feelings, to be open to the information contained in other people's feelings and to base their information to make the most rational decisions.

Pat: Highly Effective Group Leader

Pat is an excellent leader with a solid technical background and a proven track record.The members of his group are loyal to him and to the organization as a whole.Like everyone, he will have "bad days" and he will make mistakes, but what makes him effective in interpersonal relationships and high-pressure situations is that he is not only familiar with the principles of how organizations work, but also has a good sense of judgment in situations. emotional development.Usually he can anticipate when employees will react painfully to orders from him or the organization, and he knows how to buffer the pain, or if a pertinent message emerges, he and the team members will respond to it. It is discussed.But sometimes he also misses crucial clues, and he adds to the group's frustration.To his credit, he eventually "woke up" and did what a compassionate leader should do. ★
Leaders who get hooked on the pain of others often have this belated “raid” of awareness some time after the fact, especially if the situation is complex, if they have too much to deal with, or if, like Pat Similarly, if they invest their personal feelings in the process of dealing with things, the situation of being confused by the authorities will temporarily occur.But in general, these leaders are worthy of being excellent detoxifiers (dissolving negative emotions), knowing the work or social situation around them intimately, and being able to adapt well to their own and other people's emotional states.

(Second section, be a master of emotional detoxification

Leaders and their organizations are toxin producers, a fact that cannot be denied anywhere.But these toxins—workplace misery—can be managed more effectively if leaders within organizations consciously act as detoxifiers.

Some people are really good at knowing how to pay attention to others, and are happy to stop what they are doing to help another person in distress.And that’s exactly what leaders who are good at detoxification do.

Toxicity-focused leaders are beginning to realize that, as they evolve to understand the situation, they should be vigilant and open-minded to the presence and signals of others around them, rather than being biased or defensive about the emotional "data" they experience. manner.They also respond generously to situations.There is a correlation between paying attention to emotional states and being more sensitive to their nature.Being alert to what's going on in others makes leaders more likely to pay attention to what's going on around them, and paying attention to what's going on around them makes leaders more likely to be alert to what's going on in others.The alertness and openness that leaders display to the situations they encounter strengthens their ability to intervene in harmful situations and come up with solutions.Openness of heart allows leaders to make realistic judgments about the situation, and a magnanimous disposition encourages more compassionate and loving behavior.Employees in trouble don't always tell their leaders exactly where their pain is or how deep it is, nor do they make it clear that they're suffering in some form.The leader's job is to look for cues and symptoms of distress, to empathize with someone else's misfortune, without mixing in their own personal judgment.

Caring leaders know that they need to be alert to all the emotional cues that occur in their relationships, no matter how subtle.When an employee reacts emotionally, it's often based on how that person feels about something happening in their life, whether it's work-related or not.Paying attention to emotional cues and being alert to what happens in the ensuing conversation makes it more likely that the source of the distress will come out.Leaders who are sensitive to the emotional state of their employees tend to make better-informed decisions, and their decisions have longer-lasting effects, than those who react impulsively or based on personal judgment.

Showing concern requires nothing more than being a compassionate human being.Often, it is the top leaders of an organization who are in such an optimal position to determine how much their employees care about each other.John Chambers, CEO of Cisco, is a good example of this kind of leadership.For example, he asks employees to send him voicemails for difficult customer questions.The idea is to capture the speaker's mood—frustration or worry—and he wants his employees to follow suit and treat their customers in the same way so they can get real information.In other words, he lets his employees know that emotions have value and that written words alone are not enough to convey all the information.The tone, rate, and rhythm of speaking can convey how the person feels about the situation.Over time, this attention and feedback can boost an organization’s EQ index as people become more aware of and respond more positively to the feelings of their colleagues.

Finally, an important aspect of giving attention to others is being aware of cultural influences.Cultures are "full of emotions" and people often feel that they are deeply influenced by the values ​​and standards of their respective cultures.Emotional attachment to a culture affects how leaders and other members of the organization respond to change and perceive efforts to eliminate sources of distress.Leaders need to manage the values ​​and standards within the organization as they assess and respond to distressing situations.

Leaders who are good at responding to emotions empower their employees by putting them first.Like expressing concern, a people-centred approach first ensures that in any decision and any course of action, leaders recognize that employees are critical to outcomes; employees are capital, not something to be spent at will.So good leaders ask questions like, "How will this change affect those who have to implement it?" and "How are they doing now?"

In toxic environments, leaders detoxify best when they make the feelings and well-being of their employees or co-workers a priority.Leaders need to have conversations with employees before, during, and after launching any organizational initiative.When leaders put people first, the intellectual and emotional exchange between them and their followers becomes a major feature of effective detoxification behavior.

These leaders know that things like change often cause unhappiness in those affected by them.Some employees may have to change work habits that made them feel comfortable and emotionally stable in the past; some employees may have to say goodbye to their teams or leave their beloved positions.When change comes, unexpected pressures can come suddenly.As a detoxifier, the leader should keep the emotional health of employees in mind, and find ways to prevent the expected adverse effects, or minimize the impact when it occurs.Leaders should also be alert to the early signs of frustration and find ways to deal with it at all stages.

Relieving pain is a job leaders need to anticipate themselves doing.So the ground must be loosened before the seeds of a healthy response are sown.Being a competent leader when others are suffering is also a matter of luck, i.e. being in the right place, at the right time, or getting “inspiration” from someone about a tricky situation to come, and being able to anticipate Emotional response, thoughtful planning that comes with change.

Leaders "sow the seeds" because they know that pain always comes with some organizational behavior, whether it's the boss's behavior or elsewhere, and must be ready to take steps to restore the balance.They also do it because they believe that making the workplace more human is part of what they do.This requires organizations to invest in processes that enable people to respond to each other and to difficult situations in ways that are caring, considerate, and respectful.When they know that it will take time, patience, and persistent effort to bring about a qualitatively important change in the toxicity within an organization, they begin to sow the seeds.

All of these actions can be called "defensive detoxification," which requires a leader to stand firm without knowing when or if his strategy will be adopted.

Finally, there is another example of how leaders can sow seeds within an organization by modeling caring and respectful behavior.When a woman took a job as vice president of operations at a retail chain, she was handed a toxin-ridden mess.She described how she modeled healthy behaviors: From the very beginning, I made it clear to everyone to maintain a work-life balance.I will work as long as I can until I get the job done.My sense of balance comes from the mindset that I make sure I'm working not to pass the time or to "be seen", but because I'm adding value.In addition, the principle of my life is that where a person is, there is a heart.In other words, I never think about work when I'm at home, and vice versa.This strategy keeps my mind sharp, my energy focused, my interest strong and my work deeply loved.

Since the vice president chose to stay home with the kids on her days off, she wanted everyone in the company to follow her example.People in the organization eventually adopted the new behavior, and the quality of work and performance improved dramatically.

Occasionally, leaders must act boldly to root out toxic emotions in the workplace.They need to buffer the sources of pain to neutralize their effects.

But buffering the source of toxins takes more time and effort than intervening quickly.To dissipate the toxins that have built up and have permeated the system and employees takes a lot of energy over a considerable period of time - a little grit and determination are not enough.

While not every leader is born a detoxifier, there are a few practices leaders can implement to exert constructive control over employee suffering.When leaders put these practices in place, they can more quickly notice employee pain and, in some cases, prevent it.Compassionate actions by leaders can significantly help keep a workforce emotionally healthy and energized.

First, leaders must be willing to assign responsibility—that is, who within the organization is responsible for the toxicity, or where the pain arises.

Second, leaders need to take a range of actions to address workplace toxicity.They need to be “people first,” keeping in mind the value of their employees and how company decisions will affect them emotionally.They need to pay attention to other people's emotional changes, and must learn to display professional intimacy, that is, noticing painful emotions in the workplace through their own and other people's emotional reactions to the situation, but without confusing the lines between the two and allowing themselves to become overly involved. into a painful situation.They need to sow the seeds of positive strategies and institutions in the organization to prevent unnecessary toxicity from happening and avoid causing harm after the fact.

Finally, compassionate leaders must learn to buffer against sources of emotional toxicity.Like many other detoxification and leadership activities in a broader sense, these practices require conviction and courage on the part of those who perform them.

(Section [-]. Use Your Power Artistically

There are many who dislike power, perhaps out of a selfish nature.But to be fair, politics is not only negative, it should also include: everyone's policies and strategies established according to generally accepted rules in order to obtain certain benefits.A person who is good at using power and has greater influence can do nothing more than advocate good arguments and gain support for his own views.They are most likely to listen carefully to the voices of others when they are planning for the best interests of the greatest number of people, or formulating policies and strategies to achieve the most important values, or arguing with people over major disagreements.

(End of this chapter)