Emotional Capitalists

Martyn Newman Ph.D

A statement

The following is a reference summary, by Minerva, of the original work written and researched by Martyn Newman Ph.D

No attempt is made to infringe copyright by claiming any credit for this summary

Title: Emotional CapitalistsPublished by: John Wiley & Sons (Australia) LimitedFirst published: 2007

Emotional intelligence

Research shows convincingly that EQ is more important thanIQ in almost every role and many times more important in

leadership roles. This finding is accentuated as we move from the control philosophy of the industrial age to an empowering

release philosophy of the knowledge worker. Stephen Covey

Emotional intelligence

An indispensable set of social and emotional competencies for leveraging knowledge and emotions to drive positive change and business success – the ability to regulate emotions in ourselves and others Customer – so they buy into brand and organisations Employees – intellectual and emotional investors in the company

Today’s world is all about selling, exploiting, organising and packaging time and talent (Jonas Ridderstrale). EQ,

therefore, with a focus on people and skills is highly relevant

Key Players

1980’s Reuven Bar-On – Developed ‘emotional quotient’ and first coined term EQ. Israeli Psychologist

Developed the twoLeading models

Popularised by American JournalistDavid Golman who wrote a book,

1995 Emotional Intelligence, summarising the research

Further developed by John Mayer, University of New Hampshire and Peter Salovey of Yale

Existing modelsUsually identify 4 or 5 broad components and then further break these areas down into a variety of competencies

Leadership Performance

Self AwarenessAssertiveness

Self-ManagementSelf-controlSelf-confidenceSelf-reliance

Social SkillsRelationship skills

AdaptabilityFlexibilitySelf-actualisation

Social-Awareness

Seven dynamic assets

Signature strengths of highly effective leaders

Anyone who is genuinely motivated can develop his or her emotional intelligence and boost emotional capital. Seven areas stand out:Research by Martyn Newman shows high performing leaders score high on self-reliance, assertiveness and optimism. These three competencies enable leaders to:

Model self assured behaviour Communicate a clear view of the organisation’s vision and direction Inspire the confidence of others Deal with setbacks in a positive, constructive way

Leaders also score high

Self-actualisation: psychologist Steven Stein suggests there are two components to this – have a passion for what you do and be well rounded

Self-confidence: built on the twin emotions of self-liking and self-competence

Relationship skills: ability to build constructive, productive relationships. Command and control no longer in style

Empathy: differentiates stars from average performers. Enables leaders to focus on the whole person not just the tasks to be performed

Self-reliance

Sits at the heart of emotional leadership and involves 2 competencies:

Self-reliance – the recognition that you are a complete and self-directed individual and have the power and responsibility to take decisions and make choicesSelf-belief – the ability to have confidence in your judgement and the willingness to take action and put yourself on the line to achieve your objectives

If you want to lead, you have to look and feel the part. “No-one can make you feel inferior without your consent” Eleanor Roosevelt

Master: Model: Mentor: Mood

Self-reliance development

Accept personal responsibility Act the part Become chief storytelling officer Suspend judgement of self Celebrate small wins Model yourself on those you admire, identify strengths and

eradicate negative thinking

Assertiveness

In terms of emotional intelligence, assertiveness is fundamentally a communication strategy driven by marketing

principles. It’s not just about finding the middle ground between being aggressive or passive. And it’s not just about managing conflict. It’s about doing an effective job of selling your ideas and views to all your customers, even when they don’t agree with them or actively resist them. To do this it is

necessary to use a marketing strategy that considers the minds of your customers

Assertiveness development

Communicate in an honest, straightforward manner and be considerate

Communicate a strong vision of the future, a strong set of values by which to operate, a clear purpose and a sense of being available when asked

Know what you want and why important, before you speak Pause to understand and recognise the feelings of others Stay in control of own feelings and approach people in a

rational and calm manner Establish direct eye contact and use a neutral tone of voice Document your position by recalling the facts Take time to genuinely acknowledge you understand

Optimism

As a strategy – a way of dealing with difficulties and sensing opportunity

Look for the benefit and seek the valuable lessonLet go of the negative emotion and focus on the task to be accomplishedChoose an optimistic, authentic approach and through your behaviour encourage your people to approach the challenges of the business in the same way. Model the way

Optimism development

Look for the benefits/learning in every situation Focus on the task not the emotion Don’t take set backs personally. Take responsibility but

recognise the influence of external factors View experiences as opportunities for growth and mastery De-catastrophise and De-personalise

Self-actualisation

Have a passion for what you do for without it the emotional tank runs dry and we have to rely on technical skills alone

Discover The gift of creative discontent Where you stand determines what you see Who you listen to determines what you hear What you do determines who you are How you feel determines how well you do

Self-actualisation contd.

Work-life balance – take back control. Laurence Boldt suggested there were 4 dimensions to our experience The practical you – managing life The potential you – speaks to become our best The productive you – achieving a meaningful life’s work The personal you – relating well to others

All should work in balance to sustain emotional stocks

Self-actualisation development

Do ‘what you can’ Pay attention to elements of the flow experience that fuel your

passion Establish clear goals of what you’re trying to achieve Cultivate a genuine self-awareness that is open to receiving

feedback Become aware of your discontent Cultivate and enlarge your vision to fuel your passion Mix with the brightest and best and read inspiring stories Act ‘as if’ you are already the leader you want to be Focus attention on positive strengths Give positive feedback regularly Ensure that all important areas of your life get the attention

they deserve

Self-confidence

How you view yourself affects virtually every aspect of your confidence

It is built on two pillars – a feeling of self-worth and personal competence – and supports the ability to respond actively and positively to value-creating opportunities

Self-confidence is a collection of all your images and beliefs about yourself collected over a life time

Self-confidences is defined as self-esteem – the more you like yourself the better you will perform. An energy source that determines levels of self-confidence and enthusiasm

Self-liking is determined by how closely your self-image and current performance/behaviour match your ideal-self – your picture of how you would perform if you were at your best

Self-confidence contd.

Self- competence is the inner mirror – where we look to internally evaluate performance in a particular situation

It usually manifests as negative self-talk and this is the most powerful trigger of anxiety, dramatically lowering stocks of emotional capital and limiting performance

Negative thoughts are programmed in us as children ( 432 negative to 32 positive statements per day on average) – we can re-program ourselves with practice

Self-confidence development

Make a conscious decision that you are ok and totally accept yourself just as you are

Celebrate your achievements Practice self-responsibility for your choices and actions and

increase self-reliance and take control to achieve what you want

Practise self-assertion and communicate in an honest, straightforward way

Let your people know that you expect them to succeed Provide your team with support, give constant positive

feedback and be open to their views Recognise and acknowledge those around you for their

individual talents

Relationship skills

This is about consciously managing and developing the most valuable asset a company or person possesses – relationships

In today’s competitive environment they often signify the real competitive advantage for many businesses

There are three conditions Relationships work best when people are recognised and treated as

equals People don’t collaborate with you just because they like you –

benefits need to exist for them Effective relationships posses an element of autonomy – freedom to

contribute

Relationship skills development

Strengthen your belief that people are basically your equals and interact with them on equal terms

Treat your people as partners and create rewarding wins for them

Empower people by creating an opportunity for them to contribute by defining and shaping a response to a task

Promote positive emotions by addressing people’s fundamental need for affiliation, involvement, recognition and accomplishment

Demonstrate care and respect Encourage personal and professional development

Empathy

Transformational leaders are distinguished by the ability to empathise with others using both cognitive and emotional dimensions

Empathy shows that you understand how the other person feels – it is not sympathy

Where you stand determines what you see – empathy put you emotionally in the other person’s shoes

Listen well – pay attention, posture of involvement, open questions, pause and paraphrase

Empathy contd.

Treat people as human beings by validating their emotions – listen to the emotions as well as the facts

Communicate that you understand the other person’s experience to build valuable connections Reflect context and content Identify the thoughts and feelings Help articulate deeper unspoken feelings

Empathy development

Practise active listening Ask clear, open questions that draw out a person’s point of

view and feelings Paraphrase what you have heard using inquiring tone Suspend judgement and develop and attitude of curiosity Take an active interest in your stakeholders as people and

create rewarding wins for them Make your people feel like they are the most interesting

people on earth by demonstrating empathic reflection Look for the greatness in others and support it by providing

feedback to others at every opportunity

Today business competes on the basis of emotion and intelligence. It takes real emotional strength to lead and whilst it is not easy, being intelligent about your emotions is critical to

success as a leader

Personal levels of emotional capital determine one’s capacity to inspire or demoralise others. Paying attention to the

development of emotional intelligence will help sustain personal energy, enthusiasm and commitment

It is the energy and enthusiasm that people bring to work that will determine the capacity of your business to create products,

solve problems and deliver superior service. In the end, your vision can only be realised through them