“Curmudge, you’re reading Emotional Intelligence 2.0 (1)? That’s psychology!
When did you stop being a chemist?”
“Eight years ago Julie, when they stopped paying me.”
“Well if pay is a measure of value, you must not be worth
very much.”
“There’s an element of truth there, Julie. Our society tends to feel that senior
citizens are useless. Not only
would it be impossible for me to find a paying job at my age, it’s also
difficult to find something that I can do for free.”
“Then why should you study anything, especially psychology?”
“It’s interesting and potentially of value. Let’s look at the book together. The principal topics are self-awareness
and self-management strategies and social awareness and relationship management
strategies. Basically, it’s about
getting along with yourself and with other people.”
“Great! That’s
just what a curmudgeon needs.”
“Oh, it’s not for me.
If I were to practice what the book preaches, I would lose my
curmudgeon’s license. It’s for
everyone else, and especially for managers serving as coaches. After they acquire all of the other
skills we’ve been talking about, this should be the frosting on their cake.”
“I can’t wait to learn more, Curmudge. May I start with a question? Several months
ago we mentioned a typical physician’s paradigm, or window through which he
views the world. Does one’s
paradigm relate to his or her emotional intelligence?”
“It appears that way, Julie. Here’s another definition of paradigm, ’the models our minds
use to filter information.’
Emotional intelligence goes a bit farther; it pertains to what our minds
do with the information that comes in through that ‘window on the world.’ “
“I hope your ‘window’ is not turning into frosted glass, Old
Man.”
“Contrary to popular belief, it is not. Now let’s more properly introduce our
topic with some definitions quoted from Bradberry and Greaves’ book. ‘Emotional intelligence is your ability
to recognize and understand emotions in yourself and others, and your ability
to use this awareness to manage your behavior and relationships.’ “
“Gosh, Curmudge.
That sounds as if it impacts most everything we do and say every day.”
“To continue, we’ll quote the authors’ definitions of the
four components of emotional intelligence that we mentioned at the start of our
discussion:
‘Self-awareness is your ability to accurately perceive your
own emotions at the moment and understand your tendencies across situations.’
‘Self-management is what happens when you react—or do not
react.’
‘Social awareness is your ability to a accurately pick up on
emotions of other people and understand what is really going on with them.’
‘Relationship management is your ability to use your
awareness of your own emotions and those of others to manage interactions
successfully.’ “
“Wow, Curmudge.
Are you sure this isn’t the textbook for Mind-Reading 101? Does it come with a crystal ball and
tea leaves?”
“It sounds that way, Julie. But I’m sure you’ll agree that having these talents would be
a great help in a leader’s efforts to establish rapport with her team in
gemba.”
“You’ve got that right, Curmudge, and I’ll bet that we’ll
say more about this topic in our next discussion.”
Kaizen Curmudgeon
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