tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31199981575759560352024-03-02T09:30:50.361-08:00Shirkani's MusingsThe blog of Jen Shirkani Emotional Intelligence (EQ) keynote speaker and published author. Jen Shirkanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691541764173544550noreply@blogger.comBlogger433125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119998157575956035.post-78020080438621105922023-07-06T07:30:00.001-07:002023-07-06T07:30:00.135-07:00Months in a Minute<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCdClPDA8NF8E8hkt0tTXQbIFNHVCQk2DigPtWsE7XjOyTodbtq9I_5gpWHLTjTpEj0Zn9uyNSA7zzsmipAlhuMAYDYFWRlzqpEo2KAmjrF9VaU6j_aLUMMh8XcDfegaRxoO9qXH6_EQrylRHNzupmEatIefC7VHjJjBJsn-oz8DSFRaZTWJSMky-zrLy_/s2016/WBL%202023.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1344" data-original-width="2016" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCdClPDA8NF8E8hkt0tTXQbIFNHVCQk2DigPtWsE7XjOyTodbtq9I_5gpWHLTjTpEj0Zn9uyNSA7zzsmipAlhuMAYDYFWRlzqpEo2KAmjrF9VaU6j_aLUMMh8XcDfegaRxoO9qXH6_EQrylRHNzupmEatIefC7VHjJjBJsn-oz8DSFRaZTWJSMky-zrLy_/w640-h425/WBL%202023.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: arial;"><p>Welcome back to the long-lost Month in a Minute blog series! It has been a long time and yes, we are still here. Our business activity is still impacted by the pandemic response and the subsequent changes to the professional development industry but we have learned to adjust and have seen some live events return this year (finally!).</p></span><p></p><p class="x_MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #212121; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p><p class="x_MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #212121; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We have been closely watching and reading about the work-from-home/return-to-the-office debate play out. Most of our clients have a hybrid setup letting employees decide if and when they want to be in the office. Because it’s not structured, many still spend a lot of office time meeting via Zoom or Teams with those who are not in the office, which seems to me to defeat the whole point of going in. But there are some people who definitely like the office environment, even with a skeleton crew. The extroverts need human interaction and some introverts have distractions at home making it easier to concentrate in a quiet office. Others are fighting hard to keep their full-time remote status, struggling to see any benefit of going back to the office at all, even a few days a week. What seems like a pretty common opinion across leaders everywhere is what we are doing now doesn’t seem to support maximum productivity or employee engagement. Gallup just released their State of the Global Workforce and after a spike in employee engagement in 2020, things have leveled back down to pre-pandemic levels. So it doesn’t seem that full-time remote or flexible hybrid options have made any difference. We at Penumbra have some theories about why that is the case, but that is for another article. I would love to hear your thoughts on why you think engagement isn’t higher.</span></p><p class="x_MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #212121; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> <br /></span></p><p class="x_MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #212121; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">What was very compelling about the Gallup study is the number of people who said they feel more stress and anger at work than ever before…thus making emotional intelligence a CRITICAL competency. Smart companies are realizing that skipping employee leadership learning events, onsite workshops, and in-person one-on-ones for three years has come at a cost, and are starting to get back to these important activities. Just a reminder that we offer EQ and change style assessments, executive coaching, webinars and workshops.</span></p><p class="x_MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #212121; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p><p class="x_MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #212121; margin: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCU7xBSV8ktuwisq03jI-IsBMqYRaAv7-DGslr1FSDahsQibHCi4Ty6DrkN21qui6ZZGnj3SyePXex2xgEjT7IVqPqzL9_Q5ynbItwmJ73MyLWCvsaRTeItnZxdngFl-Fpy3X8YkAFKEuIjzdgqY2U3J66CKSOeXD-p-nHOuUric8FjcPIiO__1Ut4_WNH/s712/MIM%20July%202023.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="712" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCU7xBSV8ktuwisq03jI-IsBMqYRaAv7-DGslr1FSDahsQibHCi4Ty6DrkN21qui6ZZGnj3SyePXex2xgEjT7IVqPqzL9_Q5ynbItwmJ73MyLWCvsaRTeItnZxdngFl-Fpy3X8YkAFKEuIjzdgqY2U3J66CKSOeXD-p-nHOuUric8FjcPIiO__1Ut4_WNH/w338-h400/MIM%20July%202023.jpg" width="338" /></a></div><br /></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div>And since January I have had the pleasure of speaking to a CEO roundtable group in Gulf Shores AL, speaking at a leadership summit for a large healthcare staffing company in Salt Lake City UT, leading a succession planning offsite with the owners of a property management company in San Diego CA, keynote at a leadership event for a landscape architecture firm in Denver CO, presented at Texas Assisted Living Association in Austin TX, facilitated a workshop for a large Native American Nation in Washington DC, keynoted at the WBL annual conference on Amelia Island in FL, spoke at the Kansas Organization of Nurse Leaders in Wichita KS, and keynoted at a leadership meeting for a defense contractor in Grand Cayman. It has been a wonderful first half of the year for being with clients in person! I have trips booked for the last two quarters of 2023 but still have many open dates and would love to come to work with you at your organization, just drop me a note. I am also including a picture of me with Steve Friedlein, we were lucky enough to be in the same place at the same time once so far this year! Enjoy the rest of your summer. I promise to be back soon.</div></span><p></p><p class="x_MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #212121; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><p class="x_MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #212121; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></p>Jen Shirkanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691541764173544550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119998157575956035.post-2230587491368681182023-06-22T08:47:00.002-07:002023-06-22T08:47:20.242-07:005 Ways to Improve Your Learning Events<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwkN-aGCRDI5OvJPSIEZIfHE0NlYHhxcGFmYqMbSEeZv5_SAt97xLEEdwRV2Tn0jjE02q9dfM9K7X1GpNwP3362GIwmAHp-L3VzXk3X29PMF7YWs7vW26iN02dFBqyjKzm3EIEz6qKF8XOhoHUl9sTaDqiniekbBRmrMhSMVI4xXkXK9knSQ4LBOCf2dMb/s4800/AdobeStock_409795284%20(1).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3204" data-original-width="4800" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwkN-aGCRDI5OvJPSIEZIfHE0NlYHhxcGFmYqMbSEeZv5_SAt97xLEEdwRV2Tn0jjE02q9dfM9K7X1GpNwP3362GIwmAHp-L3VzXk3X29PMF7YWs7vW26iN02dFBqyjKzm3EIEz6qKF8XOhoHUl9sTaDqiniekbBRmrMhSMVI4xXkXK9knSQ4LBOCf2dMb/w437-h292/AdobeStock_409795284%20(1).jpeg" width="437" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We have all been the victim of a bad online training
program. When this occurs, most people tolerate the situation by half-listening
and/or working on other things. Participants have come to expect that they will
have to sit for too long, hear content that is too generic, or listen to presenters
who may be content experts but not online trainers.</span></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">We have spent over 30 years providing both
in-person and online learning events. There is just no substitution for live
events where participants experience small group activities because they allow for
informal dialogue with peers, reading non-verbal body language, and they support
making human connections. They also provide for the spontaneity of insightful comments
and the ability for the facilitator to adjust to real-time content. If you have
a mostly remote team, look for opportunities to tie a workshop to meetings in
which everyone may be together for other things like an annual conference, new
hire onboarding, or compliance training. </span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #333333; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-family: arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If virtual learning is a necessary format for you,
here are 5 ways to improve your next program by keeping these critical factors
in mind.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif">1. Keep your group size to 20 people or less.</span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Whether in person or live, it becomes more
challenging for everyone to participate when there are more than 20 attendees.
Ideally, everyone should be on camera and actively adding to the conversation
via chat and/or breakout rooms. A large group also makes it difficult to
customize the content, so you end up with a one-size-fits-all session. </span><b style="font-family: arial;">Consider
offering learning tracks based on participant job specialties, years of experience,
or open enrollment</b><span style="font-family: arial;"> so participants can choose the session they know
would benefit them the most.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">
<br />
<b>2. Don’t use online learning to check the box.</b></span><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #333333; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">When training is seen as a singular event
instead of one facet in an overall organizational development strategy, the
learning is often disjointed, and random, rarely leading to performance
improvement. <b>Subsequent training events should: build on previous ones;
add depth and layers to a developing competency; and continuously increase in
complexity</b>.<br />
<br />
<b>3. Provide post-training reinforcement.</b></span><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #333333; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Webinars create awareness by sharing content
principles, however, for lasting improvement to occur <b>participants need
additional reinforcement in a real-life setting</b>. Consider providing
participants with a follow up option such as a team coaching session 3 to 6 months
after the completion of a program with some individualized assessments. Coaches
can also provide feedback on the application of the principles taught in the
course and support in overcoming obstacles that impede team performance.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">
<b>4. Use professional trainers.</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Most organizations save money using online
platforms over in-person events. Use that budget to pay for a professional. Beware
of using subject matter experts as online facilitators. The advantage of using
outside presenters provides an objectively focused learning agenda and can
generate more honesty in dialogue. Trained online learning
specialists have advanced skills in speaking and facilitation skills while
using an online platform. </span><b>Beyond slide content, the delivery of the learning
determines success or failure.</b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif">5. Expect to have “Vacationer” / “Prisoner” / “Learner”
participants.</span></b><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #333333; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Every audience contains three types of
participants: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif">The
Vacationer</span></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> who is thrilled to get
out work and uses the webinar time to escape from reality; </span><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #333333; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif">The
Prisoner</span></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> who absolutely does not
want to be there and sees an online session as an unwanted interruption from
their priorities and multi-tasks through the program; </span><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #333333; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif">The
Learner</span></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> who is actively looking
for ways to improve him or herself and will seek out takeaways to get value
from any learning program. </span><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #333333; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Trainers must prepare for these three types of
participants and develop engagement levers for each</span></b><span face="Arial, sans-serif">. </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Final Thoughts<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Do not use meeting software for a learning
session. Instead, use a program that is set up for interactive features like
polling and break-out rooms. By using the right platform along with these tips,
you can avoid giving your online training events a bad reputation. Most
employees dread the idea of giving up an hour or two to listen to a talking
head with little attention being paid to their unique learning needs and
preferences. A focused investment in time and effort can make a very worthwhile
impact on any event, not to mention the overall competence of your workforce.</span><span face=""Helvetica",sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Jen Shirkanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691541764173544550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119998157575956035.post-49821460793566887172022-07-14T11:10:00.000-07:002022-07-14T11:10:31.755-07:00If you are serious about DE&I, do this<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMbSVLb4NSHFX7uz8NG3Rk30FDiLuwaT6c3vLmwxVgbS8FzGf9GYomCdFc8o6mmmYR66APng3Jan8pdD33GO-OuUI4l5cgH-PuiczbrBtCUOTXLvqcLYE64OFGjb7rg-YiNY4VZqfnDlrupaVDyhNqdeM_KaL-hUIC3kToAxfXdFEhDi69wwhyzxou8A/s5830/AdobeStock_318589802.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3887" data-original-width="5830" height="369" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMbSVLb4NSHFX7uz8NG3Rk30FDiLuwaT6c3vLmwxVgbS8FzGf9GYomCdFc8o6mmmYR66APng3Jan8pdD33GO-OuUI4l5cgH-PuiczbrBtCUOTXLvqcLYE64OFGjb7rg-YiNY4VZqfnDlrupaVDyhNqdeM_KaL-hUIC3kToAxfXdFEhDi69wwhyzxou8A/w555-h369/AdobeStock_318589802.jpeg" width="555" /></a></div><br /><div><span style="font-family: arial; line-height: 107%;">Diversity,
Equity, and Inclusion. An important initiative that many organizations are focused
on and are offering training and education on how to achieve a diverse, equal, and inclusive culture. But formal practices and policies are only part of the
solution, to be the most effective we have to change individual behavior as
well. </span><span style="font-family: arial; line-height: 107%;">The principles of emotional intelligence run directly in
support of advancing DE&I and if you do one thing for yourself or others,
take the </span><a href="https://penumbra-group.square.site/" style="font-family: arial;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">EQi
assessment</span></a><span style="font-family: arial; line-height: 107%;">, published by </span><a href="https://mhs.com/" style="font-family: arial;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">MHS</span></a><span style="font-family: arial; line-height: 107%;">.
This tool offers insights into several skills that enable self and social
awareness that leads to better understanding and tolerance.</span></div><div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Someone who takes this assessment receives an overall
emotional intelligence score, as well as scores in 15 individual skills. Here
are a few that support DE&I the most:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="line-height: 107%;">Emotional Self-Awareness</span></b><span style="line-height: 107%;">:
<i>Recognizing and understanding one’s own emotions. This includes the ability
to differentiate between subtleties in one’s own emotions while understanding
the cause of these emotions and the impact they have on one’s own thoughts and
actions and those of others.</i></span><i><sup><span style="line-height: 107%;">©</span></sup></i><i><sup><span style="line-height: 107%;">
</span></sup></i><i><span style="line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In practice,
someone with high emotional self-awareness is more in tune with themselves.
They are more self-reflective and can identify their own biases. They take
ownership and accountability for their thoughts and reactions and can recognize
how their emotions affect how they respond to others. Someone with higher
self-awareness can also catch themselves if they have been caught up in Group
Think, allowing them an opportunity to add a different or diverse viewpoint
from the mainstream. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="line-height: 107%;">Empathy: </span></b><i><span style="line-height: 107%;">Recognizing, understanding, and
appreciating how other people feel. Empathy involves being able to articulate
your understanding of another’s perspective and behaving in a way that respects
others’ feelings.</span></i><i><sup><span style="line-height: 107%;"> ©</span></sup></i><i><sup><span style="line-height: 107%;">
</span></sup></i></span><i><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Empathy is a
critical skill needed when attempting to create a level playing field in which
people feel equally supported and heard. Someone with high empathy makes it
safe for others to share different thoughts and ideas. They seek to understand
the world through the eyes of someone else, even if they have not had the same
experience themselves. Empathy is what allows us to appreciate different
viewpoints, even when (or especially when) we don’t agree with them. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="line-height: 107%;">Social
Responsibility: </span></b><i><span style="line-height: 107%;">Willingly
contributing to society, to one’s social groups, and generally to the welfare
of others. Social responsibility involves acting responsibly, having social
consciousness, and showing concern for the greater community.</span></i><i><sup><span style="line-height: 107%;"> ©</span></sup></i><i><span style="line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This skill
runs against any instincts to be selfish. It considers what is beneficial to
the many, not just the few. It requires a realization that one person’s action
can have great impact on others and that we are all part of a larger system
that may require complex solutions. This is team thinking which is at the heart
of inclusion vs individualism which seeds separatism. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span style="line-height: 107%;">Impulse
Control: </span></b><i><span style="line-height: 107%;">the
ability to resist or delay an impulse, drive or temptation to act and involves
avoiding rash behaviors and decision making.</span></i><i><sup><span style="line-height: 107%;"> ©</span></sup></i><i><sup><span style="line-height: 107%;">
</span></sup></i><i><span style="line-height: 107%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This skill
provides the ability to think before speaking, increasing the odds that a
dissenting opinion is said with tact. Someone with impulse control can consider
multiple options before taking action. They consider the consequences of their
decisions. They don’t jump to conclusions about others and are patient with explanations.
Balanced impulse control combined with assertiveness also helps someone speak
up when they need to, instead of staying quiet or going along to get along. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In addition
to these four skills, emotional intelligence also increases stress tolerance
and flexibility, two more vital traits for managing dynamic
environments. Self-regard helps us to remain confident even after a setback,
keeping us from sinking to a victim mindset. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">Overall EQ
helps us remember not to take ourselves so seriously and be more self-deprecating.
My EQ helps me understand that someone might not like my idea simply because it
is not a good idea or I haven’t presented it well, not because they are overtly
denying me inclusion. Having emotional intelligence results in not being easily
offended or taking everything so personally. </span><span style="line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If an
organization is doing DE&I correctly, there will be more conflict. As
people from all perspectives feel accepted and included, differences of opinion
should be more common. By providing emotional intelligence development, you
give people the tools they need to face uncomfortable conversations and address
things they deem to be triggering before they escalate. In short, emotional
intelligence supports the critical resiliency and coping skills we all badly
need if we have any hope of realizing the benefits of true diversity, equity, and inclusion. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></div>Jen Shirkanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691541764173544550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119998157575956035.post-16967583843963004352022-01-01T11:43:00.004-08:002022-01-01T15:17:55.197-08:00<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Greetings,
it has been a long time! I know I have been neglecting the blog and my articles
for quite a while. Honestly, I have been unmotivated and at times quite
discouraged this year. On a positive note, we at Penumbra are working and
plugging along despite mass disruption to the corporate world and our industry.
I am very grateful that the business has not dried up completely and that
Angela and Steve have been amazing in adapting to the new conditions. But I am also
mourning a few things that I don’t think will ever come back. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Prior to
2020 I saw Steve at least every other week and Angela about once a quarter. We
would meet up in a new city, meet new clients or interact with existing clients,
feel the satisfaction of doing a solid day or two of work, enjoy the sights of
the town we were in, and reward ourselves by eating at the best local
restaurants. It has now been almost two years since I have seen Steve in
person. I have only seen Angela once. I have seen four clients in person in the
last 22 months. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Even though I
am not happier working from home, I was curious how others were feeling about
it so I recently held a poll on my LinkedIn account where I asked:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">“If you
started working from home last year and still are, how happy are you now
compared to when you worked in person with colleagues?”<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">70% said
definitely more happy, 11% said definitely less happy, 19% said about the same.
This is admittedly a small sample but means that for employers who want to
bring back an in-office work team you will likely have an uphill climb in maintaining
employee engagement. And I worry greatly for our collective emotional
intelligence. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Remote work
does not promote empathy. A cornerstone of empathy requires us to read others.
That includes subtle non-verbal signals people send with a gesture, a look, a blush,
a smile. Trying to see those things in small video boxes (if video is on at
all) is almost impossible. If we are in person but masked up, we also lose some
very key components of communication. Sharing a smile bonds people. Laughing at
yourself shows humility. Without the visual clues as to the message behind the
words, language takes on a whole new meaning. This requires you to share more about
what you feel, what your reactions are, and why you have a certain opinion. It
requires us to ask others about those things too. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">But the
reality is we aren’t sharing more verbally, we are sharing less. Our firm has
processed hundreds of EQi assessments since the end of 2020, and across the
board, Emotional Expression (the constructive expression of emotions) is down.
People are doing it less, perceived as too risky. If I share what I really feel
you may get offended or you may feel triggered. I may be seen as not
politically correct. We have seen too many examples this year of cancel culture
getting people fired from jobs due to unpopular opinions. So we keep our faces
hidden and our mouths shut. How can that ever allow us to use EQ or communicate
with efficiency and effectiveness? How do we build high performing teams among
a group of strangers? How do we ever have <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/five-ways-build-trust-using-emotional-expression-jen-shirkani/" target="_blank">trust between us</a>? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Employees have
also become hyper-sensitive to conflict. Keep in mind that our amygdala’s have
been in overdrive for nearly two years. The amygdala is the primitive center of
our brain that is the emotional center of our being. When triggered, it takes over
rational thought. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">From Emotional
Intelligence by Daniel Goleman (pg 16):<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">“Incoming signals
from the senses let the amygdala scan every experience for trouble. This puts the
amygdala in a powerful post in mental life, something like a psychological
sentinel, challenging every situation, every perception, with but one kind of
question in mind, the most primitive: ‘Is this something I hate? That hurts me?
Something I fear?’ If so – if the moment at hand somehow draws a ‘yes’ – the
amygdala reacts instantaneously, like a neural tripwire, telegraphing a message
of crisis to all parts of the brain. It triggers the secretion of the body’s
fight-or-flight hormones, mobilizes the centers for movement, and activates the
cardiovascular system, the muscles and the gut. The amygdala’s extensive web of
neural connections allows it, during an emotional emergency, to capture and
drive much of the rest of the brain – including the rational mind.” <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">In many
ways, we have been experiencing a lingering, chronic, intermittent amygdala
trigger. Small things might set us off that otherwise wouldn’t. We may
interpret harmless comments from others as threats. We may feel that any setback
that happens to us is the result of someone else’s negligence instead of simply
bad luck or something that is the result of our own actions. We may feel like a
victim. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Most employees
working a desk job have also shared the stress of having a non-stop stream of
meetings. We have known for years that sitting all day looking at a computer screen
is terribly unhealthy. Moving around, getting exercise, and giving yourself breaks
between calls are all things that you can do to help yourself and your mental
wellbeing. Instead of another Zoom call, consider a phone call while you are
out taking a walk. Make time for non-agenda’d communication. Turn your emails
off on your phone in the evenings. Turn off audio alerts on your computer. Lose
the laptop. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Brene Brown
is a wonderful author and her work has been on my mind a lot this year. She talks
about the role of shame and the power it has over our behavior. There has been
plenty of shame used this year in a variety of settings for a variety of
reasons. She also talks about the “vulnerability armory” which is our defense
mechanism against hurt and disappointment. Interestingly, in Daring Greatly she
shares a participant experience in which they felt the most vulnerable and many
used examples of sharing joy. She expected fear and shame, but not joy. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">As one
person put it, “It’s easier to live disappointed than it is to feel
disappointed. It feels more vulnerable to dip in and out of disappointment than
just to set up camp there. You sacrifice joy, but you suffer less pain.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">It feels
like that this year. People have opted for the safe, the comfortable, the least
risky choices and sadly, sacrificing some really positive parts of life for it.
Both Facebook and Microsoft have introduced the concept of the Metaverse this year.
The idea will be a virtual universe that will allow us to go to work and attend
meetings as avatars. Has real life gotten so painful or difficult that we must
retreat into a fake world? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">One of the
deepest concerns I have from this year is the swift willingness some in the private
sector have had to implement policies of overt employee discrimination. These
are organizations that prior to 2021 seemed to me to have the highest
commitment to diversity and inclusion who I would have expected to fight vigorously
against any type of <i>disparate treatment</i> of employees <u>regardless of
the reason</u>. Well intended or not, the net result is an endorsement of terminating
employees based on their medical status. It leads me to question if discrimination
in the workplace <i>based on any factor</i> is justified? And if it is, who
decides what the criteria is? How do we protect employees from “mandate creep”
and how do we prevent institutions from segregating and separating employees under
the pretext of the greater good? There are not many examples from history in which
those practices end well. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">In 2022, I wish
you good physical and mental health. I wish you love and joy, but I also wish
you pain and disappointment, because it means you are fully living your real
life. I wish you self-awareness and empathy and feeling human connections with
co-workers. I wish you awareness and uncensored information to make the best
decisions for you and your family. I wish you a workplace free from
discrimination. And lastly (and I really mean this) I hope we have an opportunity
to see each other in person. You can check out my new grey hair!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjvLVgrgUoncfTUzwc_g8kYfLfpYp3N1lNY9ghmKjQpZUHvNWHRCMJdXYh3zOIJbDiMaclOYl98rb82K0ApAGEMbK6YdcFtzp6tIUw2UX7i0G9LkC_Lf5okSkjpzb62DgAZy3dw8_9MZQ7oUee7q-x1Mt6hBW1fU8Az3xoTDj49ZvdDt1UeRtjqztQUXA=s664" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="614" data-original-width="664" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjvLVgrgUoncfTUzwc_g8kYfLfpYp3N1lNY9ghmKjQpZUHvNWHRCMJdXYh3zOIJbDiMaclOYl98rb82K0ApAGEMbK6YdcFtzp6tIUw2UX7i0G9LkC_Lf5okSkjpzb62DgAZy3dw8_9MZQ7oUee7q-x1Mt6hBW1fU8Az3xoTDj49ZvdDt1UeRtjqztQUXA=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>Jen Shirkanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691541764173544550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119998157575956035.post-67182276331530417512021-03-25T07:00:00.001-07:002021-03-25T07:00:06.340-07:00Three Ways to Avoid Biased Thinking<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqKEisxQGGQZEh90E4IDx8igo-IXuk_Kw3lk3VgIF6snwNoc0uq5FuQUT5Y5QFbXSYivj38Cdj0jMq0h8AB_Ef5-LNANvJfsfapuTsA65xjSWn-qRJ2En4CzSjfZ85a5ziyaxCozm02uC0/s2048/AdobeStock_307894536.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqKEisxQGGQZEh90E4IDx8igo-IXuk_Kw3lk3VgIF6snwNoc0uq5FuQUT5Y5QFbXSYivj38Cdj0jMq0h8AB_Ef5-LNANvJfsfapuTsA65xjSWn-qRJ2En4CzSjfZ85a5ziyaxCozm02uC0/w440-h293/AdobeStock_307894536.jpeg" width="440" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div>Recently, I came across a </span><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com.au/cognitive-biases-that-affect-decisions-2015-8" style="font-family: arial;" target="_blank">Business Insider Australia</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> article from 2015 that shared 20 cognitive biases that affect our decisions. After seeing them one thought I had was, “These are very relevant to today’s pandemic world”. Another thought I had was, “There are 20 of them?!”</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Some of the ones I related to the most included Bandwagon Effect (adopting a belief because a large number of others also believe the same way), Confirmation Bias (listening only to information that reinforces what we already believe) and Availability Heuristic (letting personal experience outweigh what data would contradict). Bias affects everyone, even the most objective among us because it is a human trait and occurs below our conscience before we have a chance to recognize it and stop it. Validation and reflection are two techniques you can use to analyze your thinking and decision-making process as you earnestly work to identify the biases that trip you up. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Here are three things you can do to help yourself:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>1. Question why something is popular. </b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Before you join the majority around you ask why this idea or belief is so widely accepted. Remember that old saying that there is safety in numbers. Many will join in groupthink because they assume others know more about the topic and if the majority concludes the same way it must be safe, true, or best...not so fast. Ask someone you know who believes something popular why they have joined the crowd. Verify it is based on actual facts and data, not an easy way to get out of an independent decision. Ask questions before accepting the status quo. Resist the temptation to go along to get along.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>2.</b> <b>Make the counterargument. </b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">I recently heard the story of a 1950s British physician who was a Fellow at the Royal College of Physicians doing work in the field of cancer prevention. To ensure the research being conducted was valid, the doctor hired an assistant whose only job was to actively dismantle the proposed theories and disprove them. Imagine having someone paid to undo your progress every day! Not many people could handle it, but you can see how solid research conclusions would become as a result. And by the way, her name is Dr. Alice Stewart and her recommendations ended up dramatically reducing childhood cancers (did bias have you thinking the physician was a man?). In team meetings, set ground rules that require that multiple sides of an approach be vigorously debated. People must feel safe to be openly contrarian. Require it. It is vital to critical thinking.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>3. Do your own research. </b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">This combats the Availability Heuristic bias I mentioned earlier. This puts more weight on your own personal experience over the statistical averages; i.e., just because I personally have never been in a plane crash doesn’t mean they don’t happen. As another example, you may think that the headlines on pit bull attacks are inflated because you own one and it is a most gentle family dog and has never attacked anyone. Instead of basing your opinion solely on your experience, do your own research. Go directly to the source: data published by industry associations, talk to a vet, ask people at a dog park what their experience has been with dog attacks. At work, the same recommendations apply. Don’t just believe the rumor mill. Directly ask for information from someone in the know. Verify independent information before taking action. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Those in leadership have an additional responsibility to not allow biased thinking to affect how they treat others especially when it comes to employment decisions. If anything, bias to the positive by assuming the person’s best intent. Be skeptical before joining the crowd. Seek counter opinions. Take an honest look at yourself and validate that you are seeing things objectively. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">It is easy to live in our own realities, especially with remote work and personalized social media feeds. It lulls us into a false sense of knowing what we think is the truth and what we consider to be fact. By being aware of our biases we can get back to mutual understanding and ultimately, better decision making. </span></div><div><br /></div>Jen Shirkanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691541764173544550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119998157575956035.post-65888831153077446572020-12-31T07:00:00.001-08:002020-12-31T07:00:09.892-08:00A Toast to 2021<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDP7XBykqj4XlkRRqUK3PXlQI7tO4i2EteECOztLV02flUYjYTydjS5WFA0zKYILIXShwwQLjuRX9cpgIXwUmTedvUVM9zba2HDdih2pa3YFsFtRh8yw9R6ST35suWHt7SemxLIFiRdkhp/s2048/AdobeStock_399494838.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1118" data-original-width="2048" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDP7XBykqj4XlkRRqUK3PXlQI7tO4i2EteECOztLV02flUYjYTydjS5WFA0zKYILIXShwwQLjuRX9cpgIXwUmTedvUVM9zba2HDdih2pa3YFsFtRh8yw9R6ST35suWHt7SemxLIFiRdkhp/w640-h350/AdobeStock_399494838.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Let’s make 2021 our best year yet by choosing to remain resilient. You will grow in power and independence when you face your challenges. You no longer worry as much about risk or failure, because you know they’ll help you grow even stronger. You learn that you have the strength to endure difficulties you never thought you could. You stop backing down under pressure to say yes when you really want to say no. You look for the best in yourself and others, and you have the courage to walk away from those who demotivate you, bring negativity into your life or stress you out. By staying positive you will reach more goals, achieve more dreams, and influence others more successfully because people are drawn to those who are humble, hardworking, and encouraging. Time for a new chapter; you have the power and resilience to decide what your next chapter will be. Wishing you the happiest of new year’s!</span></span></p>Jen Shirkanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691541764173544550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119998157575956035.post-11854284943747219162020-12-17T08:36:00.001-08:002020-12-17T08:36:18.571-08:00Are You Coachable?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPMPK1i6mwRSeY8WzhYD7ybIG-UE2KciQzSZ8vtcYdVzoPari_1n7tm1Yd-wac9-wAmf43a0tXU3iUJGkgtdGrv4QjFwbghqEHs0M_21y7zJDxwc2Doxsz03K4pYeV_tsyJMJIfbxJ_yMo/s2048/AdobeStock_382934760.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPMPK1i6mwRSeY8WzhYD7ybIG-UE2KciQzSZ8vtcYdVzoPari_1n7tm1Yd-wac9-wAmf43a0tXU3iUJGkgtdGrv4QjFwbghqEHs0M_21y7zJDxwc2Doxsz03K4pYeV_tsyJMJIfbxJ_yMo/w501-h333/AdobeStock_382934760.jpeg" width="501" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
<span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Just a few of the misconceptions about coaching go something like this:</span><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"> </span><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Coaching is for fixing problem behavior.</span><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"> </span><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Coaching is just another word for mentoring.</span><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"> </span><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Coaching isn't truly learning because you're being told what to do.</span><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"> </span><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Coaching is for people who lack natural skills or drive to be self-taught and self-correcting.</span><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif"> </span><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Sure, tell that to </span><span face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">an </span><span face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">Olympian.</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Talent starts raw and must be shaped and honed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The more it grows, the more it requires objective input to remain adaptable, in touch, and dynamic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Being coachable, or knowing you need outside advice, is vital to evolving and succeeding in the ever-changing business world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">We are exposed to coaching from various sources as a natural part of life, both in subtle and not-so-subtle ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are you missing it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In order to learn from these experiences, we must possess the maturity and foresight to see these growth opportunities when they present themselves. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Often, the best advice does not come from a certified coach or superior, but from more unexpected and informal sources like an employee, an exit interview, an overheard complaint, or collective body language in a meeting. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">This foresight requires a readiness that must be present in any successful learning experience.</span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">We call this readiness being coachable.</span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Someone who is coachable is open to seeing other perspectives without being threatened.</span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Someone who is uncoachable is righteous in their convictions and rigid when exposed to input from others.</span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Paradoxically, we often hear the uncoachable describe themselves as being open-minded.</span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Translated, this often means that their mind will remain open long enough to receive the feedback and run it by their internal threat meter (the Ego).</span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Then, a quick risk assessment is performed to ascertain how much damage it poses to their internal belief systems and external image.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><br />We all know someone like this, the ultimate workplace survivalist.</span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">This behavior is known as control-minded.</span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">They are prepared to hear what you have to say because it will remain in a controlled, mental waiting room while they decide the safest route to process (or eliminate) it.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Being open to hearing what someone has to say is not the same as being willing to allow it to challenge and change you.</span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Ego driven activities such as self-preservation, rationalizing, and image control waste so much time, little attention is paid to the merit or value of the feedback itself.</span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">The message gets lost in the thundering, chest-pounding of the Ego.</span></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">In contrast, someone who is truly coachable has set aside their Ego in order to raise their EQ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is the must-have ingredient of coachability. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">Competencies such as transparency, active listening, self-awareness, intuition, optimism, and self-control are the bedrock of transformational learning, and all stem from EQ. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">The good news is EQ is a set of skills and can be learned. Research from the Hay Group shows that people who improve their EQ have the following things in common:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>They don't bite off more than they can chew</b><b> </b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>They are very clear about what the payoff for them will be if they change</b><b> </b></span></li>
<li><b><span style="font-family: arial;">They are feedback junkies - they are tenacious about asking those around them for feedback</span></b></li>
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b>Are you coachable?</b></span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Do you operate from Ego or EQ?</span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"><b>Answer the following questions</b> to gauge your coachability: (and then check your self-awareness by asking someone you trust to be objective to answer these about you)</span><br />
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><b>1.</b> <b>Do you determine the worth of feedback based on who is giving it or do you spend time considering the rationale behind the message?</b></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><b>2. Have you asked for feedback on yourself in the last month?<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><b>3. Do you partner with others to develop yourself or prefer to handle that privately?</b></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><b>4. When is the last time you publicly admitted you were wrong?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><b>5. Do you have difficulty turning down your mental talk so you can actively listen to others?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><b>6. When is the last time you apologized to someone at work for your behavior?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><b>7. When faced with personal feedback, do you focus on staying superficial and ending the encounter as quickly as possible, or do you open up about how you feel about the feedback and ask clarifying questions to gain understanding?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><b>8. When is the last time you asked someone to hold you accountable for certain behavioral goals?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><b>9. Do people feel safe coming to you with the feedback you may not like?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How do you know?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><b>10. When it comes to your own performance, do you care more about appearances or real results?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How would your staff answer that about you?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><b>11. When is the last time you listened to a contrasting viewpoint about something you felt strongly about and ultimately changed your opinion?<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><b>12. Do you catch your own mixed messages or contradictions?</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><b>13. What are three areas you feel you would benefit from coaching?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ask your team to answer the same question about you and see how well you understand their perception of you.</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><b>14. Final and most important question:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How often do you receive meaningful feedback from others?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The amount of feedback you are given will be in direct proportion to the degree of coachability others see in you. </b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">If you want to be credible, you must be coachable.</span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Employees will not be open to feedback from someone who dishes it out but cannot take it in return.</span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Leaders who are defensive and encourage an environment of celebrating only the successes will be rewarded with the same superficiality they embody.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Echoes or honesty?</span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Artificial harmony or authentic relationships?</span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif"> </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">Growth or status quo? </span><span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif">You decide.</span></span></div>
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<span face=""arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;">What if you are not coachable? What are you missing out on?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What you don't know <i>can</i> hurt you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Jen Shirkanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691541764173544550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119998157575956035.post-44460521017843520662020-11-19T04:30:00.001-08:002020-11-19T06:38:16.171-08:00Wishing You a Healthy Holiday<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAB4I3HktHID2sUDMjVbTl2-VLow5PPVTrf7lx2g1N565KhBCsUc0TUZKJz2585nWmYJ_RSVM7ddwvAmNvYhTmP-0BKZjoyQihZ07IK9OyJL0vr9XjB_bPjPLQl0Nw0_C9hfkOAZmY0_tt/s2048/AdobeStock_178454165.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1366" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAB4I3HktHID2sUDMjVbTl2-VLow5PPVTrf7lx2g1N565KhBCsUc0TUZKJz2585nWmYJ_RSVM7ddwvAmNvYhTmP-0BKZjoyQihZ07IK9OyJL0vr9XjB_bPjPLQl0Nw0_C9hfkOAZmY0_tt/w400-h266/AdobeStock_178454165.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: arial;"><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p>I have a tradition of writing you a Thanksgiving note that is usually filled with gratitude for the work we do and the great places we were lucky to travel and visit. Like all of you, 2020 has eliminated anything that was previously routine. It has simplified the things I am grateful for down to the basic necessities of health and housing. </span><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121;"><span style="font-family: arial;">My family is mostly older, everyone is very healthy but I have close relatives that are in their late 80’s and a great aunt who is 90. David and I are lucky enough to have living parents who are all in their late 70’s. Blessedly, none of them have gotten Covid, but his father has dementia and has needed to be hospitalized twice for non-Covid reasons. Not allowing his wife or any family member to be with him was very difficult. He had no advocate. He doesn’t remember what medications he takes or why he was taken to the hospital to begin with. He had nothing familiar for five days. When he got home, his dementia was much worse and within hours he had no memory of even being in the hospital. The isolation over the last 8 months and lack of mental stimulation that comes with regularly interacting with family and church has definitely worsened his condition. We worry about what will happen if he must stay quarantined for several more months. </span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I miss my California family too, I haven’t been able to see them since February. My mother has also hardly left her house since March. She had a knee and hip replacement last year and I worry that without even the basic activities of walking through the grocery store a couple times a week, she isn’t getting enough of the physical activity she needs to recover well. Indefinite and arbitrary milestones for “returning to normal” has only created more anxiety and unintended consequences.</span></span></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #212121; margin-bottom: 14pt; margin-top: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;">In late October David started feeling sick and after a few days with several Covid symptoms we decided to get him tested. It came back negative; a relief. He is 60 and a diabetic. We figured it was a bad cold that likely had settled in his chest. About four days later he lost his taste and smell. He never had a fever or shortness of breath, his main complaint was being tired. A few days later, he went to his doctor who gave him another Covid test which also came back negative. But, he also gave him an antibody test which was positive. The doctor surmises that the first Covid test was a false negative and he had Covid in the previous ten days but was no longer contagious. It was also too late to give him any of the drugs that minimize symptoms.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #212121; margin-bottom: 14pt; margin-top: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Based on the first negative test we didn’t isolate him. Fortunately, he didn’t go out much during that time and when he did he wore a mask. I was with him constantly and never got any symptoms nor did anyone else in the family. He is improving and still gets tired but he was never sick enough that he couldn’t get out of bed. He just mostly felt run down. The only difference for him between this and the normal flu was how long it took to feel better. I am grateful that he was one of the lucky ones. Maybe I was too.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #212121; margin-bottom: 14pt; margin-top: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This Thanksgiving I wish you and your family good physical and mental health as we maneuver our way through this crazy world.</span></div>Jen Shirkanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691541764173544550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119998157575956035.post-17539470582672499412020-11-05T04:00:00.001-08:002020-11-05T06:31:08.064-08:00Four Things that Highly Self-Aware People Do<p><span style="background-color: white;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaW8moxQ1pCQaySG92IhAP_cuDrAwE5BPCrI8xlgbup_EOf5nes-ecpw6Qm8rzdpprDoS3y7V2T-0stBAPcuPfPWKuQb9AxDPfZ_a2_jOh8Cr3tmeaPhNV-4ej5SQDZ-7iohRpC27YPozz/s2048/AdobeStock_367837331.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaW8moxQ1pCQaySG92IhAP_cuDrAwE5BPCrI8xlgbup_EOf5nes-ecpw6Qm8rzdpprDoS3y7V2T-0stBAPcuPfPWKuQb9AxDPfZ_a2_jOh8Cr3tmeaPhNV-4ej5SQDZ-7iohRpC27YPozz/w400-h266/AdobeStock_367837331.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial;"><p>Many people ask us about the easiest way to a higher EQ and honestly, it all starts with self-awareness. People with high self-awareness are clear about their strengths and weaknesses. They know how they "tick", so they can put themselves in situations that bring out the best in them while minimizing the worst of them. This week we will discuss four activities you can do to increase your own self-awareness. </p></span><p></p><div align="left"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Self-awareness is the foundation of emotional intelligence. Those who maintain self-awareness are seen by others as connected, in-touch, and humble. They often demonstrate confidence on the healthy side of ego and leverage their strengths, but they are also able to recognize when their own behavior is inappropriate or having a negative impact on others. They tend to get more done, take more accountability, and are enjoyable to work with.</span></span></div><div align="left"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></div><div align="left"><strong style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="text-align: center;">1. </span><span style="text-align: center;">They take assessments.</span></span></strong></div><div align="left"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></div><div align="left"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;">There are several good assessments available to measure personality, communication style, business acumen, and emotional intelligence, among other things. All of these help you to get to know yourself, your tendencies and instincts, and how other people are perceiving you. This information helps you pick better careers, recognize suitable organizations to work for, and appropriate people to spend time with.</span></span></div><div align="left"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div align="left"><div align="left"><strong style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="text-align: center;">2.</span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;">They practice mindfulness.</span></span></strong></div><div align="left"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></div><div align="left"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Give yourself opportunities throughout the day to assess your mood. Pay attention in meetings to how you're reacting to others and why. Keep track of when you are at your best and your worst. We find most people have patterns of behavior and by paying a little more attention you will recognize your own. People with the presence of mind are able to stay clear-headed in high-pressure situations and avoid difficult conversations when they know they are not in the right frame of mind.</span></span></div><div align="left"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></div><div align="left"><strong style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="text-align: center;">3.</span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;">They hire a coach.</span></span></strong></div><div align="left"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></div><div align="left"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Business coaches can give you feedback that no one else will give you. Even when practicing mindfulness, we all have blind spots so a professional coach can recognize behaviors you may not even realize you are doing and if they are ineffective, suggest alternatives. They provide you will valuable insight to see yourself from the point of view of others which can be incredibly valuable information to better influence or motivate coworkers, clients or colleagues. </span></span></div><div align="left"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div align="left"><strong style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="text-align: center;">4.</span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;">They identify their reactions.</span></span></strong></div><div align="left"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></div><div align="left"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We are all very busy and often we just know something feels good or bad, but we rarely stop to analyze what we're feeling and why. Throughout the day pause, and ask yourself, "What specific emotion would use to describe how I am feeling right now?" This habit gives you a new language to use when communicating with others, and when people see you as transparent and can track with your thoughts and feelings, you save time from less miscommunication and get better outcomes.</span></span></div><div align="left"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></div><div align="left"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span></span></div><div align="left"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Self-awareness can be achieved by practicing these four actions, which become more natural over time. And just remember when your self-awareness goes up, your EQ does too. And then, you can bet that a lot of other good things are waiting for you. </span></span></div></div>Jen Shirkanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691541764173544550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119998157575956035.post-67506527454244334232020-10-29T04:30:00.005-07:002020-10-29T11:38:49.994-07:00Reflections at (Nearly)10,000 Copies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjekoXzCYKVsc3s1_rfmt65i02qyWu23qEoIL9tDnOGyx2h0Fbut2nWjbfH_wFOWFyIGAwkT-JkH8QSR7L1nAQ6N9DiNumfBmYn58l-ywPdl7bNbJnCNnQC9juopy4_Vnf5gEj1IE5z9b7L/s2048/AdobeStock_63033278.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjekoXzCYKVsc3s1_rfmt65i02qyWu23qEoIL9tDnOGyx2h0Fbut2nWjbfH_wFOWFyIGAwkT-JkH8QSR7L1nAQ6N9DiNumfBmYn58l-ywPdl7bNbJnCNnQC9juopy4_Vnf5gEj1IE5z9b7L/w469-h334/AdobeStock_63033278.jpeg" width="469" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">My first
book, </span><a href="https://www.porchlightbooks.com/product/ego-vs.-eq-how-top-leaders-beat-8-ego-traps-with-emotional-intelligence--jen-shirkani?variationCode=9781937134761"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><b>Ego vs EQ: How Top Leaders Beat 8 Ego
Traps Using Emotional Intelligence</b></span></a></span><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b> </b>was published seven years ago today (10/29/2013). I am 90
copies away from selling 10,000 hardcover copies, not including the e-book and
audiobook. I have since self-published another book and I have learned that
book publishing is a complicated business and one that often leaves authors in the
dark. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I thought I would write down my reflections at 10,000 copies to share my advice in case you are considering publishing. Keep in mind that my books are non-fiction focused on self-improvement and leadership, so my target audience is someone wanting to improve their professional or personal effectiveness. Things could be different for fiction or other genres. </span></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">The first decision you'll have to make is whether to go with a traditional publisher or self-publish. In my case, I
was approached by a publisher who asked if I would consider writing a book
since I had an existing audience who was reading my blogs and attending my
speaking events. It is common for a publisher to require an applying author to
have an existing platform before they will even be considered. They want to see
things like a website, a blog, a newsletter with a mailing list, several social
media channels, and a topic on which they have some expertise. Work on creating
these while you are writing your book so you have some existing assets in place
when you need them.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I also hired
a writing company to help me put together my book submission. It was over 50
pages long and included things like the need for the book, a proposed marketing
plan, related and competitive titles, the target reader, a book outline, and a
sample chapter. Once we had a signed agreement, I retained the same writing
partner to help me write the rest of the book. We published almost a year after
signing the agreement, with the last 5 of those months spent in editing, cover
design, gathering book reviews, and pre-printing drafts (called “galley”
copies). <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The biggest
advantage of having a traditional publisher is it ensures you have a
high-quality book. They will use professional editors and reject sections that
do not meet a literary standard. It also comes with the benefits of branding
and credibility. However, there are certainly some downsides as well. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">As an
unknown first-time author, they will do no marketing for you. The reason they
want you to have a platform is that you will need to build your own fan base
and sell your own books. The bottom line is you will do all the work to write
and market the book and likely only keep a small percent of the royalties. And
until you are a best-selling author, you can forget about getting your book in
the airport bookstore. They have no interest in paying the very high placement
fees (up to $30,000) and accept the high return rates that comes from frequent damage.
On the plus side, they will get your books placed in traditional bookstores. It
is very exciting to see your book on the shelf at B&N but also know that
they will only keep them there for about 90 days and then anything that doesn’t
sell gets returned to the publisher and debited from your book sales number. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This is
where we should talk about sales: there is no good way to track your numbers. The
publisher will ship thousands of copies all over to booksellers and they may
send you an initial “sales” report. But eventually, returns start coming in and
there is typically no detail on where they came from or when they were
originally purchased. Publishers typically send royalty reports twice a year
with a lump sum of books sold and returned over a six month period. Want to
know if that book event you did yielded any sales? No can do. Want to see if
that published article that featured your book led to a lift in book sales? Not
a chance. Unlike most other aspects of running a business, trying to connect
the return on investment for a book-related event is practically impossible and
perpetually frustrating.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Amazon does
have a nice little feature they offer to authors who sell through them called
“Author Central”. This is a free page you should create that allows you to
personalize your author link on your listing and add a personalized bio, several
images, links to your social media, and even allows readers to follow you.
Contained within Author Central is access to something called Bookscan. This is
supposedly the master US-based repository for all books sold via retail from
all outlets. It gives you a general idea of what you have sold per week, and if
it was purchased via Amazon, you can also see what state the purchaser is from.
I say it is “supposedly” the master list because I have found several anomalies
in it. For example, I had an event with a bookseller who sold 100 copies via a
method that should have been captured on Bookscan but they never showed up on
the sales report. When I asked around I was told that like every software
system these days, there is an algorithm in place so if a big order comes in
from one location it is sometimes seen as a mistake and it just won’t count
them. I have no way to know if that order was ever counted by my publisher because
they have no transparency in their royalty reports. Bookscan also does not
include any sales sold via a discount outlet. I went to one speaking event
where the organizers had bought 70 copies of my book without my knowledge. As I
went through the pile, I noticed some were already signed by me and some had a
counterfeit cover. They obviously bought them via 3<sup>rd</sup> party used
bookstores for which I never got credit nor royalties. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Your
contract with a traditional publisher will be a critical document. I really
wish I had a book publishing attorney read mine before I signed it. I was so
excited and flattered to be offered a book deal, I happily signed it without a discerning
review. Here are some things to watch out for: <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 0.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">Make
sure it says the publisher is required to keep a minimum number of books on
hand and they have a penalty for running out of stock. Mine does not have this
and we have run into order delays as a result. You may need the books for a time-sensitive event and there is nothing worse than canceling a book signing
because the shipment of your books didn’t arrive on time.</span></span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">A
contractual requirement that each royalty statement has the record of your lifetime
sales numbers. I also do not have this in mine so I am not getting this from my
publisher and it is a critical thing as it will be tied to your royalty
escalation, so it is vital to have a clear mutual understanding of this number.</span></span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">If
you plan to publish an audiobook, put in writing that you have the option to
record it yourself, or have a say in whose voice is used. I did get this one and
am happy I did.</span></span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">Have
a publisher requirement to notify you in writing every time a book run is
printed with a clear explanation of the quantity and location of inventory. If you
can request to have them all in one location near you, I would do that. My
contract says I can do an inventory check once a year at my expense, but
without knowing the amounts being printed along with the fact that my publisher
is global and says my books are in storage around the world, it makes that part
of the contract essentially null.</span></span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">Have
a clause that if your publisher is bought by another, you have the option to cancel
your contract and take your rights. Include a penalty (a late fee or interest) if
royalties are delayed as a result of an ownership change.</span></span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"> Ask
to have a set author cost for your book (not “50% of list”). Having a set
dollar amount protects you in the event the publisher does a list price
increase (mine has gone up 4 times in the last 7 years). The reason this is
important is that Amazon, for example, doesn’t have to follow list price. Right
now, my book is listed on Amazon at $13.45 less than list price with no sales
tax and free shipping. Any books you resell will have to be cost competitive so
by the time you pay your author cost, plus sales tax, plus shipping you may
lose money to compete with cheaper prices out there. You need to keep your
purchase cost as low as possible. </span></span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">Your
publisher will sign contracts with other vendors and publishers to do things
like foreign translation, international distribution services, video rights,
audio rights, and deep-discount deals. Put in your agreement that you must be
provided with copies of all contracts with your content and ask to be named as
an authorized agent. I did not get any of the contracts for my content and I am
in a dispute over missing four years of audiobook royalties. There is nothing
more frustrating than being told I am not authorized to talk to Audible about a
book written by me, narrated by me! </span></span> </li></ul>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If after
reading all this, a traditional publisher isn’t appealing, there is the option
to go the self-publishing route. The initial benefit of self-publishing is you
have total creative control over things like the book cover and list price and
in the end, you don’t have to share the book revenue. For my second book in
2017 called <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Choose-Resilience-Comfort-Emotional-Intelligence/dp/0998612200"><b>Choose Resilience</b></a>, I self-published and learned even more from that
experience. Here are my best tips if you choose that direction:<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="line-height: 107%; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I
used an online publishing tool called “KDP” owned by Amazon. There are several
options out there. All of them will convert your book file into printed copies.
Some like KDP will print on demand for orders that come through online book
stores or for author copies. Some publishing companies will print in batches,
store and ship the books for you and take a larger percentage. The biggest
benefit of printing in batches is quality. I have noticed a lot of color and
placement variations with print on demand, a natural outcome when they print
one book at a time. </span></span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Without
the pressure of knowing a publisher would be reviewing my work, on my second
book, I feel I let the quality of my writing decline. I used the same writing
partner to try and maintain the same editorial quality, but we did miss the
mark. My second book has not sold nearly as many copies as my first and I
believe the primary reason is that it isn’t as good. I have read many
self-published books and I am surprised how often I find typos, duplicate
sentences, font size changes, etc. Be sure and have a lot of people read it to
look for errors. Treat the content with the same rigor you would if you had a
world-class publisher looking at it.</span></span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: -0.25in;">I
have also been approached many times by consultants who promise they can help
me become a best-seller. Manipulating the system is not easy, nor is it
ethical. Upon investigation, most involve you choosing a scarce book sub-category
and then drop the price for a few days to $1. This is only something that can
be done with a self-published book and as much as I would love to say I am a
best-selling author, I want to genuinely earn it and choose not to game the
system. </span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial; line-height: 107%; text-indent: -0.25in;">As
a self-published author, you can do a book giveaway on Goodreads. I have done
this and it is a fun way to draw attention to your book and connect you to
readers. They take care of all the logistics, you just tell them how many books
you want to give away and the deadline to apply for the sweepstakes. You can
send a personal note with each book and provide more information about your
services and ask for a book review. </span></li></ul><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: -0.25in;">Whichever
way you decide to publish, getting book reviews will be really important. The people to ask
first are naturally friends and family. They should help you, but a book with
only 5-star reviews doesn’t look real. Encourage people to be honest and for
potential readers to see some lower scores actually lends to some credibility.
Also, if you have a book launch party or a book club meeting and ask everyone
to do a review for you, Amazon also has an algorithm tied to IP address (I am
not sure about Goodreads). I know fellow authors who had 20 reviews not
included on Amazon because they came from the same location.</span><br /><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-align: left; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: arial; text-indent: -0.25in;"> Before I was
published, I was told not to expect to make any money on a book. The average
lifetime sales of a self-published book is 250 copies. With a traditional
publisher, it goes up to 3,000. And if you think about the ease of
self-publishing, there is a sea of books out there and it is very hard to stand
out. In 2010, the US published 328,259 books. Just between January and October
2020, more than 2.1M books have been published. I have no regrets about my
decision to invest in publishing books. Even though royalties have not yet
reimbursed me for the investments I made, it has helped me to gain speaking
engagements, earn higher fees, close new coaching/consulting engagements, and
added to my credentials. Hopefully, this post will help you avoid some of my
mistakes and go into the process armed with information to make your book a
best seller. Good luck!</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span></p>
</div>Jen Shirkanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691541764173544550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119998157575956035.post-57855493707758911932020-10-01T07:30:00.001-07:002020-10-01T07:30:07.051-07:00A Case for Embracing Conflict<p><span style="background-color: white;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi40sYd-cnlE6jrqUUw13lNjguzVaTNq8VUiJzSg8HXgx_0SyxwgnRkW3Q62glUT4jBA1-q6lASI4dayEMn9n5H1fIFLQJXODgQ1jgZYQORaa_PJZ_2DHGvGw0owHQfTpz-BbtQ3RKwHon4/s2048/AdobeStock_227135197.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi40sYd-cnlE6jrqUUw13lNjguzVaTNq8VUiJzSg8HXgx_0SyxwgnRkW3Q62glUT4jBA1-q6lASI4dayEMn9n5H1fIFLQJXODgQ1jgZYQORaa_PJZ_2DHGvGw0owHQfTpz-BbtQ3RKwHon4/w501-h333/AdobeStock_227135197.jpeg" width="501" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial;"><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></p>About twenty years ago I worked inside a large company within the Human Resources function. One weekend I was reading an industry magazine that had an article with an interesting approach to employee relations. I left the torn-out pages on the desk of my HR VP with a note that it might be something our company could consider. Later that day, my supervisor (the Training Manager) brought me my article back and asked, “What is this?” I told her it outlined an innovative approach and I wanted to share it as a suggestion. “She is a Vice President and you are only a Training Specialist. It is not your place to suggest something like that two levels up. The next time you have an idea, bring it to me then maybe I will take it to her.”</span><p></p><div style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Message received: do not challenge management by breaking rank. Do you think I brought any more new ideas to my manager? Of course not, I had already offended her and the VP of HR with my brazenness. Better to play it safe and try and repair things by keeping quiet. </span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;">More recently I heard the story of a CEO at a very large, global company who was in a meeting with his direct reports, all high-ranking executives themselves, plus the Chairman of the Board. The CEO was a forceful man who shared his opinions openly, always making his intentions very clear to those around him. One of his direct reports disagreed with an announced decision and vigorously challenged him about it in the meeting. The CEO sat and listened to his perspective but argued back and stayed firm on his position. The debate escalated to the point where the direct report shouted, “If you do this, you are an idiot!” The rest of the leaders looked at each other in silence and then looked to the CEO to see how he would respond. He calmly said, “I hear you.”</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;">After the meeting, one of the attendees approached the CEO and asked him if he felt the direct report was being disrespectful by calling him an idiot, especially in front of the Chairman. He loudly said, “No! I did not feel disrespected. In my company I want people who feel strongly about their business and are comfortable to challenge me, even if that means they get angry at me in meetings.”</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I have worked with CEO’s for close to twenty years now and I do not know many who would welcome being called an idiot in front of their employees. Heck, my former management didn’t even want to hear an unsolicited idea from a magazine let alone encourage me to debate them on an issue. The day I heard that story, my respect for the CEO went up tenfold because it is only a small percentage of leaders can build a culture that encourages contention, the sharing of divergent opinions, and supports truly open communication.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;">There is a lot of talk these days about the importance of diversity and inclusion. At the same time, most organizations are also striving to create “safe spaces” (eliminating anything that makes employees feel uncomfortable) and are implementing policies that make saying or doing anything someone else deems offensive completely off-limits. In the CEO example, most other organizations would likely have instituted disciplinary action against the name caller. Managers are now fearful to give honest feedback in performance reviews, worried they will be accused of being insensitive, too harsh, or biased. This leaves us with a serious dilemma: how do we possibly achieve diversity and inclusion if we are discouraged from having any type of deep conversation that contains differing opinions or ideas? </span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Organizations are spending time and money on things like unconscious bias training, putting a focus on promoting underrepresented groups and creating safe ways to file a grievance or complaint. Although these are important activities, many miss the mark on the end goal of having a diverse workforce – </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: normal;">encouraging a sharing of different perspectives so that we may learn from one another. </span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Let me be clear, I am not in support of sharing completely unfiltered statements without any consideration for the audience, their role to you, or your credibility. Having emotional intelligence means you have the situational awareness to understand the importance of timing and the other person. But I do worry that we have overcorrected and are saying nothing out of fear. Instead, our goal should be to role model healthy confrontation rather than have people tippy-toe around us. </span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Here are some additional skills that employees need that are critical to leveraging different perspectives through discussion:</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-family: arial;">1. The ability to debate.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Think back to high school debate class. Can employees articulate a counter-argument, explain pros and cons of any approach, or hear a contrary opinion without taking it personally? If not, that might need to be the topic of your next webinar series.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-family: arial;">2. See conflict as healthy.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Instead of avoiding contention are employees comfortable enough to handle raised voices, stern tones, or opinions that oppose their values without having a moral crisis? Build stress tolerance so people can take being vigorously challenged. Conflict is a sign of diversity. We must start seeing it that way.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-family: arial;">3. Understand the importance of consensus.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Consensus does not equate to a 100% agreement. It does equate to a 100% commitment to decisions and actions. Consensus only occurs when each person can say they have had a chance to speak their opinion and have been sincerely heard and have sincerely heard the others’ opinions as well. Don’t pretend everyone gets their first choice or has to be happy with the outcome. Do not tolerate those who hold a grudge if the decision doesn’t go their way, they must let it go and get on board.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Like sports players, contention on the field is expected but you still shake hands when it’s over. It is unprofessional to be a sore loser. It should be the same in business.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Your organization does not have enough diversity if decisions in meetings are made quickly and easily with minimal different viewpoints. If challengers in the organization are labeled as naysayers, complainers, or not team players you need to face that you might have a go-along-to-get-along culture. If you say you want people to have a safe space but then only make it safe for those who are offended, you are reinforcing the opposite. We need to create a safe space for those willing to speak up and gracefully take it right back, even when it challenges their ego. We grow by learning and using empathy to understand and respect the views of others. That requires communication and debate…and yes, it means there is </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: normal;">a case for embracing conflict</span><span style="font-weight: normal;">.</span></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; font-weight: 700;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">To learn more about our webinar on The Case for Conflict click </span><a data-segment-action="add" data-segment-id="93f82680-9cb4-11e8-8ef9-d4ae528eade9" href="https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/3010975618255572239" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: #4c4c4c;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-weight: normal;">. </span></span></div>Jen Shirkanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691541764173544550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119998157575956035.post-69991091194305737782020-09-17T09:24:00.004-07:002020-09-17T09:24:47.140-07:00Mindfulness Might Be the Powerful Performance Booster You're Missing<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoDX2UCTojcyzrk-i6B-3UP5nDPPOU79D7-UBiDMkfXAm6IBmXfh-LhmrQM0QqzkXY7Ib5cYU14YJvOyI9HXQEUlOhHGrhYTADxJR40n-MtYYO6R8qJ-2uZfy-1jKkOe4qOl29auFKdAbx/s2048/AdobeStock_224013547.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoDX2UCTojcyzrk-i6B-3UP5nDPPOU79D7-UBiDMkfXAm6IBmXfh-LhmrQM0QqzkXY7Ib5cYU14YJvOyI9HXQEUlOhHGrhYTADxJR40n-MtYYO6R8qJ-2uZfy-1jKkOe4qOl29auFKdAbx/w439-h292/AdobeStock_224013547.jpeg" width="439" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><p>It is so easy to slip into autopilot, to lose yourself in
the urgent priorities of the day, that may or may not be important. Part of
being self-aware includes a technique called mindfulness. Consider trying some
of the tips in this week’s blog to regain a sense of control, strategic focus,
and peace.</p></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Does This Sound Familiar?</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">"I don't have time to think. My workload and pace are
so intense I literally don't feel like I have time to think, only to act and
desperately try to keep up with the flood of demands and expectations. Thinking
big picture or strategic or examining what and how I'm doing things and why forget it. I have to keep my head down and keep going. And this is not just me,
this is the culture. We all live with it."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">This is how one client described the incapacitating
experience of his workload stress. Sadly, he's not alone by a long shot. We
hear this sentiment from clients at all levels and often from some of the most
successful and productive people. Despite their results, they aren't basking in
the glow of their success. They're busy trying not to drown in it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Our to-do lists have seeped into our nights and weekends,
spreadsheets, and emails whirling in our heads as we toss and turn. We work hard
at staying organized, utilizing our technology and paper planners to cram
productivity into every breath, only to wonder at the end of the week what the
heck we accomplished that truly meant anything. Mindfulness is the key to
breaking this paradoxical unproductive-productive cycle. It just might be the
switch to turn your personal rat race into the fulfilling and exciting career
you deserve.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>What is Mindfulness Anyway?</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">According to Ellen Langer, author of several groundbreaking
books on Mindfulness, the term Mindfulness is the opposite of Mindlessness,
which involves automatic, habitual thought that is most frequently associated
with behaviors of people who are distracted, hurried, multi-tasking, and/or
overloaded.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Conversely, mindfulness means being continually aware and
dialed into the moment and those participating in our moments. It is an
"attunement to today's demands to avoid tomorrow's difficulties".
This mindset creates an openness to new information (creativity), an awareness
of multiple perspectives (empathy and insight), and a quiet mental room in
which to explore and examine what would otherwise be performed on autopilot
(critical thinking).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Adopting a habit of mindfulness in the workplace simply
means approaching everything on your list and in your day in a thoughtful,
objective, and holistic (tasks/goals and people/relationships) manner. It
requires that you mentally "check-in" on what is happening within
yourself and around you. Let's briefly review three important check-ins that
help to create a mindset of mindfulness at work.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Check Your Pace</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Often our tendency is to move rapidly into fixing mode or to
maintain a continuous breakneck speed towards achievement, especially within
high-pressure cultures. This approach
can reap results and therefore reinforces a mindless pace that is riddled with
the blind spots of an overly outcome-centric approach. Being mindful doesn't
mean being slow or ineffective. Rather, it is a mental check-in that thoroughly
assesses the situation to determine the most balanced and effective method and
pace for accomplishing the task at hand. It causes us to ask the WHY, HOW, WHO,
and WHAT ELSE questions that are so vital to wise decision making.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Mindfulness is an assessment before action. Instead of moving
at the speed of the culture or others' demands, mindfulness provides a stopgap
that helps us focus, increases our energy, and allows us to more skillfully
apply our talents. It encourages us to stop and thoughtfully consider all
aspects of the project or problem and resist the urge or pressure to jump in
and rush toward results. Without this mindful pace check-in, we miss important
details and fail to understand root causes, almost guaranteeing a reoccurrence
of the issue. Mindlessly, we might actually make the problem worse. A good
technique for creating a mindful work pace is to start by assessing how you
currently schedule your days. Are you booking yourself too tightly or
committing to unrealistic deadlines? Push back on timelines that don't feel
balanced or necessary and be sure to schedule chunks of time in between
meetings to process and plan around what you've heard.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Check Your Control</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Many people report deep frustration and lack of personal
fulfillment stemming from feeling out of control of their time. Keeping up with
an intense workload is a common cause of mindlessness. Conversely, practicing
mindfulness snaps your brain out of autopilot by reexamining everything you
had previously accepted as part of the necessary evils of the job. Are all your
deadlines and workload expectations realistic and set collaboratively? Simply put, how much are you managing your
environment and how much is it managing you? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Fight any urge to think that achieving this level of
influence is not realistic in your environment.
We've heard this excuse many times and unfailingly clients are able to
think of at least one person they work with who does exert control over their
time and the expectations placed on them by others. It's not a matter of controlling your time;
it's merely a matter of learning HOW to do it. This more mindful and assertive
approach for managing workload expectations might be different than what others
have come to expect from working with you but rarely does that become a
stumbling block. More than likely others
barely notice when we renegotiate task terms, yet we get the relief that comes
with a sense of personal accomplishment from taking back control of our time.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Check Your Plate</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;">Should everything that is on your list actually be on your
list? This is where you check-in that
you are asking for help when needed, not assuming the problems of others
instead of coaching them to do it themselves, and having the confidence to push
back on a task or deadline that either doesn't belong with you or will cause
undue stress to accomplish it in the time allotted. The worst-case stories we often tell
ourselves about what might happen if we don't meet or exceed other's
expectations often include things like...they'll stop coming to me for
help...others will see me as disorganized, ineffective, or lacking a sense of
urgency if I push back on their timing....they'll communicate poorly about me
to others...I should be able to handle this; it's my job....and more of the
same. Reality rarely lives up to the fiction that plays out in our heads. Stay mindful
about what you take on, what resources you'll need, and what commitments you'll
need others to make for you to be set up for success, not stress.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If you can relate to our client's sentiments and
feel you too struggle to find the time to think, then take this opportunity to
stop and awaken to another option. A mindful mindset is counter to our modern
world and will take practice. Start by taking one thing on your plate today and
mindfully assess it with fresh eyes. Less stress, more fun, collaboration, and
meaningful impact....you never know what else you might discover.</span></span>Jen Shirkanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691541764173544550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119998157575956035.post-89551188820572761382020-09-03T08:00:00.000-07:002020-09-03T08:00:06.278-07:00Month in a Minute<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ9m2qLOPDePW76T9XAkjeHXKEfGPIhnHaPO6lI_XJ_LkWVBIFMfCHVlPI_nT55avRNzo_pslACbRtexotGJyNOnoreBeJmFZvXFpH-kp-iNZb4CWkvEaS8o7W4KFKskTfYbwjY9eO5AKd/s1600/MIM+Aug2020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ9m2qLOPDePW76T9XAkjeHXKEfGPIhnHaPO6lI_XJ_LkWVBIFMfCHVlPI_nT55avRNzo_pslACbRtexotGJyNOnoreBeJmFZvXFpH-kp-iNZb4CWkvEaS8o7W4KFKskTfYbwjY9eO5AKd/s400/MIM+Aug2020.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: wf_segoe-ui_normal, "Segoe UI", "Segoe WP", Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif, serif, EmojiFont; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Top left: Live webinar for WBank Staffing, Top right: Virtual keynote for Selective Service<br />Bottom Left: Virtual Keynote USTPO, Bottom Right: Visual Artist Summary of my talk "The Power of Self-Awareness"</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #212121; margin-bottom: 14pt; margin-top: 14pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On one hand, it seems impossible that we are at the start of September and on the other, it feels like 36 months since March. Initially, we all thought, “Ok, things are going to be very different for the spring season.” Then it dragged into the summer and now, two seasons later we are looking at no changes for the rest of the year. 2021 is a guess for everyone. We have some clients who have started the process of bringing people back to the office in increments. Others are saying there is no date on the horizon. We have been able to pivot to virtual learning and keynotes, but if you have attended one in the last few months you know that something is lost. We miss being able to see everyone’s faces and using that as a guide to know when to pause and spend more time on a topic or call a break. We miss the ability to assign a “pair and share” allowing two people to compare ideas and opinions without being in a group format. We miss the energy of experiential learning. Surveys are showing that work from home is here to stay so although we may have the chance to return to a live learning event, it will likely be infrequent and only done at certain companies. I’m sad about that.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #212121; margin-bottom: 14pt; margin-top: 14pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">While we had some downtime, we have recorded some spanking new webinars that are available on-demand:</span></div>
<ul style="background-color: white; color: #212121; margin-bottom: 14pt; margin-top: 0px;">
<li style="margin-left: 5.65pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/2863962116927903247">Changing Minds for Changing Minds</a></span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 5.65pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/1351966503503776781">The EQ Solution for Driving Engagement</a></span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 5.65pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/3217639823128855568">Interviewing and Hiring for EQ</a></span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 5.65pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/3251012200625679120">Leveraging the Power of EQ</a></span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 5.65pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/9085907103976941072">Understanding Communication Styles</a></span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 5.65pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/3010975618255572239">The Case for Conflict</a></span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 5.65pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/1325722260769037324">How to Build Resilience Using EQ</a></span></li>
<li style="margin-left: 5.65pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/7885294282804602126">Building Trust and Gaining Respect</a></span></li>
</ul>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #212121; margin-bottom: 14pt; margin-top: 14pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">You can learn more about all of these on our website: </span><a href="https://www.penumbra.com/webinars/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;">https://www.penumbra.com/webinars/</span></a></div>
Jen Shirkanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691541764173544550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119998157575956035.post-63761863588415885952020-08-27T11:30:00.000-07:002020-08-27T11:30:10.943-07:00Resiliency During Turbulent Times<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizcILaj-RbGpgimJh34As3lfH2-z3KpNPrNk7LYabkvF5HX199PIIeTHrf23-owCuLz5h1ryudRCrxc_Qu0E5suz6ksrwZXQFeJ-sfKY7F2GjgOwJy7mZCoKil5E3h-zvGeVRJdZL7qMON/s1600/CALA+Mag.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="779" data-original-width="1238" height="401" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizcILaj-RbGpgimJh34As3lfH2-z3KpNPrNk7LYabkvF5HX199PIIeTHrf23-owCuLz5h1ryudRCrxc_Qu0E5suz6ksrwZXQFeJ-sfKY7F2GjgOwJy7mZCoKil5E3h-zvGeVRJdZL7qMON/s640/CALA+Mag.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1f497d;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1f497d;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #1f497d;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have worked with the California Assisted Living Association since 2003. They have been a huge asset to the industry and we value our partnership over the years. I was invited to be part of their <a href="https://caassistedliving.org/newsviews/20-together/14/index.html">August 2020 Magazine</a>, “CALA News & Views” and provide some insights on being resilient. You can find my article starting on page 14, enjoy!</span></span>Jen Shirkanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691541764173544550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119998157575956035.post-60109185751571837892020-08-20T07:30:00.000-07:002020-08-20T07:30:01.102-07:00The ROI Rabbit Hole<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirzz6iLtgLQOODshYeyA3NT-L5hPKw9B3aYNxTAWBVH-gie_aU3BP4kEM-ohBHCAa1wXUu7pmbfhfaC1WJVPiSMLufuS4g-0ZNjRJMeaIPYAKKngL2_0q9ojM-i4x5_m0hUBi8WHLw_1Hb/s1600/AdobeStock_171800097.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1600" height="373" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirzz6iLtgLQOODshYeyA3NT-L5hPKw9B3aYNxTAWBVH-gie_aU3BP4kEM-ohBHCAa1wXUu7pmbfhfaC1WJVPiSMLufuS4g-0ZNjRJMeaIPYAKKngL2_0q9ojM-i4x5_m0hUBi8WHLw_1Hb/s400/AdobeStock_171800097.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ROI is a funny thing.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sometimes it's as clear and tangible as "I will invest $15K in a
new kitchen because it will return me $30K in resale value."</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Or it can be as elusive as "I will spend
$100 an hour on a private coach and hope I'm in a better place professionally
this time next year."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the more common rabbit holes of ROI is validating the
return on investment that organizations make on employee training.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The question is, is training ROI hard to
prove because it isn't impactful?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or
because we aren't using the right tools to measure it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or is it that we don't know what sort of ROI
we want?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, yes, and yes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The 3 most common reasons companies fail to prove the worth of employee training initiatives are:</span></b></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They train on the wrong things.</b></li>
<li><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They don't know what outcomes they want to see as a result
of the training.</b></li>
<li><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They don't decide in advance how to measure the success of
the training and/or they measure the wrong things.</b></li>
</ul>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To the detriment of those in our business, there are
training practitioners/vendors who claim that because of the nature of human
dynamics, the difficulty in isolating the effect of soft skills, and a multitude of factors that impact productivity, there exists no true measure of
the ROI of a training program. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tell that to one of our many clients who has proven an
increase in profit (to the tune of $100 million) as a direct result of targeted
training initiatives over a two-year period.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Sounds more like an elaborate excuse to bypass the hard work of standing
up to the scrutiny of budget approval and tedious metrics tracking.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now, it is fair to say that calculating ROI for training is
not easy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, it can, and must be
done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As with any other project, it
requires forethought, preparation, consultation, research, common vision, and
committed follow-through. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Most importantly, it requires the right partnership between
the training sponsors (company leadership) and the training providers
(outside/inside training specialists).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Both parties must agree and collaborate on certain pre and
post-fundamentals before undertaking any performance improvement initiative.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Identify Your Purpose<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Many leadership teams have grown so accustomed to hearing
the broad proclamation "we need training!", they no longer ask the
most important question - why?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Training
is not a cure-all or a feel-good salve for the restless employee soul.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only kind of training that produces a
return on investment always begins with the end in mind. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>To help identify your purpose for training, consider these
diagnostic questions:</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What are the performance symptoms/ailments that generated
this need for training?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Is there really a skill gap or do people know what to do,
are capable of doing it, but just aren't being held accountable?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What are the soft costs associated with these performance
challenges? (morale, innovation, customer satisfaction, etc.) </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What kind of training have you done in the past that was
successful?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not successful?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are you looking for
participants to leave with awareness and knowledge or new skills and a specific
change in their behavior? </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What specific performance outcomes do you want to see as a
result of this training?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What post-training reinforcement will you use to secure the
ROI of this initiative?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What value will the participants walk away with as a result
of this training (from their perspective)?</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The role of your internal/external training provider should
be to act as your sounding board, helping you dig deep with these questions and
isolate the true purpose for your training investment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only (and really the easiest) way to
calculate financial return is to determine at the beginning what the training
is intended to accomplish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The next step
is to determine <i>how</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Identify Your Means and Measurement<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A program designed to create just awareness should not have
measures tied to behaviors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just as a
program designed to change behavior should not stop at measuring the
participant experience only (end of class evaluation sheets). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Take for instance a 2-hour harassment awareness class for
managers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the training were designed
to increase awareness through the transfer of knowledge then a fair measure of
the training would be a knowledge survey, both before and after the
course.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This would create a baseline of
each participant's knowledge - before the "awareness" and after. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The next step is very important.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How much is an increase in knowledge
worth?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the reason for the training
were compliance, how much would it cost the company to be out of compliance?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the reason were to reduce the number of
harassment claims, the company would need to identify how many of the prior
claims were the result of a lack of knowledge on the offender's part. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If it were identified that 40% of all claims were due to
ignorance, the training would be worth the out-of-pocket costs associated with
those claims.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Measures (like numbers of claims, types of claims, locations
of claims) would need to be collected prior to the training (at least 6
months), and after the training (at least 6 months) to verify the desired
outcome: a reduction in the number of harassment claims due to ignorance. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In another example, if the purpose of a training program
were to increase a skill set, say for example service level, and a company
delivered a half-day service excellence class, it would be unrealistic to
expect the elimination of most customer complaints. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A half-day program would not be nearly sufficient to
generate enough skill-building to result in a change in behavior.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The desired return on investment must match
the means the company is willing to provide to achieve it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That doesn't mean that a big financial training investment
(quantity) always means a large performance return (quality). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pre-training planning, selection of the right training
partner, customization for the corporate culture, alignment to company goals,
and post-training reinforcement are all quality indicators of training that
produces ROI. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Too often, a training program is constrained by time, budget
or support - all of which impacts the quality of the training and saps the real
potential of its ROI. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is this type of calculation - improper means used to
accomplish unrealistic objectives - that creates the impression that training
is a waste of money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You would never
expect to walk away with bigger biceps and toned abs after an appointment with
your hairstylist. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Commandments of Training ROI<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Know your needs.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Know your audience.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Know your capabilities (and delegate or acquire resources
accordingly).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Know what you want and what it will look like when you get
it (and the measurement you will use to prove it).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Know what you're willing to invest or sacrifice to achieve
it (time, money, manpower, ruffled feathers, etc.).</span></li>
</ul>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Follow these commandments with each training initiative
you embark upon and you'll soon realize that ROI is a state of mind first, and
a matter of crunching numbers second.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />Jen Shirkanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691541764173544550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119998157575956035.post-7328210791132247472020-08-13T07:30:00.000-07:002020-08-13T12:28:21.044-07:00Putting Emotional Intelligence to Work<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheHwXK8EjVDRrMk0T5BxbYAJAxWPzNrHZU3R2MG0WETg9bPqnBH7PU3aDq0N6unRujWOUbhj0ncnooE6AOMK1FUXPbjuzqhE1CTWt6RS_8oQXSQYph4_SiIvlEJlrd2rI38ut5MOqdxbBK/s2048/AdobeStock_317530152.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1425" data-original-width="2048" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheHwXK8EjVDRrMk0T5BxbYAJAxWPzNrHZU3R2MG0WETg9bPqnBH7PU3aDq0N6unRujWOUbhj0ncnooE6AOMK1FUXPbjuzqhE1CTWt6RS_8oQXSQYph4_SiIvlEJlrd2rI38ut5MOqdxbBK/w512-h356/AdobeStock_317530152.jpeg" width="512" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">Many people ask us about the applications of Emotional
Intelligence in the workplace. Here are some areas where we have helped
organizations of all sizes achieve dramatic results from the application of EQ.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "arial";">Interviewing and Selection<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">By using custom-designed job <a href="https://www.penumbra.com/assessments/"><b>assessment tools</b></a>, you can
create a targeted “ideal” candidate profile to help you separate the best from
the rest. Then, through Interviewing for EQ strategies managers learn to ask
the right questions and interpret candidate answers to determine if they have
the “must-haves” for job success.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">You can supplement this process by using a valid, legal, EQ
self-assessment tool that the candidate can take prior to the interview. This
tool is designed to assist the hiring manager in getting beneath the surface
and to design targeted interview questions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "arial";">Performance Coaching<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">If you have a strong individual contributor who is a talented asset to the organization but isn’t performing to their optimal
ability due to interpersonal conflicts, leadership style, or communication
issues, it may be worth considering a retention investment in one-on-one
performance coaching. With Emotional Intelligence at the heart of the program,
employees with high technical savvy learn to tap into the power of EQ to raise
their influence and interpersonal effectiveness with all personality types and
levels.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "arial";">Leadership Development<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">"<i>When I calculated the ratio of technical skills, IQ, and emotional intelligence as ingredients of excellent performance, emotional
intelligence proved to be twice as important as the others for jobs at all
levels.</i>" Daniel Goleman, author of <u><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Working-Emotional-Intelligence-Daniel-Goleman/dp/0553378589">Working with Emotional Intelligence</a></u>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "arial";">This powerful finding helps to explain why Leadership
Development programs that do not include the concept of emotional intelligence
are incomplete and may fail to bring about real and lasting results. The first
step to increasing EQ is through awareness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">If your organization already offers a leadership training
program, a module on the ten practical EQ skills would be a strong addition.
Leaders need to demonstrate strength in self- control, empathy, problem-solving
and influence. EQ is important for new and seasoned leaders alike.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";">You can include a 360-degree feedback tool designed to
measure EQ for those in leadership positions. This tool is most effective for
creating change-inducing awareness because it includes self, supervisor, peer,
and subordinate feedback.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Jen Shirkanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691541764173544550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119998157575956035.post-7073361909789179042020-07-30T11:15:00.005-07:002020-07-30T11:23:09.125-07:00Is Coaching the Answer?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg882WR-xMI_smRasLgm9owSOQYarg3nNJjVqTcqrY-qTIiXgyERijkU3DaLggG-FErS8xeSseo46VQftkMwS34r-JYevGYquFr8fWPXaiDZZYA5JfShd-f2Np7J-Halj3vhQUxxiyTq56C/s2048/AdobeStock_218346076.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg882WR-xMI_smRasLgm9owSOQYarg3nNJjVqTcqrY-qTIiXgyERijkU3DaLggG-FErS8xeSseo46VQftkMwS34r-JYevGYquFr8fWPXaiDZZYA5JfShd-f2Np7J-Halj3vhQUxxiyTq56C/w400-h266/AdobeStock_218346076.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div></div></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10pt;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I was recently asked how to know if professional
coaching was the best solution to assist someone with ongoing development,
versus other options such as workshops or eLearning. I thought it was a great
question, so in this week's blog, we discuss when coaching may be the best
development choice, including how to know who makes the best coaching
candidate, types of coaching, and the benefits of hiring a coach to the
organization. Just to be clear, this article focuses on <i>Business Coaching, </i>not<i> Life Coaching.</i></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 10pt;"><b style="font-family: arial;">To Coach or Not to Coach? A Guide to Decide</b></p>
<span style="font-family: arial;"><span></span></span><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="mso-cellspacing: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 100%;"><tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"><td style="padding: 3.75pt;">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span><span style="font-family: arial;">Just a few of
the misconceptions about coaching go something like this: Coaching is only good for fixing problem behavior. Coaching is just another word for mentoring. Coaching isn't truly learning because you're being told what to do. Coaching is for people who lack natural skills or drive to be self-taught and self-correcting. Life coaches and professional coaches do the same thing. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span><span style="font-family: arial;">A coaching initiative will have the highest likelihood of success with certain conditions in place. The first thing to ask is how good of a candidate is this for coaching?</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Before you
get on the phone to hire an executive coach, ask yourself these questions:<br /></b></span></span></p><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span><font face="arial"> Is he/she currently performing at 80% with potential?</font></span></b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span><font face="arial">
Is he/she willing to learn?</font></span></b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span><font face="arial"><span> </span>Does he/she historically not respond with suspicion or defensiveness when given feedback?</font></span></b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span><font face="arial">
Does he/she have ambitions for career growth (lateral or vertical)?</font></span></b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span><font face="arial"><span> </span>Does he/she seem goal-oriented and motivated?</font></span></b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span><font face="arial"><span> </span>Do you see areas for their immediate development?</font></span></b></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><span><font face="arial"><span> </span>Does he/she appear to lack in
self-awareness?</font></span></b></span></li></ul><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>
</b></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span><span style="font-family: arial;">If you
answered "no" to more than one of these questions then the success of a coaching intervention may require additional time and effort. It doesn't mean the person isn't coachable. </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Types of
Coaching:</b></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span><span style="font-family: arial;">Even without
an ideal coaching candidate, there are many specific situations in which you
can use a coaching solution effectively. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></p><ul><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><font face="arial">
An intervention to bring their job performance in alignment with standards</font></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><font face="arial">
Development of skills in a "High-Potential"</font></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><font face="arial">
Short term support through an On-Boarding period</font></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><font face="arial"> To be
assisted in voluntarily transitioning out of the organization </font></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><font face="arial"><span> </span>A technique for providing on-the-job
training</font></span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;"><span><font face="arial"><span> </span>Assistance through a transition and
managing change (M & A, re-org, downsizing)</font></span></span></li></ul><span style="font-family: arial;"><span></span></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>If you are
looking to develop some Emotional Intelligence (EQ) in the coachee
(self-awareness, self-control, empathy, flexibility, influence, optimism,
etc) than coaching is one of the most effective methods to employ.</b></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Benefits
of Coaching for the Organization:</b></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span><span style="font-family: arial;">So, even if
you have identified a good coaching candidate and know they need some EQ
development, it is also important to identify what results will make the
investment into professional coaching worthwhile for the organization. The
list of benefits includes, but certainly are not limited to:</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span><span style="font-family: arial;"><b>Loyalty =
Higher Employee/Customer Satisfaction and Less ReWork<br />
Employee Security = Fewer Reassurances<br />
Bench Strength = Succession Planning<br />
Retention = Profit</b></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span><span style="font-family: arial;">Think of your
individual development plan (IDP) toolkit as a briefcase loaded with a series
of folders. Your briefcase should contain folders marked "customize</span></span><span style="font-family: arial;">d
workshops," "eLearning," </span><span style="font-family: arial;">and
"self-development resources" among others. If your briefcase is
missing the "coaching" folder, please consider adding it, as it is
a vital tool within your development resources. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span style="font-family: arial;">
</span></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table><br />Jen Shirkanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691541764173544550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119998157575956035.post-67478844184765483212020-07-23T07:00:00.000-07:002020-07-23T07:00:01.462-07:00Too Much of a Good Thing<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHJs_X_puBoHIxpX5Cvb4x5feLyBQzkWLTQJN-fCukivxPVzJ3Xmor8263rrZiVksxUkGEVO3ipzud2NS-l8i92K1IdBkYxKMXuWtG1updL0wLNScodqliKbTH4oEzJAx-y5dvrjK_CTuL/s1600/Strengths+Overused+Image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="379" data-original-width="501" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHJs_X_puBoHIxpX5Cvb4x5feLyBQzkWLTQJN-fCukivxPVzJ3Xmor8263rrZiVksxUkGEVO3ipzud2NS-l8i92K1IdBkYxKMXuWtG1updL0wLNScodqliKbTH4oEzJAx-y5dvrjK_CTuL/s400/Strengths+Overused+Image.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As an executive coach, I see the dynamic of strengths being
overused to the point of becoming weaknesses. It is not that uncommon to see
someone who is successful by building a career on their gifts, only to have
them start to plateau, or worse, struggle to meet performance expectations as a
result of not being able to adjust to a changing environment and shifting
performance demands.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Allowing our
strengths to automatically guide our behavior can lead to stagnancy and career-damaging mistakes.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What you're loved for
today, could be tomorrow's write up.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Without a balanced assessment of how we should behave, one that is
rooted in self-awareness and a sensitivity to the bigger picture of
organizational objectives and the individual goals of those around you,
negative reactions and results can catch you by surprise very quickly.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And, I know that the workplace is filled with
mixed messages.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">People are often
promoted because of their strengths, so when the pressure is on they naturally
lean into them. But I try and advise them to be mindful about that...sometimes
it can be too much of a good thing.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There have been some great books published on the value of
discovering your strengths, and playing to them instead of focusing on
improving your weaknesses. Not a bad philosophy. However, what happens when
something good gets overused? Usually, it swings from a surplus to a deficit.
Any strength over or inappropriately used becomes a weakness. For example, if I
am open-minded and nimble, flexibility maybe my genius. But, if I am too
flexible in too many scenarios I may come across to others as wishy-washy,
spineless, or scattered. Or if I am always methodical and organized, I may appear
bureaucratic, too linear, or rigid in situations that require an immediate
creative response. The key is to use your collection of talents, skills, and
strengths at the appropriate levels. This requires you to be recognizing your
behaviors and reactions, accurately reading the environment and people in it,
and responding in ways that are best suited to what's happening in front of you
- in other words - it requires you to use your Emotional Intelligence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So what should you do? Instead of automatically applying the
same behaviors or outlook to new problems, stop and ask yourself these
questions:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Am I doing what is comfortable to me versus what the
situation requires?</b></span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Don't fall into the trap of being on auto-pilot and using
what is easy instead of what's going to be most effective.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>How can I use my other skills to leverage a better approach
to this problem?</b></span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Instead of applying your problem-solving skills to go
straight to identifying a root cause, consider stretching yourself to try a
completely new approach. For one week, track your immediate tendencies to
respond and take a different course of action.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Could doing the opposite of my instincts pay off in more
credibility?</b></span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On some occasions, your team needs you to be something you're
not. To find out, ask at your next one-on-one with your supervisor...what
value do you see me bringing to the team, and what is missing that I can add to
the team dynamic? Typically, decisive? Sometimes they need you to be passive.
Ordinarily kind-hearted? Now they need to see you demanding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Am I thinking inside my own box in terms of what's
"right" and "wrong?"</b></span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you catch yourself thinking in "shoulds",
chances are your judgment blinders may be on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Holding fast to your concept that you know best and the way things
should be done or how people should behave is one of the quickest ways to
alienate others and weaken your position of value to the team.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Creativity, influence, and high impact results
are the fruits of the open-minded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don't
always come across as the smartest person in the room, even if you are. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Make a list of the projects, goals, or interpersonal
situations from the last two years that didn't work out as you had hoped and
explore each one to uncover if maybe overuse of some skills resulting in a
lack of balance could have contributed to the outcome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The goal is to leverage your unique talent
briefcase and use each of your strengths to its maximum potential. And despite
how tempting it is to think more is better, usually, it's not.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Jen Shirkanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691541764173544550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119998157575956035.post-21088574687935802022020-07-09T07:33:00.000-07:002020-07-09T07:33:42.383-07:00The Professional Power of Emotional Intelligence<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmMEw_573OAEuGTtlGXxvCwo4qYJsp55u6ojy6thMEsq698Q0ql6YMw3c8H1aI1CQPgzDOLSbQGGMUMABmV_zMVLd-PMmBm3MOFxwQwrWlBNi_h1OT5KC6LvDBvRqTEiCM3PYCbrMJSUck/s1600/combattingegomisstepsfw.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmMEw_573OAEuGTtlGXxvCwo4qYJsp55u6ojy6thMEsq698Q0ql6YMw3c8H1aI1CQPgzDOLSbQGGMUMABmV_zMVLd-PMmBm3MOFxwQwrWlBNi_h1OT5KC6LvDBvRqTEiCM3PYCbrMJSUck/s400/combattingegomisstepsfw.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Abigail Bassett's original article can be found <a href="https://www.shondaland.com/live/money/a31940602/the-professional-power-of-emotional-intelligence/">here</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When we think of power in the workplace, we often think of
shattering glass ceilings, becoming an expert in our field, achieving partner
status at a firm or, better yet, starting our own firm. We think of managing
huge teams, mastering difficult tech skills and learning in so far we almost
fall over from exhaustion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In short? We think of experience, education, hard skills,
and hustle. Rarely do we think of something like empathy when we think of
power, yet empathy is an invaluable quality to have as an employee, coworker,
or employer, and it's a hallmark of what's known as EQ.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">EQ technically stands for “emotional quotient,” or emotional
intelligence. It's is a measure of your ability to recognize, understand, and
incorporate the emotional and mental states of others around you, and it also
refers to the ability to understand yourself. You can think of it as
interpersonal and intrapersonal (self) awareness. Some people innately have
higher EQs, meaning they’re naturally in tune with those around them. They’re
good at reading people, at catching variances in inflection, gestures, and
expression, and drawing conclusions about someone’s mood or intention from what
they observe. They will then calibrate their behavior accordingly for maximum
effectiveness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In general, the higher the EQ you have, the more likely you
are to succeed in business.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Why EQ matters</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jennifer Shirkani is the author of Ego vs. EQ and a keynote
speaker who travels all over the world giving speeches about the value of
emotional intelligence. She also works with executives to help hone their EQ
skills and she says that EQ is the single most important skill you need to
develop in order to be successful in today's business climate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“EQ is the ‘it factor’ for success in today's environment,”
Shirkani says. “[It’s] the functional skill set that helps you use your
technical expertise. We have all worked with people who are smart and have a
high IQ, but some are so difficult to work with that you can't take advantage
of that knowledge. EQ is the practical side of communicating expertise. Having
a higher EQ means that you'll have less conflict in the office. People with
high EQ take more accountability and are more socially aware than those with
low EQ."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In addition to being more accountable, those with high EQ
tend to be seen as leaders in their peer groups and work cohorts, too. Because
those with higher EQ have more empathy, they are able to more aptly disperse
conflict and keep people on track when things go wrong.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"People with high EQ often see conflict as a difference
in perspective,” Shirkani says. “They think, ‘I don't have to agree with this
person. I just have to understand them.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">According to Shirkani, leaders with high EQs wind up with
more professional success, mainly because they engage those they manage
differently, depending on the person. They’ll change how they work with one
employee, for example, depending on that employee’s temperament.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“They customize the leadership style to the needs of all,”
she says.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In general, those with higher EQ tend to be happier both in
their work and in their lives, too, mostly because they have lower degrees of
conflict with other people.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"They have more credibility and influence, and they
make more money,” Shirkani says. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“They also tend to get more promotions, too.
EQ is universally beneficial because it helps with relationships at home and at
work. The frontline receptionist can benefit just as much as the CEO from
learning more about EQ.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The 3 components of EQ<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shirkani says there are three core components of EQ. She
calls them the three "R's."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Recognizing<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Recognizing means that you know your strengths and your
weaknesses and that you are working towards managing them. It also means that
you know your communication style and what you need in order to be successful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Reading<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Being able to read others' emotions and mental states is an
important component of EQ. By using this skill, you can improve your working
relationships and increase your chances of success.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Responding<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once you have recognized and read both your own mental and
emotional states and those of the people around you, you can move into this
component of EQ. This portion deals with the best way to respond to those
around you in a way that is both supportive and emotionally intelligent but
also gets the task at hand done.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the elements that Shirkani says most people struggle
with is recognizing. It’s often hard to see our own blindspots.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Recognizing requires self-awareness: Am I aware of how
my mood changes throughout the day? Do I get ‘hangry?’ Do I work better in the
morning or afternoon? These are all questions you need to answer to understand
both yourself and other people," she says.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To become more self-aware and maximize your ability to
recognize, Shirkani suggests a mindfulness practice. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Through mindfulness, you
can become aware of your reactions and responses through present-time
awareness. This can help you track your moods and see how they impact your
behavior throughout the day so you become tuned in to how your emotions
manifest ton a day-to-day and hour-to-hour ba<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How to improve your EQ<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The best way to improve your EQ to succeed at work is to do
some deep self-examination, Shirkani says.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“The key question to ask yourself is, ‘How closely aligned
am I to how I see myself versus how other people see me?’ We all have blind
spots.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are a few ways to take stock of your EQ level, Shirkani
says. These range from asking for feedback from those around you to taking
self-assessment tests that can reveal your blind spots.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Give and get good feedback<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Raising your EQ starts by being open to feedback, both
positive and negative. Shirkani says that the best way to keep an open mind
when getting feedback from a boss or coworker is to pause before responding.
Allowing your emotions to rise when getting feedback is totally fine, as long
as you manage how you respond. In fact, that's a big part of improving your EQ.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Giving and receiving feedback can be stressful,"
she said. "I generally try and start with an acknowledgment of a person's
good intention, which can help disperse some of the anxiety that comes with
giving or receiving feedback, especially in a work situation."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Having a high EQ also means that you need to be able to give
feedback in a way that makes people more receptive to it. Shirkani suggests
that it pays to put yourself in the other person's shoes, whether they are your
boss, your coworker, or your subordinate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"If I have a leader who is being inflexible and they
are wearing everyone out, I have to think about what that person cares about.
Do they care about things getting done so they look productive? Are they trying
to look good to the boss? Do they care about the bottom line? Put yourself in
the empathy spot and see the world from their perspective so you know what they
value. Then you can put your feedback into the context of something that
matters to them," Shirkani said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Know thyself<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can also improve your EQ by getting a good idea of
whether you are an introvert or an extrovert. There are plenty of online assessments
you can take find out, and Shirkani says, knowing which camp you fall into will
make increasing your EQ that much easier.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"In general, extroverts are better at being in meetings
and creative thinking in the afternoon. If you are an introvert, mornings tend
to be better for you. Knowing which personality type you have can help put you
on a path to developing and honing your own EQ," she said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shirkani suggests that you also work your own schedule (at
least as much as possible) around your natural tendencies and those of the
people you manage.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"If you have to give difficult feedback or receive
difficult feedback, try and time the meeting, so you are at your best in terms
of your daily cycle," she said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Allow time to process, and build in breaks<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One thing that Shirkani says can diminish our ability to
leverage our natural EQ, is our capacity to over-schedule ourselves and not
plan for breaks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Book in downtime. We all overbook ourselves, and our
emotions snowball through the day. A negative thing that happened in the
morning might still be distracting us hours later because we didn't give our
bodies and our minds time to deal with it. Take a break and get perspective.
Use downtime to reflect on and put closure on what just happened, so you don't
carry that into your next interaction," she said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maximizing your EQ in emotional settings<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The way we communicate when working remotely, whether it's
via email, Slack, Zoom, or any other method, is vital to being successful at
work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shirkani suggests that there are a few ways to maintain and
develop a high EQ even if you only interact with your coworkers virtually,
which is happening as more and more workers seek remote employment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First, she suggests that you start by asking yourself how
each interaction (instant or email) could be construed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"We should not over-rely on one communication
method," she says. "Ask yourself, ‘Is this message I need to send
most appropriate for email, a phone call, or via IM or Slack?’ Don't just do
everything on email because it's quick and easy. Really ask yourself: What is
the right method to communicate the message in? Then use that method, even if
you aren't as comfortable with it."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shirkani also says that it's important to ask yourself how
the message could be taken negatively. "You can lose a lot of tone and
context in email or text, so perhaps a phone call would be better suited,"
she says.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She also suggests that you set working hours and build in
breaks in order to keep your EQ high in a remote working environment. "A
big component of high EQ is having self-discipline, and that's especially
important when it comes to remote work, too. Give yourself downtime and time to
walk away from your workspace so that you can go and live the other parts of
your life," she said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The best way to hone and improve your EQ truly lies in
self-awareness, Shirkani says. "Consider it like having a user manual for
you.” By soberly assessing yourself, which is no easy feat for your ego, you’ll
gain invaluable information that will help you reach new heights both
personally and professionally.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Abigail Bassett is an Emmy-winning journalist, writer and
producer who covers wellness, tech, business, cars, travel, art and food.
Abigail spent more than 10 years as a senior producer at CNN. She’s currently a
freelance writer and yoga teacher in Los Angeles. You can find her on Twitter
at @abigailbassett.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Jen Shirkanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691541764173544550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119998157575956035.post-88981504085338436342020-07-02T07:30:00.000-07:002020-07-02T07:30:05.011-07:00Months (and months) In a Minute<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl3ETXKJOkJW_VBvsSyaHXljecrD483ZkmLgDAEBNxZbOdqcxuZ0ctdQbw8rLNMZeqtIqkASdHXwqq5SYmjq6z13RIB8QxNmpCwTwYs003b8vNYYrQZ9dTXbg09hUd9-tc1eD54MFRQv12/s1600/AdobeStock_133832707.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1054" data-original-width="1600" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl3ETXKJOkJW_VBvsSyaHXljecrD483ZkmLgDAEBNxZbOdqcxuZ0ctdQbw8rLNMZeqtIqkASdHXwqq5SYmjq6z13RIB8QxNmpCwTwYs003b8vNYYrQZ9dTXbg09hUd9-tc1eD54MFRQv12/s400/AdobeStock_133832707.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hello friends,</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We are still here, mostly providing eLearning and virtual keynotes as we navigate the new world.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It feels like forever since we had a “normal” month. The world is an angry place with the primary emotion being BLAME. The pain, fear, anxiety, and angst of today’s world has resulted in a strong need to blame someone else for our current (and future) life situation. Pick <i>any</i> side of <i>any</i> current issue and you will find the message and focus on “them” – them who aren’t doing enough for us, them who are being careless with our health, them who have caused our employment to struggle or fail, them who are prejudiced, them who are ignorant, them who are selfish, them who aren’t strong leaders. I am not hearing much accountability for our own current attitudes or behaviors. Everyone is mad at the other side for what they have or haven’t done, and our only sad commonality is that no one is happy right now.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am feeling many of the same things you probably are. I am demoralized, fearful, frustrated, and worn out. I don’t think I am grateful enough for my good health and the good health of my immediate and extended family. My business has been punched in the gut, and as much as I want to blame outside factors, I can only be mad at myself that I wasn’t very well prepared for a business interruption. I have to admit that I continue to minimize the severity of the virus. I have done a poor job as an executive coach to not discuss diversity and inclusion more. I am not trying very hard to see the perspective of the political party I don’t belong to. I don’t have enough patience for public health officials who are facing an impossible task. I am letting social media have too big of an influence on me. And I am annoyed that the hair salons were closed for so long, but the real issue is my vanity that previously had me coloring my hair every four weeks means I am now in the midst of growing out gray hair on top of everything else. Even though the salons have reopened, there is no going back now. I should have done this years ago. UGH.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s not comfortable but we have to look for accountability inward instead of outward. I recently read an <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/an-emotion-we-all-need-more-of-1458581680" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">article</a> about the importance of hope in well-being. The article stated that, “Hope’s crucial component, psychologists say, is agency." Agency is defined as <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #202122;">the capacity of individuals to act independently and to make their own free choices</span>. The blame game only leads to less agency and more victimization. When we abdicate to “them” we allow someone else to dictate our business outcomes, employment options, health condition, or community success. Blame lures us in because it releases us from self-responsibility, but it comes with a sinister side effect: it disempowers us and snatches hope with it. For me, I want agency and empowerment. And hope. That means I must choose to take accountability for me and my actions, can’t have it both ways. Darn it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanks for the therapy session.</span></div>
Jen Shirkanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691541764173544550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119998157575956035.post-65813172696486128712020-06-25T07:30:00.000-07:002020-06-25T07:30:09.982-07:00Top Takeaways from Our EQ Expert Jen Shirkani<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This article was originally posted <a href="https://iabcseattle.com/f/top-takeaways-from-our-conversation-with-eq-expert-jen-shirkani">here</a> by the International Association of Business Communicators. Thank you for writing such a lovely article!</span><br />
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<span style="box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To say that emotions have been running high over the past few months is an understatement.</span></span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For professional communicators having to do the heavy lifting in their organizations to deliver clear, empathic messaging for multiple audiences, we’re with you, and we were honored to partner with EQ and resiliency expert Jen Shirkani recently for our first event as a relaunched chapter.</span></span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jen’s presentation and Q&A session helped us envision balance, optimism, and resilience in our communications roles and how when confronted with evolving challenges, we can take time to give ourselves grace and credit for what we’ve accomplished so far. </span></span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We enjoyed sharing the virtual space with 50+ attendees across our networks and thank Jen for guiding us through strategies and reminders for cultivating resilience for communicators.</span></span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In case you missed it, here are the top takeaways that inspired us to continue building and maintaining resilience even as uncertainty continues:</span></span></div>
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<li style="box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="x-el x-el-span c2-13 c2-14 c2-5r c2-x c2-3z c2-5s c2-3" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-transform: inherit;">Emotional intelligence starts with knowing yourself.</span> Those with resiliency have a high emotional quotient (EQ) — at the center is the ability to recognize and remind yourself of how you’ve been resilient and responded in the past when confronted with new situations. Jen shared an easy way to operationalize EQ is through what she calls “the three Rs”: <a href="https://penumbragroup.blogspot.com/2020/03/choosing-resiliency.html"><span style="color: black;">recognize, read, and respond.</span> </a></span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="x-el x-el-span c2-13 c2-14 c2-5r c2-x c2-3z c2-5s c2-3" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-transform: inherit;">Success or failure depends on how you manage relationships, not what you know.</span> For communicators, a message is just words if you’re not considering the connection you intend to have with your audience. Ask yourself what’s important to your audience and how do they want to be seen — watch your tone closely and use emotional self-awareness to communicate and connect in a personal way. </span></li>
<li style="box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="x-el x-el-span c2-13 c2-14 c2-5r c2-x c2-3z c2-5s c2-3" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-transform: inherit;">We can </span><em class="x-el x-el-span c2-13 c2-14 c2-5r c2-x c2-1c c2-5s c2-5t c2-3" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-transform: inherit;"><span class="x-el x-el-span c2-13 c2-14 c2-5r c2-x c2-3z c2-5s c2-3" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-transform: inherit;">always</span></em><span class="x-el x-el-span c2-13 c2-14 c2-5r c2-x c2-3z c2-5s c2-3" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-transform: inherit;"> be improving our emotional quotient.</span> No matter where you are or what you’re doing, continual development of EQ should be a focus. Take a look at the pace of your work and use your downtime (even as little as 5 minutes) to reflect and develop the skills you need to respond to new challenges calmly and with confidence. Becoming resilient doesn’t happen all at once. It builds with each action and interaction, gradually with each risk you assess and successfully navigate.</span></li>
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<span style="box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s easier said than done, but when you have the discipline to know yourself and choose your response, you’ll start building the emotional intelligence muscles needed to face whatever challenge comes next. </span></span></div>
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<span style="box-sizing: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For those leading a large communications team, and others single-handedly managing all of the communications for your organization, Jen shared actionable tips that helped us reframe our work in terms of <em class="x-el x-el-span c2-13 c2-14 c2-5r c2-x c2-1c c2-5s c2-5t c2-3" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-transform: inherit;">stretch,</em> not <em class="x-el x-el-span c2-13 c2-14 c2-5r c2-x c2-1c c2-5s c2-5t c2-3" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: inherit; letter-spacing: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-transform: inherit;">stress</em>. </span></span></div>
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Jen Shirkanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691541764173544550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119998157575956035.post-24052927979379709702020-06-18T07:30:00.000-07:002020-06-18T07:30:11.440-07:00Brain Power: The Science of Successful Leadership<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The original article can be found <a href="https://www.agacgfm.org/NLT/NLT20-Sessions/T107-Brain-Power-The-Science-of-Successful-Leaders.aspx">here</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jen Shirkani, an expert on emotional intelligence (EQ), closed AGA’s National Leadership Training (NLT), Feb. 12–13, 2020, with insights from this field of behavioral science. A learned skillset to improve stress management, interpersonal communication, empathy, and conflict resolution, said Shirkani, EQ is “a critical factor in success at work and at home.” Although intelligence, or IQ, can be relevant along a career path, “success or failure in a job most often comes down to how we manage ourselves and our relationships with others, not how much we know.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The study of EQ emerged in the 1980s when a clinical psychologist noted differences in his patients’ ability to bounce back from a negative experience. Some patients could use the opportunity to learn about themselves and others and move on, without allowing it “to permanently damage their sense of hope,” Shirkani said. “It’s resiliency” from the practice of three actions — recognize, read, and respond:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Recognize </b>is the ability to know one’s self. “Know your strengths, but also accept your weaknesses. Know your moods and how they affect your behavior; know your personality type and communications style. It’s high self-knowledge.”</span> </li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Read</b> means “reading people and situations accurately. Empathy is not ‘I feel your pain;’ it is understanding the world from another’s perspective. The greatest form of empathy is listening to others without judgment and getting the message behind the message.”</span> </li>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Respond</b> is reacting “appropriately for a given situation, instead of taking a one-size-fits-all approach. It’s interpersonal adaptability, based on the situation or environment, and managing impulses to not say or do things, even when we really want to.”</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although NLT attendees, like most audiences Shirkani surveys, guessed women would show more EQ than men, neither women nor men have an EQ advantage, she explained. “We all have to work equally hard at it. EQ is a set of skills we choose to use or not use. It is something we turn on and off, rather than something we have or don’t have because there is some effort in ‘recognize, read, and respond.’ I take the burden on myself to adapt to my environment or the person, and I’m going to judge if it is worth doing.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">EQ does not correlate to IQ, said Shirkani. “You’ve all seen ‘The Big Bang Theory.’ At the highest levels of IQ, we actually see an inverse correlation. For the rest of us, it’s not that IQ doesn’t matter. It does, but it’s just the threshold. I need some IQ to learn EQ. Also, IQ stops at a certain age — for most people, around 18 or 19 years old. Longitudinal studies on IQ show the scores do not change, but the good news is EQ does increase as we get older. It increases past 18 until about retirement age. Studies show it starts to decline around 65-70, but it doesn’t take a nosedive until about age 90.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shirkani says EQ increases on its own through responses to experiences. “Even if you have no EQ training or ongoing EQ skill development, and I tested your EQ at age 20 and again at 30, at 40, at 50, EQ will increase each time. How much it will increase is individual. Some will increase a lot, some a little, because of a mix of nature and nurture, upbringing, and experience.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Emotional intelligence is quantified through the EQ 2.0 tool, which measures the emotional and social competence inventory, or ESCI. Translated into 50 languages and normed for seven cultures, the online ESCI test provides a 24-page report with scores in overall EQ as well as the 15 sub-skills that make up the emotional intelligence quotient. Skills are organized into five composites; each composite includes three skills, such as self-regard, emotional self-awareness, empathy, flexibility, assertiveness, independence, and problem-solving. “The tool shows us where we need balance to represent all of the skills in a comfortable way when we need them,” noted Shirkani.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The importance of EQ in leadership, she said, is the ability to emotionally engage employees. “They are the ones who go above and beyond. They do extra things because they want to, not because they have to. If I want an engaged employee, I have to demonstrate engagement myself and show that I am also committed to doing the extra things. Some of that is getting to know them, what they like, what they don’t like, what motivates them, what doesn’t motivate them. And it’s reciprocal. The more EQ I show, the more EQ I build into my team.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shirkani cited a benchmark EQ test of a working group in which researchers provided EQ training only to the leaders. After one year, a retest showed improved EQ scores throughout the group. “The whole team’s EQ went up with no training, just with more emotionally intelligent leadership,” she remarked.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One crucial EQ skill is stress tolerance, said Shirkani. “It stretches like a rubber band. At times we can handle a lot of stress and, at others, even small things throw us off because other things are going on in our lives. It's important to take care of ourselves in times of high stress because sometimes we will be able to accomplish things we never thought we could do. And that builds the strength for another difficulty down the road.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">EQ is also a measure of sensibility, she added. “People with higher EQ are not as easily offended, for example. Common sense isn’t very common, because these are skills; they are not things you are born with. EQ is not taught in traditional curricula, yet it’s one of the most critical skills out there. While IQ is a good predictor of GPA — and that will get you the job, usually what you need to keep the job is some EQ to get along with the team, to be coachable, to accept bad news and move on."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For AGA leaders, EQ skill development can be a win-win. “It’s one of those crossover competencies that help you not only at work but also at home,” concluded Shirkani. “It improves the way you look at everything once you start focusing on this. When we see an increase in EQ, people also tell us they are happier.”</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div>
Jen Shirkanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691541764173544550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119998157575956035.post-71967175807853841032020-06-11T12:30:00.000-07:002020-06-11T12:30:04.756-07:00This Emotional Intelligence Test Was So Accurate It Was Creepy<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I often get asked if emotional intelligence can be measured or tested, and the answer is yes! There are many different types of assessments out there, but the one we use at Penumbra is called the <a href="https://www.penumbra.com/assessments/">EQi 2.0.</a> I came across </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/40434451/this-emotional-intelligence-test-was-so-accurate-it-was-creepy">this</a></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> great article by </span><a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/user/rich-bellis" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><span id="goog_563309649"></span>Rich Bellis<span id="goog_563309650"></span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> at </span><a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Fast Company</a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> and thought it was a fun narrative about taking the assessment and interpreting the results. If you would like to take the "creepy test" and receive a 1-hour personal coaching call, click </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://penumbra-group.square.site/">here</a></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Jen Shirkanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691541764173544550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119998157575956035.post-20082203608034312332020-06-04T07:30:00.000-07:002020-06-04T07:30:02.193-07:00Part V: Amiable or Stable Style<div style="background-color: white; color: #212121; font-family: wf_segoe-ui_normal, "Segoe UI", "Segoe WP", Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif, serif, EmojiFont; font-size: 15px; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif , serif , "emojifont";"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In this fifth video, we discuss the Amiable or Stable style communicator and the common characteristics associated with that style. It includes a summary of the style focus, tendency, and blind spot. If you missed the welcome video, click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsXudqX-ls0&t=15s">here</a>.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">If you are interested in more depth on this topic, check out our </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://attendee.gototraining.com/r/3599176924651694082">webinar</a>.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif , serif , "emojifont";"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We also have style <a href="https://www.penumbra.com/assessments/">assessments</a> available for purchase.</span></span></span></span></div>
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Jen Shirkanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691541764173544550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119998157575956035.post-30913106092628062102020-06-02T07:30:00.000-07:002020-06-02T07:30:03.344-07:00Part IV: Expressive or Influencing Style<div style="background-color: white; color: #212121; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">In this fourth video, we discuss the Expressive or Influencing style communicator and the common characteristics associated with that style. It includes a summary of the style focus, tendency, and blind spot. If you missed the welcome video, click <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsXudqX-ls0&t=2s">here</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">If you are interested in more depth on this topic, check out our <a href="https://attendee.gototraining.com/r/3599176924651694082">webinar</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">We also have style assessments available for <a href="https://www.penumbra.com/assessments/">purchase</a>.</span></div>
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Jen Shirkanihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17691541764173544550noreply@blogger.com0