LEADING WITH EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

HANDS-ON STRATEGIES FOR BUILDING CONFIDENT and COLLABORATIVE STAR PERFORMERS

By Reldan S. Nadler

The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Copyright © 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-07-175095-0

Contents

PREFACEACKNOWLEDGMENTSINTRODUCTION: WHY EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE?CHAPTER ONE: ARE YOU A STAR PERFORMER OR JUST AVERAGE?CHAPTER TWO: EMOTIONAL SELF-CONTROL TOOLS AND STRATEGIESCHAPTER THREE: SELF-CONFIDENCE TOOLS AND STRATEGIESCHAPTER FOUR: TEAMWORK AND COLLABORATION TOOLS AND STRATEGIESCHAPTER FIVE: DEVELOPING OTHERS TOOLS AND STRATEGIESCHAPTER SIX: COMMUNICATION AND EMPATHY TOOLS AND STRATEGIESCHAPTER SEVEN: THE GAME PLANNOTESBIBLIOGRAPHYADDITIONAL RESOURCESINDEX

Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

ARE YOU A STAR PERFORMER OR JUST AVERAGE?

Why be a Star Performer? Research has shown that Stars, those who fall in thetop 10% of performance, produce twice as much revenue for the organization asmanagers in the 11th through 89th percentiles. The 90th percentile is a “tippingpoint” where the amount of change in performance is drastic. Imagine if you hadthe strategies and plays to move yourself and your team into the top 10%.

This chapter gives an overview of basic concepts and practical applications ofEmotional Intelligence to be a Star Performer, illustrated by a collection ofStar Profiles, interviews, coaching tips, and analyses of well-known StarPerformers such as Warren Buffett, President Bill Clinton, Meg Whitman (past CEOof eBay), Jeffrey Immelt (CEO of GE), and USC and NFL Seattle Seahawks footballcoach Pete Carroll, plus many more. You will learn more about why it is soimportant for leaders to develop their EI and how you and your direct reports orclients can develop it as well. Chapters 2 through 6 will buildon this foundation with more in-depth discussion of the four cluster areas of EIand the key competencies necessary to be a Star.

An EI assessment called the “EI Star Profile” is included to help you and yourdirect reports gauge your current abilities. The influence of leaders isdepicted in the section “Are You or Your Boss Debilitating?” Following that isthe Derailer Detector assessment to identify in yourself or in other key playersbehavior that may lead to derailment. You are also invited to complete your ownStar Performer Action Plan at the end of this chapter and each of the followingchapters.

LEADERSHIP SKILL GAP

Warren Bennis said one of the four major threats to our world is the currentlevel of leadership of our human institutions, and only exemplary leadership cansolve the other three key threats: nuclear/biological catastrophe, pandemic, andtribalism/assimilation.

Developing strong leadership is essential for our world and our organizations todeal with the current threats and opportunities, and it is also critical inorder to develop the next level of leaders or “bench strength.” In normal timesthis is a major endeavor; now with the converging chaos of the “Great Recession”and huge human capital turnover, it is a greater challenge for both new andseasoned leaders.

Unfortunately, I have found that most leaders underperform. Certainly not onpurpose, but they stay average for the same basic reasons:

1. They don’t have the time to develop leadership in others.

2. They don’t have the requisite skills or training to lead a team.

3. Once in a leadership position, they underestimate just how much influencethey really have over their direct reports.

4. They don’t employ the necessary strategies frequently enough to besuccessful. It is easier to put out the fire of the day than to take the time todevelop their bench strength or team.

If the leader underperforms, so does the team and the organization. Somebasic foundational skills or activities just don’t happen with regularity withtoday’s leaders.

This issue is highlighted by the results of recent research. For example, theKen Blanchard Companies did four separate studies from 2003 through 2006 with2,004 respondents, and these respondents cited developing leadership benchstrength as their number one issue.

In order to understand and define the most critical components of effectiveleadership, the Blanchard Companies launched a followup study in 2006 in whichmore than 1,400 leaders, managers, and executives shared their views on thecritical skills and common mistakes connected to leadership. The top five thingsleaders admitted they fail to do were the following:

1. Failing to provide appropriate feedback (praise, redirection)—82% ofrespondents

2. Failing to listen to or involve others in the process—81% ofrespondents

3. Failing to use a leadership style appropriate to the person, task, andsituation (over-supervising or under-supervising)—76% of respondents

4. Failing to set clear goals and objectives—76% of respondents

5. Failing to train and develop their people—59% of respondents

These are basic skills or tasks that leaders fail to do. Yet, they are criticaltoday for leaders due to the converging chaos and double whammy leaders are hitwith. We have all heard of “work-life balance”; what is needed to be a StarPerformer is more “work-leadership balance.” These basic leadership tasks getrelegated, neglected, or ignored in favor of the crisis of the day or until it’stoo late and a serious problem emerges. Some 66% of employees today report theyhave too little interaction with their bosses.

On a daily basis leaders need to be aligning brains by inspiring, delegating,giving feedback, coaching, holding accountabilities, and setting cleardirection.

HOW CAN LEADERSHIP HELP AT THIS TIME?

In 2009, the Center for Creative Leadership stated that numerous in-depthstudies have reached the same conclusion: organizations that invest inleadership development perform better than those that don’t. In short, theyfound investment in leadership development programs does the following:

• Improves bottom-line financial performance

• Attracts and retains talent

• Drives a performance culture

• Increases organizational agility

Bersin & Associates, an independent research firm, found that it is hard to finda company that has survived many economic cycles that does not have asophisticated leadership development strategy in place.

A study in Harvard Business Review by Laurie Bassie and Daniel McMurrershowed a strong link between leadership skill and the bottom line. The studylooked at 11 publicly traded financial service firms and their stock price. Theyfound that companies with higher scores for their investment in human capitaldelivered stock returns that were five times higher than those of companies withless emphasis on human capital.

What we want and need from our leaders today is drastically different from whatwe needed in the past. In a 2006 Fortune article, Tom Neff, a top CEOrecruiter, stated, “Companies don’t want dictators or kings or emperors. Insteadof someone who gives orders, they want someone who asks probing questions thatforce the team to think and find the right answers—a subtle technique.”In this “unprecedented war for top talent” that is raging in the global economy,a new profile of a leader is beckoned.

Fortune has stated: “Talent of every type is in short supply, but thegreatest shortage of all is skilled, effective managers.” Noel Tichy, aUniversity of Michigan Business School professor and former chief of GE’sleadership development program, says, “The leadership pipeline is broke.” RightManagement Consultants, a major outplacement firm, found that “77% of companiessay they don’t have enough successors to their current senior managers.” From asurvey Right also found that “the number one skill companies seek in managers is’the ability to motivate and engage others.’ Ranking a close second is theability to communicate.”

All of the above data, situations, and events raise important leadershipquestions and point to the essential need for Emotional Intelligence answers andtraining.

• How can we maximize our influence as leaders?

• What lessons can we learn from our fallen or derailed leaders?

• What do Star Performers have to teach us?

• What plays or strategies can we follow to develop a company of Stars?

• What can we learn about Emotional Intelligence from profiles about some of ourmost public leaders?

Emotional Intelligence is often the missing piece of the skillset andbehavior of today’s leadership crisis. It is obviously crucial for organizationsto promote the development of high Emotional Intelligence with all of theirleaders to avoid serious problems such as lack of impulse control and employeesunderperforming because their leader is not clear, motivating, or acknowledgingtheir efforts.

EQ, IQ, OR TECHNICAL EXPERTISE?

Just about every manager in the boardroom or conference room is smart, with atypical IQ score of 115 or above. IQ is actually an equalizer in corporateenvironments, and being a few IQ points above or below isn’t really noticeable(although much meeting time is wasted as executives argue to demonstrate theirfew extra IQ points and “smarts”). As performers move up in their organizations,the truth is, no matter how smart they are, they inevitably leave theirexpertise behind. As they become managers and beyond, more of their successcomes from leadership skills rather than from their IQ points or technicalacumen. That means they need to cultivate many new abilities, includingmotivating others to new levels, coordinating efforts between team members anddepartments, managing deadlines, and resolving conflicts.

There is an obvious gap between the skill set needed to be a supervisor or amanager and a leader. At DreamWorks Animation (creators of Shrek,Madagascar, and Kung Fu Panda), for example, talented animators whoexcel in their craft have the opportunity to move up. They often leave the workthey trained years to excel at and are promoted to lead other animators who wereonce their peers. Often they show up with little or no experience or expertisein this important new leadership position. This challenge is common in manycareer paths where individuals find themselves moving up the corporate ladder.What do they do? What do they need to learn to lead and lead well? This is whereEmotional Intelligence can provide the skills to help them succeed in their newleadership position. The good news is EI can be learned and enhanced, where IQis fixed. Leading with Emotional Intelligence will provide the plays toadvance.

Martin Moskovits was a good example of a man who came into his job with a highIQ and great technical skill who was challenged to rise up to a leadershipposition. Moskovits was the Dean of Mathematics, Physical and Life Sciences, forthe University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB). He had a Ph.D. inChemistry and led 13 departments, 250 professors, 4,000 undergraduates, and 600graduate students. Fifty percent of research funding for UCSB came to hisprograms, and in the last few years three professors from his departments wereawarded the Nobel Prize. How much of his dayto-day work was involved with histechnical expertise, chemistry? Not much. But Moskovits was a great leaderbecause he had many strengths in the competencies of Emotional Intelligence. Hecould manage relationships with professors and donors, had empathy for othersand elicited trust, was an inspiring speaker, and knew how to use his influenceto get things done.

Generation X, born from 1965 to 1976, has been documented to have lower EI thanthe Baby Boomers because of all the hours they have spent interacting withtechnology including computers, electronic games, and TV versus being in asocial situation dealing with others. Also fewer and fewer X-ers are enteringthe workplace to replace the Boomers. There are 78 million Boomers retiring inthe next 10-15 years and only 45 million X-ers to replace them. This data pointsto the beginning of a crisis phase in the corporate milieu, where EmotionalIntelligence is needed for leadership at the highest positions in organizations.In the near future there will certainly be an “Emotional Intelligence drain asGen Yers move to senior leadership.”

The Millennials, born between 1977 and 1998, are a generation nearly as large asthe Baby Boomers. They are full of potential and very high maintenance. They’revariously called the Internet Generation, Echo Boomers, Nexters, Generation Y,the Nintendo Generation, and the Trophy Generation.

Just as the X-ers and Boomers finalize their own negotiations for an uncertainworkplace peace, optimistic Millennials find themselves at the mercy of X-erskepticism. Gen-Xers complain the Millennials are another indulged generationlike the Boomers—they say they are self-absorbed. Millennials charge thatGen-Xers are cynical and aloof—that they can be a wet blanket on freshideas and idealism.

Now, with Traditionalists (born between 1922 and 1944) over 66 years old, wehave all four generations in the workforce. To be a successful leader in thissocial milieu demands that you have insight into yourself and empathy forothers. Having a flexible leadership style and high Emotional Intelligence willhelp you navigate the generational differences.

Robert Kelley of Carnegie-Mellon University has interviewed people across thenation, asking this important question: “What percentage of the knowledge to doyour job is stored in your own mind?” In his book, How to Be a Star atWork, he states that in 1986 the typical answer was “75% of the time.” By1997 the percentage had slid 15-20 points, to 55%. One company’s staff membersadmitted that only 10% of the knowledge they needed to do their jobs was stillstored in their minds! What does this tell us? Collaboration, teamwork, empathy,communication, networking, and initiative are vital to complete the tasks atwork. The shift from IQ and technical expertise to EI and the ability to lead inmany ways from the head and heart together is obvious.

THE FOUR AREAS OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

In The Emotionally Intelligent Workplace, Cherniss and Goleman haveidentified the key competencies of Star Performers. This model has changed overtime and is constantly being updated to correspond with current research onexactly what makes a Star. The following list is from Cherniss and Goleman. AStar, again, is defined as someone who is in the top 10% of performance. Theeasiest definition of Emotional Intelligence is “exhibiting a goodbalance of personal and social competencies in four distinct areas or clusters:

Self-Awareness—Understanding yourself

Self-Management—Managing yourself

Social Awareness—Understanding others

Relationship Management—Managing others”

Again, the goal is not to be a Star in every competency inside of each of thefour clusters, but to have a good balance of competencies across the four areaslisted above. Typically having 9 or 10 competencies across the four clusters iswhat it takes to be a Star Performer. The following diagram represents the fourdistinct areas and lists the 20 competencies:

* You’ll notice that these six competencies are addressed in this book.Emotional Self-Control, Self-Confidence, Teamwork and Collaboration, DevelopingOthers, Communication, and Empathy were chosen because they are the key areasexecutives ask for support with first and foremost. They are also core abilitiesthat will help you successfully introduce EI into your organization. Althoughthese six will also help create resonance in others quickly, all thecompetencies are important.

PROFILES OF STAR PERFORMERS

The following profiles feature leaders who are Star Performers. You will have achance to examine a diagram of their successes (and weaknesses) by reviewing howthey exhibit their EI strengths on the key clusters. You will see not only whatcompetencies have contributed to their successes but also which competencieshave led some to derail and become fallen heroes. Sometimes you will notice thata competency overused can become a weakness. So that you can identify them moreeasily, many of the competencies are pointed out in parentheses inside of theprofile and at the end of each profile.

All of the leaders profiled have many Star competencies; otherwise, theywouldn’t be as successful in their careers. What is interesting to note, though,is the power and influence of their particular derailers. A “derailer” isdefined as a behavior or attitude that curtails an individual’s performance oradvancement. It gets that person off the track to success. Because of theperson’s visibility and potential impact on others, one derailer can undermineor trump a whole set of EI competencies. These “fatal flaws” must be attended toand ameliorated for a leader to sustain his or her success.

The determination of what competencies these leaders excel in is from a varietyof sources written about them in the public domain. The depictions are inferredrather than established from interviews or assessments. The aim is toillustrate, inform, and match which behaviors to focus on to be a star in yourorganization.

Everyone has different opinions of public figures, and you may disagree with howthese leaders are profiled on the EI competencies. The goal is to look at themthrough the lenses of Emotional and Social Intelligence competencies and assesswhich behaviors are effective and which aren’t, irrespective of your politicalpersuasion, your ideology, or opinion of the leaders. Behavior is alwaysinterpretive, and with high-profile leaders we have an opportunity to know moreabout their behaviors and patterns than we do with other leaders, even thoughthese portrayals are highly influenced by the media. My hope is that thespecific behaviors of Stars that are salient in these profiles will serve as aview of Emotional Intelligence in action and be useful to you and others indeveloping leaders.

In reading these profiles and the profiles of other successful leaders in thisbook, you will see their ability to be resilient after a failure or a derailer.These became turning points for their resurrection and return to Starhood. Payattention to which parts of their stories impress or attract you, as that willbe a sign that there is information for you and your development in that story.

HOW STAR PERFORMERS SHINE

The charts for each profile illustrate and clarify the components of StarPerformers. Notice how Stars are able to demonstrate the personal and socialcompetencies in each of the boxes. True Stars know and manage themselves andunderstand and motivate others. Goleman has stated that one needs to focus onthe personal side of emotional competencies first in order to successfullyenhance the social competencies. A star (*) indicates that the profiled personis a Star Performer in that cluster of competencies, while a noose ([??]) mayindicate a derailer or potential problem for the individual. The EI competencyor competencies that are illustrated are indicated in parentheses following eachexample.

WARREN BUFFETT

Warren Buffett is one of the most successful investors in America’s history andexemplifies a Star Performer in Emotional Intelligence. In 2008 he became therichest man in the world, and he was runner-up in 2009 with $37 billion of networth (he lost $25 billion between 2008 and 2009). In 2010 Forbes has him as #3with $47 billion and Carlos Slim Helu of Mexico the new #1 with $53.5 billionand Bill Gates #2 with $53 billion.

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(Continues…)Excerpted from LEADING WITH EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE by Reldan S. Nadler. Copyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.. Excerpted by permission of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc..
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