Posted on

Things You Must Do to Train New Young Leaders

Training Young Leaders - 2Training the next generation of leaders in your organization may be the most important thing you do as a leader. We can argue what that single most important thing is. But, I think we can all agree that training the next generation is certainly in the top three!

Here are the things that I feel we need to be doing to keep producing new leaders.  This list is not exhaustive.  But I firmly believe that if we take these seven to heart and begin to employ them in our relationships with young leaders then great things will happen.

  1. Play to the Strength of Young Leaders – These young leaders have immediately identifiable talents, skills and abilities. Play to them and allow the young leader to experience success early and often.
  2. Challenge Young Leaders – Yes, they have talents, skills and abilities already. But do not let them rest on those and only play to their strengths. Make them “lean in” to the uncomfortable and try something new or something old that they have never tried before.
  3. Work on a Young Leader’s Character as Much or More than Their Skills – Culture says the result is all that matters. That is false. How we achieve results is also important. Help young leaders develop good work habits early in their career. Character matters. When times of adversity come to your organization, people will follow the leader that they trust even when they don’t know where the leader is taking them.
  4. Training Young Leaders - 1Train Young Leaders to Focus on Others – Young leaders need to know that personal freedom diminishes the higher we rise in an organization. And as leaders we spend a significant amount of time dealing with the wants, needs and desires of others. Get comfortable with this role. Continue reading “Things You Must Do to Train New Young Leaders”
Posted on

Wit & Wisdom – Gandhi and Yeltsin

W&W - Gandhi and Yeltsin - 1I have always been fascinated by Ghandi.  In fact, one of the most popular articles published on LeadershipVoices is an article about Gandhi and his leadership style.  And today I came across this quote.

“I suppose leadership at one time meant muscles; but today it means getting along with people.”
Mohatma Gandhi

I have been doing a lot of research lately on the subject of Emotional Intelligence.  One of the factors in determining your level (identified as your “EQ”) is to measure the way that you get along with others.  The practitioners in this field of study generally recognize 4 areas with one of them being Relationship Management.  This area of study is rich with insights into the way we view ourselves and the way we view others.  And more importantly, how we relate to others.

Gandhi lived long before this area of study came about.  But I would submit to you that Gandhi must have had a very high EQ.  His leadership style and his personal and public life proclaims his understanding that leadership involves using our relationships and influence more than our physical presence as an advantage.

W&W - Gandhi and Yeltsin - 2Boris Yeltsin may have been expressing much the same understanding when he once said: Continue reading “Wit & Wisdom – Gandhi and Yeltsin”

Posted on

Emotional Intelligence 2.0

Emotional Intelligence 2.0 - 1I have not always been a “reader”. Most of my reading over the years has been to my children and grandchildren.  It is only in the last several years that I acquired the taste for books. And my tastes in reading material vary widely. But recently, I had a book suggested to me by fellow leadership coach, Rodney Mills of Centrifuge Leadership. He recommended the book Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves. I am using this book currently with one of my leadership coaching clients and I think it is worthy of sharing with the broader Leadership Voices audience.

The book has a foreword by Patrick Lencioni. Many of you will recognize him as the author of Five Dysfunctions of a Team and Death by Meeting. If you are into great titles, those are a couple of great ones. As Lencioni proclaims in the foreword, he’s no expert in this field, but he sees everyday how critical a skill it is to have and he’s so enthusiastic about this book because it’s the first he’s read that actually shows you how to increase your EQ and apply it in your personal and professional life.

The opening chapter deals with Emotional Intelligence (EI) and your Emotional Quotient (EQ) and compares and contrasts it to the more well-known “IQ”. The chapter describes what EQ is and what it isn’t. For example, a lot of people mistakenly think that EQ is a part of your personality. To the contrary EQ is separate from your personality, just as it is separate from your intellect, or IQ. It begins to build your understanding of emotions by showing what the five core emotions look like in varying degrees of intensity. Next the team of Bradberry and Greaves explain research studies that illustrate how important EQ is in daily living. They show how your EQ impacts things like your tolerance for change, how you manage stress, and even how much money you make.

What Emotional Intelligence Looks Like: Understanding the Four Skills

Emotional Intelligence 2.0 - 3The book introduces and explains Daniel Goleman’s four EQ skills: Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, and Relationship Management. Beyond a conceptual description of the skills, the book provides detailed vignettes show examples of real people who are high or low in each of the skills.

To truly improve your ability in the four emotional intelligence skills, you need to better understand each skill and what it looks like in action. Continue reading “Emotional Intelligence 2.0”