EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE and OTHER EPIPHANIES FROM the EASTERN REGION LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

1. EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE and OTHER EPIPHANIES FROM the EASTERN REGION LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM Geoff Manikin geoffrey.manikin@noaa.gov

2. What is Emotional Intelligence (EQ)? • our ability to be aware of and manage our emotions • it’s an internal process • differs from thought in that emotions trigger a physiological sensation • event  interpretation  feeling  emotion • emotions are at the root of how we behave with others • it’s about recognizing your emotions and using them to your advantage

3. What is Emotional Intelligence? • everyone has emotions that can be influenced by external events, and we’re all trying to manage them • leaving emotions unmanaged causes you to present them to others • differs from “regular” intelligence • it’s intangible, but it affects how we manage behavior, navigate social complexities, and make personal decisions to achieve positive results

4. People Who Don’t People Who Manage Emotions • are negative • become visiblity agitated • are stuck in the present • escalate into emotional reactions • are optimistic • regulate physical responses • are future-focused • reframe issues

5. Physiological Basis for EQ • a particular area of the frontal lobe, the ventromedial prefrontal cortex seems to control EQ • studies of Vietnam veterans show that damage to that area tends to lead to more aggression and a reduction in EQ

6. Phineas Gage • a blasting foreman on railroad projects in the 1840’s • was blasting rock while preparing the roadbed for the Rutland-Burlington (VT) railroad in 1848 • job entailed boring a deep hole into the rock, adding blasting powder and a fuse,and then using the tamping iron (1 ¼ “ diameter, 3’7” long, 13 ¼ lb) to pack sand, clay, and other inert material into the hole above the powder • on 9/13/1848, while performing his tasks, he became distracted by other workers and inadvertently moved his head into line with the blast hole • right as he opened his mouth to speak, the tamping iron sparked against the rock, and the powder exploded, rocketing the tamping iron from the hole

7. What Happened? • the tamping iron entered Gage’s face near the left jaw, passed behind his left eye, passed through the left side of the brain, and exited out the top of the skull through the frontal bone • the iron landed 80 feet away, smeared with blood and brain

8. Ratiu et al. , Van Horn et al.

9. What Happened?, Part 2 • Gage was able to speak and walk with little assistance within a few minutes • surgery was performed, and Gage soon returned to work • significant negative changes in behavior were soon noted (although some debate about the extent exists, and he may have made a partial recovery later in his life) • “the equilibrium or balance, so to speak, between his intellectual faculties and animal propensities, seems to have been destroyed.” Gage turned into a person with little emotional intelligence

10. Self-Management • stopping to identify your emotions is a critical self-management skill • need to stop the overly-emotional reaction and shift negative emotions to positive • competent self-managers are adaptive, controlled, growth-oriented, and optmistic

11. Emotionally Intelligent People • understand their emotions • embrace change • are good judges of character • neutralize toxic people • don’t seek perfection • know their strengths and weaknesses • have empathy

12. EQ is important for self-management, but understanding EQ can greatly help you interact positively with others and perhaps help you lead them

13. Be Aware of the Emotions of Others • be an active listener • show genuine empathy • compassion and empathy >> sympathy or pity • empathy creates bounds and establishes respect and common ground • never dismiss the emotions of others • know that your way isn’t the only way

14. How to Apply EQ at Work • decisions benefit from emotional considerations • we must accept conflict and try to resolve it • when leaders appeal to our needs and interests, we feel engaged and needed • gain trust, not control; focus on outcomes and people • create environment in which team members can share ideas without judgment or criticism • empathize and get to know people • EQ is a better predictor of success than IQ • the concept that promotion should be based on EQ is growing

15. 4 Core Areas of the Program • People and Relationships • Communication • Leadership • Teams

16. Thoughts on Communication • 60-90% of communication is non-verbal • you make more friends by being interested in other people than by trying to get others interested in you • talking is not necessarily communicating • making a presentation is not communicating even if you’re excited • delivering important information is not communicating even if your audience is interested • you are only communicating when others are listening to your words and connecting with them

17. More Thoughts on Communication/Conflict • we view ourselves as non-belligerent, so conflict causes discomfort • praise in public; criticize in private • never expect difficult people to not be difficult • aggression + principle = conviction • aggression – principle = hostility • need to listen past the venting to enable a person to share what is really going on • be unprovokable

18. Leaders • have vision, reality, ethics, courage, and integrity • cultivate collaboration (we vs I) and empower others • have clear and credible messages and follow ethical guidelines • are not flawless, but when a mistake is made, a leader owns up to it and learns from it • followers need trust, compassion, stability, hope

19. More on Leadership • a leader is not necessarily a manager (and vice versa) • there is no definitive list of characteristics that describe all leaders • people make the mistake of trying to emulate other leaders, which plays away from their strengths • most leaders develop their skills – they’re not born with them • 60% of managers underperform in first 2 years, often due to lack of training (Blanchard)

20. A New Perspective on Leadership • the old way: confidence and consistency were perceived traits of leadership • was more important to have control than trust

21. A New Perspective on Leadership • being persuadable is now viewed as a leadership strength, not a weakness • leaders now should embrace fresh perspectives – there is a balance between being decisive and being persuadable • good leaders seek feedback, leave ego at the door, use evidence to frequently update beliefs, and communicate their decisions • good leaders invoke trust, listen, help others, and ensure that others get credit • most people perform better when treated with kindness • being great >> looking great

22. 4 Domains of Leadership Strength • Executors make things happen • Influencers reach a broad audience • Relationship Builders are the glue that holds a team together • Strategic Thinkers keep us focused on what could be • Leaders know their strengths and play to them

23. Teams • teams rely on trust and commitment • collaboration occurs only with commitment • committed team members care about results, enjoy the team culture, and respect teammates • with trust, team members feel secure, share the workload, and avoid communication breakdowns • it takes years to build trust, but it can be destroyed in an instant • monoculture is something to avoid – bring in a diverse set of talents

24. Psychological Needs of Team Members • AUTONOMY: need to feel in control and have a sense of choice; this is not total freedom • RELATEDNESS: a need to connect (and a reciprocal need to feel cared for and to demonstrate that you care about the organization and your co-workers • COMPETENCE: need to feel capable of contributing and dealing with daily challenges

25. IS YOUR TEAM ENGAGED? • engaged teams have more productivity • disengaged teams have more turnover, absenteeism, safety incidents, quality defects • 90% of leaders recognize the value of engaged teams • But 24% believe that their teams are engaged (from Willis Towers Watson) • Great team leaders manage to the one: takes way more time to tailor managing to individuals, but engagement is a 1-on-1 skill

26. Team Conflict • unresolved conflict leaves team members unable to listen, and time is wasted on the conflict • causes: unmet expectations, perceptions of unfairness, change, unmanaged diversity / conflicting goals • teams need to be open and honest, clarify expectations, and clarify perceptions • people are willing to take creative risks if they’re covered • team members are more committed and work harder if effort correlates to reward & recognition

27. Build a Tower, Build a Team • forces people to collaborate in a short period of time • tomwujec.com or check out the TED talk

28. Who Does and Does Not Do Well? • kindergarteners do great • recent business school grads do poorly • kids spent more time playing and prototyping and have time to try different ideas • business school grads spent a ton of time planning, jockeying for positions, and then executing the plan, with almost no time to fix the design after putting the marshmallow on top • we all need to identify the assumptions in our project and test them early and often

29. The Eastern Region Leadership Development Program • The program for the NWS Eastern Region to prepare leaders to take on higher and broader roles and responsibilities • Provides opportunities to obtain experience understanding agency-wide issues • Program was opened to NCEP employees in 2016 • Roughly 35 people in the upcoming graduating class • ~ 2 year program • 4 core areas: communication, leadership, teams, people & relationships

30. The Eastern Region Leadership Development Program https://sites.google.com/a/noaa.gov/nws-eastern-region-hq/erldp?pli=1 ERLDP Goal Develop and enhance effective leadership abilities of all Eastern Region (and NCEP) employees

31. The Program • Select mentor • Myers-Briggs assessment and workshop • Peer leadership assessment • 40h of self-training via IDP • Requirements (visits to other organizations, presentations, training, implementations….) within 3 distinct arena areas, driven by Executive Core Qualifications (personal development, user sensitivity and understanding, organizational sensitivity and understanding) • One group call in each of 4 major areas (communications, people & relationships, leadership, team) • Monthly journals and phone discussions with mentor

32. Final Thoughts • you do not need to be a manager or even a project manager to be a leader • leadership skills apply outside of work too!! • even if you never have the opportunity to be in this formal program or another, there are plenty of opportunities to start building your leadership skills • Commerce Learning Center, TED talks, and sites like Ken Blanchard and American Management Association are full of great info • EMC and NCEP have many outstanding leaders – talk to them! • Thank you so very much for attending and for your support – it is greatly appreciated.