Everywhere I turn seems like everything I see reflects the love that used to be (The Supremes)

Photo by Erik Eastman on Unsplash

Having just returned from a two day visit to Auckland for a series of meetings with my colleagues (we are called SELT - the Senior Educational Leadership Team), I'd have to say it was one of the most productive and enjoyable two SELT days I've spent for a long long time!

Not informational in format - more consultative, collaborative, and reflective with a solutions focused focus. Jolly hockey sticks!!

One activity was centred on some writing on Emotional Intelligence and subsequent self-reflection.

Here are my reflections on the emotional intelligence task we were asked to complete:

Like Gretchen Peters' work, Thomas Erikson has written a text on emotional intelligence called, very appropriately - Surrounded By Idiots.

When I did my self assessment of his four types - Analytical; Dominant; Stable; Inspiring, I was mainly in the Stable category.

That means I see myself as friendly, a team player, and, erm...stable.

I'm also partly analytical - so cautious, methodical and reflective. That fits with my Libran personality.

My boss did his survey of each of us and shared with me that he had me down for those two categories as well.

There are many of these types of personality tests around that aim to divide us up into bits (you'll find my responses to the Gretchen Peters' quiz if you search this blog).

They are all well and good, but I guess it's what we do with that self-knowledge (and knowledge of others) that really counts though right.

More reflections to follow...

Emotional rescue (The Rolling Stones)

EI EI EI O

Emotional intelligence is hugely important in my job (Principal of two campuses). I can't see how anyone could be successful in this position without it.

Here's a list  of 19 things I aim to do that are considered important components of Emotional Intelligence.

If you got the notion, I second that emotion (The Miracles)

Photo by Franck Veschi on Unsplash

As a leader, it's important I have a large dollop of emotional intelligence.

What exactly is it?

emotional intelligence

noun

1. the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one's emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically.

I was discussing this with a colleague recently. After I'd explained the concept, she laughed and said, "Oh - I have very little of that".

She's a good listener, which I regard as a crucial skill, but she was right about her EI.

In our heart of hearts, I think we know whether we have much EI or not (you could try this little online test to check against your idea of yourself). 

Generally, there are three key skills involved:

• Emotional awareness 
• The ability to harness emotions and apply them to tasks like thinking and problem solving 
• The ability to manage emotions, which includes regulating your own emotions and cheering up or calming down other people.

Okay then, so you can see why leaders need it, right? How does your leader stack up?

Our hopes and expectations black holes and revelations (Muse)

Don't you love it when you happen upon a piece of research that dovetails EXACTLY with your own thoughts!

In this instance, I'm talking about success factors. Specifically, the argument that says success is mainly about intelligence rather than emotional intelligence.

Research points to the factors around emotional intelligence being more of a contributor to success. 

And I say, a hearty hear hear to that!!

In fact, research suggests that intellect may not define success nearly as much as we’ve thought. Being smart can take you far, but emotional intelligence may be even more important than an exceptional intellect.

Dr. Arthur Poropat, senior lecturer at Griffith University, conducted reviews on the “Big 5” personality factors: conscientiousness, openness, emotional stability, extraversion, and agreeableness.

The results suggest people with high levels of these traits were more likely to achieve high grades than people with high IQs.

This is interesting! 

When I was at school, I would have ranked reasonably well in four of the five (conscientiousness, openness, emotional stability and agreeableness).

The one I bombed in was extraversion. This one's about how outgoing and social a person is. A person who scores high in extraversion on a personality test is the life of the party. That's not the way I see myself. 

Even so, I failed a load of stuff until university - where I matured and became more outgoing. Successful.

It's interesting considering my students and their emotional intelligence.

This is another area I don't think schools tackle enough. We kind of just assume we can't do much in this area so we don't. Instead we load up on content. In siloed subjects.

We need to look at the pursuit of success in a different way!