A641.6.3.RB_MedinaM.

For this week’s reflection blog, I read the “Coach with Compassion” article by Melvin Smith, Richard E. Boyatzis, and Ellen Van Oosten. The main point of this article is the importance of coaching with compassion in order to gain a sustainable form of change. Coaching with compassion essentially moves a person to the positive emotional attractor, where it initiates the dialogues about hope, compassion, and mindfulness in order to help the person reach resonance. When a coach coaches with compassion, the coachee is more likely to truly gain a very powerful experience in which he or she will grow as a person and as a leader. In other words, the use of coaching with compassion brings out more positive emotions than coaching for compliance. Coaching for compliance typically involves the negative emotional attractor. These negative emotions typically arise as the coach is trying to coach someone by telling him or her what to do and how to do it.

According to Smith, Boyatzis, and Van Oosten, “coaching with compassion stimulates dramatic improvements in the emotional, social, and cognitive intelligence competencies related to leadership effectiveness. When we encourage people to dream of possibilities, to reflect on their values, passion, and desired legacy, we arouse to the Positive Emotional Attractor” (Smith, Boyatzis & Van Oosten, 2012). As this happens, the positive emotions felt fuel the drive towards change, which is essential for coaching. This reminds me of a very positive experience I gained with my first supervisor. As I reflect on the experience, I believe that this supervisor coached me with compassion.

After going through the process of training, as I was new to the company, the supervisor seemed to switch gears. She no longer told me what to do or how to do it, as she believed that I understood with detail what needed to be done. I recall her asking me what were my goals. Back then, my goal was only to finish college and get a job. Once I told her, she began encouraging me to look at the career opportunities the organization was offering and honestly, it was the best thing I did. By looking up the organization’s opportunities, I was able to open up my eyes and realize that I could be more than just an employee. I could be a supervisor, manager, director, chairman, and even CEO of an organization. By realizing that I could be more than what at the time I was shooting for, it gave me the positive boost I needed to want more and to aim higher than a supervisor. Once she began to see my passion, dedication, drive, and goal of wanting to reach for the next level position, she began to coach me in order for me to reach the next level. I was able to learn beyond the position I had at the moment and learn new behaviors that were consistent with a shift lead position. Unfortunately though, as I switched stores and reached the shift lead position; I was unable to continue achieving a higher position, as no supervisor position had been open for last two years of my employment with that organization.

When I first began coaching, I felt into the trap of coaching for compliance. I told people what to do and how to do it without leaving much room for new ideas. As I continued to grow, I learned what coaching was truly about. I have coached employees in the workplace in the form of helping them develop new skills and learn new behaviors. For example, in one occasion I noticed an employee was getting bored at work, as she was no longer challenged. I encouraged her to learn new skills that followed in line with her passion and goals. A few days later, the employee told me she loved numbers and wanted to try taking the inventory count. Shortly afterwards, I began to train her on the organization’s procedure and rules, such as there must be a minimum of two people doing the inventory together on inventory day. Little did I know that she was going to love it, that numbers was one of her strengths, and that she was going to do great. At the end, she was happy and excited for inventory day.

Reference:

Smith, M., Boyatzis, R. E., & Van Oosten, E. (2012). Coach with compassion. Leadership Excellence, 29(3), 10. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/docview/1010048913?accountid=27203

A641.5.3.RB_MedinaM.

In this week’s reflection blog, I had to read the article “The evolving group: towards a prescriptive theory of intentional group development” by Kleio Akrivou, Richard Boyatzis, and Poppy L. McLeod. After reading the article, I am now more aware of how Intentional Change Theory (ICT) ties into group development. This understanding allows me to reflect and understand why the US Olympic Women’s Soccer team was able to achieve the gold medal, while the US “Dream Team” Men’s Basketball team performed so poorly during the Olympics of 2000 and 2004. There are five steps to ICT: ideal self, real self, the learning agenda, experimenting and practice, and the development of close-meaningful relationships.

In the first step of the ideal self, in the group level it is an image of the ideal or a shared vision with the three underlying elements of hope, image of a desired future, and core identity (Akrivou, Boyatzis & McLeod, 2006). The women’s soccer team had an ideal shared vision that featured hope, an image of a desired future, and a core identity as well as dreams and possibilities of being able to win the Olympics game. In other words, the women’s soccer team was full of positive emotions that helped bring the more together towards their shared vision of winning the Olympics. Unfortunately, the men’s basketball team did not have a shared vision of their ideal self as they all believed within themselves on their own alone abilities to win the game. In other words, they were professional players and each of them with their own ego thought they would single-handedly win the game. In my opinion, I believe part of the reason for team’s poor performance was also due to the experienced groupthink. Somehow the leader thought that by bringing back a few of the past Olympic players who won the tournaments, the team would work just as good and win the Olympics once again. As a result, this brought negative emotions to the players and those who weren’t professional NBA players; it probably made them feel worthless and helpless.

For the second step of the real self, this phase serves as a reality check in the group and creates the tension, experienced as the gaps or threats to the accomplishment of the shared ideal. In the initial iterations individuals can experience disappointment in the group, as the group may not be consistent with the ideal self or vision (Akrivou, Boyatzis & McLeod, 2006). In my opinion, this could also be part of the reason why the men’s basketball team performed poorly. From the beginning of team coming together, the team became inconsistent with their ideal self and/or vision. As I mentioned before, I believe part of the reason was because as some players were professional NBA players, their ego got in the way as these players thought they had enough skill to overcome any issues and even be able to win the game. Just because you posses the skills or knowledge, it does not mean you actually know how to apply it. Fortunately for the women’s soccer team, each team member was in-tuned with their real self, self-aware, and even aware of the strengths and weaknesses of others in the team.

The third step involves developing a learning agenda that focuses commitment to change goals and action steps (Akrivou, Boyatzis & McLeod, 2006). Prior to the Olympics, the women’s soccer team would often get together to practice. As practice continued, as a team, the ladies began developing their own learning agenda that was tailored to them as a team. This helped the ladies more by developing an action plan on how to overcome their weaknesses and use their strengths as a team to win the Olympics. Sadly, the men’s basketball team did not have the same fate. As some of the players were professional NBA players they were able to grasp quickly what needed to be done. But, the players who were new to the team and were not considered professional NBA players, it felt like they had a lot to catch up on and the learning agenda and action steps were tailored more towards them to try and get them on the same professional level as the NBA players.

The fourth step involves experimenting and practicing the action steps outlined during the learning agenda phase. During experimentation and practice, the positive emotions attractor plays a critical role in sustaining curiosity and mindfulness, optimism and group efficacy, about the novel way for them to function (Akrivou, Boyatzis & McLeod, 2006). In other words, this involves a shared mood. In part, this was part of the reason why the women’s soccer team was able to succeed as a team. They had a shared positive mood of wanting to become their ideal self and reach that shared vision as a team. This shared mood helped them overcome issues, obstacles, and gaps that were in the way their ideal self. In the other hand, the men’s basketball team had a shared mood, but it was not a positive mood. The negative mood the basketball team was feeling during the Olympics became infectious to the rest of the team, which ended up setting them for failure. Not to mention that as the learning agenda was tailored more towards the members who weren’t professional NBA players, when it came time to experiment and practice new norms and behaviors, the whole team faced inconsistency.

Lastly, in the final step of developing close, trusting, supportive, and meaningful relationships group members develop resonant relationships. In the case of the women’s soccer team, the coach made sure that all the ladies received full support and made them trust each other on and off the field. In turn, this made each team member feel secured and close to each other that in the field the teams’ dynamics were right in line with their ideal self. Unfortunately, this cannot be said about the men’s basketball team, as they did not develop any close, meaningful, or supportive relationships on and off the field.

Reference:

Akrivou, K., Boyatzis, R. E., & McLeod, P. L. (2006). The evolving group: Towards a prescriptive theory of intentional group development. The Journal of Management Development, 25(7), 689-706. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/02621710610678490

A641.4.3.RB_MedinaM.

I have to be honest, after reading this assignment’s article I was more confused than when I started reading it. This assignment’s article is “Using the tipping points of emotional intelligence and cognitive competencies to predict financial performance of leaders” by Richard Boyatzis (Boyatzis, 2006). All I was able to understand from this article is that the greater knowledge of emotional intelligence and cognitive process a leader has, the more it will reflect on his or her success in financial performance. Before watching Dr. Boyatzis YouTube video on positive emotional attractors and negative emotional attractors, I came across a YouTube video from Dr. Boyatzis that explained more or less the graphs and research done from the mentioned article above. With this video, I was able to understand with a bit more depth the points that the article was referring to. In this video, Dr. Boyatzis explained his definition of competency and how it relates to emotional intelligence and leadership. He explains that emotional intelligence is about emotional self-awareness, adaptability, emotional self-control, positive outlook, and achievement orientation (Boyatzis, 2013, 2.1. Module).

As the video continues, Dr. Boyatzis explains more how emotional intelligence and cognitive competencies impacts the financial performance of the organization studied. This information was classified into clusters. In the self-management cluster, the achievement orientation, initiative, etc. were measured. The self-regulation cluster measured the self-control, adaptability, etc. The relationships management and social awareness cluster measured empathy, networking, developing others, etc. Lastly, the cognitive abilities cluster measured the systems thinking, pattern recognition and so on. Those leaders who understood emotional intelligence and had cognitive competencies, financially performed above this tipping point (Boyatzis, 2013, 2.1 Module). In other words, leaders who are emotionally intelligent and have cognitive competencies outperformed financially the leaders who weren’t using emotional intelligence in their leadership style.

Once I watched Dr. Boyatzis positive emotional attractors and negative emotional attractors YouTube video, I was able to understand with more depth how positive and negative emotions shape us as leaders. Dr. Boyatzis explains the importance of having both positive and negative emotional attractors in order to be effective leaders. But, under this notion it is important to know that positive emotional attractors must outweigh the negative emotional attractor in order to have an effective team, which I believe the ratio is 3:1. It is also important to understand that all sustained desires to change start in the positive emotional attractor (Boyatzis, 2013, 2.4 Module). 

After reflecting on the information above, it wasn’t an instance or occasion where I experienced a tipping point. It was more of an experience that I gained through the months that I was working for this particular person. This tipping point occurred with my first supervisor, when I first moved down to Florida to attend college. Being fresh out of high school, I was basically starting to be on my own; this was the first time I had a job, more responsibilities, I was alone, etc. Through the months that I was working there, this supervisor took me under her wings. She guided me; coached me; taught me what she knew; mentored me; helped me learn to try new things; gave me advice about how to treat customers, employees, and handle situations; taught me to speak up; showed me how to overcome negative feelings or situations and use it as a learning point or opportunity to grow; and overall just treated me like her daughter. For all of this and more, I am very grateful to have met her. She helped me overcome all the fears that I had at the time about growing up and/or being taken advantage of in the workplace. She thought me the importance of being self-aware, to always remember who I was and where I was coming from, and to also always follow my values. In other words, she helped me be the person I am today both personally and professionally.

Because of her patience, love, care, and positive outlook in life, I received that “Aha” moment that Dr. Boyatzis speaks about when referring to the tipping point. This was that life changing moment where I learned how to lead and grew to be a leader. The result so far has been positive. Leading isn’t something that you learn overnight. It’s something that you gain through learning and experience as you continue working. In other words, this supervisor gave me the foundation of leadership. Reflecting on this, I don’t think that I would change or do something differently as I have gained and learned a lot through this experience. Plus, I don’t have something to compare it to, as she was the only supervisor who had a positive impact on my life.

References:

Boyatzis, R. E. (2013, September 11). 2.4 Module 4 2 The Positive (PEA) and Negative (NEA) Emotional Attractors. YouTube. Retrieved April 19, 2014, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=197x4dmuug8

Boyatzis, R. E. (2013, September 11). 2.1 Module 3 1 Emotional Social and Cognitive Intelligence Competencies. YouTube. Retrieved April 19, 2014, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKOZlVoqfFY

Boyatzis, R. E. (2006). Using tipping points of emotional intelligence and cognitive competencies to predict financial performance of leaders. Psicothema, 18(1), 124 - 131. Retrieved April 19, 2014, from http://www.psicothema.com/pdf/3287.pdf

A641.3.3.RB_MedinaM.

In the YouTube video “Daniel Goleman explains Emotional Intelligence”, it is explained with more detail what emotional intelligence is and what it entails. Emotional Intelligence (EI) refers to how we manage ourselves, how we manage our relationships, how self-aware we are, how motivated we are, whether we can handle distressing feelings effectively, how empathic we are, how well we can tune in to other people, how socially skilled and able we are (Daniel Goleman Explains Emotional Intelligence, 2012). In the article “Leadership that gets results”, 4 dimensions of EI are discussed: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and social skill (Goleman, 2000). Self-awareness is about “having a clear perception of your personality, including your strengths, weaknesses, thoughts, beliefs, motivation, and emotions” (Self awareness, n.d.). It entails using your feelings as a guide to understand other people, and understanding your own attitude and responses in order to understand how others perceive this from you at the moment. It is also about using your intuition and following that gut feeling you may have in order to make conscious decisions.

Self-management, in my opinion, is about taking responsibility for our own actions and well-being. Goleman describes self-management as managing our own emotions; whether you fall apart under stress, do you say things to people you wish you hadn’t said, and so on (Daniel Goleman Explains Emotional Intelligence, 2012). In other words, self-management is about controlling impulsive feelings and behaviors and managing our own emotions in a healthy manner by adapting to changing conditions. Social awareness is about understanding the emotions, needs, and concerns of other people, pick up emotional cues, feel comfortable socially, and recognize the power dynamics in a group or organization (Segal & Smith, n.d.). In my opinion, social awareness is about how you emotionally manage social interactions, whether you understand the emotions of those around you, and how you interact and respond with the different types of emotions. Lastly, Goleman describes social skill as how well you can handle relationships, can you deal with conflict, be the type of person people like to work with or even enjoy being with (Daniel Goleman Explains Emotional Intelligence, 2012). In my opinion, good social skills is about an being an easy person to talk to; whether you are a team player; can you handle stressful situations; it’s about focusing on the development of skills of others rather than focusing on your own success; about communicating and managing disputes between employees; and also about maintaining good working relationships.

After reflecting on the information above, I can say that I now understand with more depth the importance of EI, how it can affect and even help develop my leadership skills. Self-awareness applies to me in the form of being able to understand my own emotions, my reaction, and responses to different situations that may occur during my professional career. My strength under self-awareness is being able to be in tuned with my own feelings, emotions, and actions as well how others perceive me. The area that needs development under self-awareness would be to be more in tune with my values and beliefs. Overall, I have the general knowledge of what makes me be my own person, what drives me, and what motivates me. But, I believe I need to further explore myself, as in my beliefs and values, in order to truly become aware of my own self. Generally, the dimensions of self-awareness have helped me in the performance. Through experience I have learned how to read my own emotions and feelings as well have been able to read the emotions and the reactions of others around me.

Under self-management, this dimension applies to me in the part of being able to manage my own emotions even under stress. Actually, one of my strengths has been able to understand and control situations when under stress by providing clear rules, expectations, and decision-making, among other things. From the definitions mentioned above, I do not believe that there are areas in which I need to develop in order to be more effective. This dimension has actually helped my performance because I have been able to adapt my emotions and behavior to the situation in order to remain effective. I have also been able to manage my emotions in the form of controlling impulsive feelings and emotions in front of confrontation. In the aspect of social awareness, my strength is being able to understand the emotions, needs, and concerns of others. Unfortunately, one of the main areas that I need to develop is to feel more comfortable socially. I now know that social interactions are important in the business sector. It is therefore important for me to understand and develop the skills of social interaction so I can remain comfortable on business social gatherings with employees or partners. Fortunately, this has not necessarily hindered my performance or career, as I have not had the opportunity to be in that type of setting where I need to be sociable with company partners.

Lastly, under the dimension of social skills this applies to be in the aspect of managing relationships and being able to be the type of person that is liked in the workplace. My strength thus far has been able to be an easy person to speak to. Because of my personality, employees have always felt more comfortable speaking to me about personal and professional matters, either seeking advice or wondering whom they should speak to about the matter, before speaking to a supervisor or manager. Unfortunately, this has its drawbacks because under a leadership position if an employee has a professional matter that should be attended by a supervisor, even after advising them to speak to a supervisor, some employees choose not to bring up such situation or matter to a supervisor. Therefore, in order for me to remain professional and avoid any misunderstandings and/or mistakes at times I need to bring up such situations to the supervisor so he or she can remain aware of what is happening in the workplace. Sadly, at times this breaks the trust between the employee and me as the employee feels that I have betrayed him or her. Sometimes, a true clarification and explanation helps keep that trust between the employee and myself but this is not always the case. This dimension has both helped and hindered me in my performance. It has helped me in the form of being able to be an easy person to speak to, have that trust and bond with employees, managed good working relationships, and focus on the success of others before my own. Overall, the example that was mentioned above is one of the areas in need of development as well as has been one of the areas that has hindered my performance, and effectiveness in leadership.

References:

Daniel Goleman Explains Emotional Intelligence. (2012, March 13). YouTube. Retrieved April 13, 2014, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeJ3FF1yFyc

Goleman, Daniel. "Leadership that gets results." Harvard Business Review 78.2 (2000): 78. Business Insights: Essentials. Web. Retrieved April 11, 2014, from http://bi.galegroup.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/essentials/article/GALE%7CA60471886/2f8d8eb8604f45af92933595d2659871?u=embry

Segal, J., & Smith, M. (n.d.). Emotional Intelligence (EQ). : Five Key Skills for Raising Emotional Intelligence. Retrieved April 11, 2014, from http://www.helpguide.org/mental/eq5_raising_emotional_intelligence.htm

Self Awareness. (n.d.). Self Awareness. Retrieved April 11, 2014, from http://www.pathwaytohappiness.com/self-awareness.htm