Following on from my previous blog I should say that I have done three seminars on Emotional Intelligence where the core technology was Salovey-Mayer model. One was organised by the Harvard Business School, the second by the University of Sydney and the third seminar was organised by the American Chamber of Commerce in Sydney and has already been the subject of a previous blog can-you-be-too-positive?
While all three seminars defined what EQ is and why it is important, all three seminars failed to provide practical examples of how to use it. However in The Emotionally Intelligent Manager Salovey & Caruso repeatedly suggest that when considering such matters as budgets, project plans, investments and business plans one should allow risk-adverse, double-checking, pessimistic emotions to dominate. Here at last I thought was practical example of how to use EQ.
I am currently in the throes of doing the index for the fifth edition of my book Enterprise & Venture Capital: A Handbook for Business Builders and Investors. Preparing indexes is particularly detailed and tedious work and dreaded by most authors. I found that when I put myself in a negative frame of mind as per Salovey & Caruso’s instructions I would stop working after 15 minutes and go do something else.
However when I put my Humm hat on I looked at the task differently. I said to myself that completing a project is one of my core emotional drives and that once the index was complete my work would be done and the next thing to do would be to attend the launch party. Also as I get older, I am increasingly dominated by the desire for order. I find errors in grammar and punctuation particularly annoying. However by completing an accurate index I would be acting in a professional matter satisfying both myself and being an example to others.
By triggering positive emotions which are at the same time those that promote your eye for detail I am now completing the task.
Isn’t this a better way of using Emotional Intelligence?
