The Three Levels of Leadership – Scouller Leadership Blog » Emotional Intelligence

Can A Negative Self-Image Reduce Awareness?

Posted on May 10, 2013 by

After The Three Levels of Leadership came out in 2011, readers followed up with questions on leadership, leadership psychology and self-mastery – all of them interesting.  So interesting, in fact, that I’m releasing my answers here as they supplement the “Three Levels” material and others may find them useful.  Here’s the sixth in the series.   I’ll post the others over the coming months…

Q6. If you have a negative self-image arising from limiting beliefs and negative feelings about yourself stemming from the beliefs, can that reduce your self-awareness?

“In one sense yes, but in another sense, no…

Numbing Yourself Against Feelings

I say ‘yes’ because if you decide to defend yourself against the limiting beliefs that make up your negative self-image and their painful feelings (above all, shame) by numbing yourself against them, you can indeed reduce what you are consciously aware of.  Ironically, such decisions are usually unconscious.

Note what I just said: ‘you can reduce what you are consciously aware of.’  Continue reading →

Caring About The People You Lead

Posted on July 9, 2012 by

Caring about the people you lead is one of the keys to getting the best possible performance from them.  The best leaders care about the conditions their colleagues are working in.  They care about their morale.  They care what individuals are feeling.  And they care how well everyone is working together.

Twenty-five years ago, a book called A Passion for Excellence contained a powerful example of what it’s like when a hardened leader cares deeply about his people.  It was a speech by Melvin Zais, a U.S. Army General to senior officers at a staff college: Continue reading →

A Leader’s Guide to Emotional Intelligence (Part 3)

Posted on September 19, 2011 by

In part 1, we saw that Daniel Goleman’s model of Emotional Intelligence (EQ), has five dimensions.  All growth in a person’s emotional intelligence starts with the first dimension, Self-Awareness.  This flows into greater Empathy (the second dimension) and capacity to Self-Regulate (the third dimension) and emerges as improved Social Skills (the fourth dimension).  Motivation, the fifth dimension, provides the fuel for this growth.

In part 2, we looked at the 25 emotional competencies – the abilities anyone can learn to lead themselves and others to better effect.  Reviewing them gives you the chance to see your strengths and weaknesses and decide where you want to improve.

In part 3, we look at how you can grow your emotional intelligence and I offer some practical tips for developing your emotional competencies at work.  I’ve organised them by the five dimensions of Emotional Intelligence: Self-Awareness, Self-Regulation, Motivation, Empathy and Social Skills.  Continue reading →

A Leader’s Guide To Emotional Intelligence (Part 2)

Posted on September 9, 2011 by

There were two key messages in part 1.

First, that Daniel Goleman’s model of Emotional Intelligence (EQ), has five dimensions.

Second, that all growth in a person’s emotional intelligence starts with the first dimension, Self-Awareness.  This flows into greater Empathy (the second dimension) and capacity to Self-Regulate (the third dimension) and emerges as improved Social Skills (the fourth dimension).  Motivation, the fifth dimension, provides the fuel for this growth.

Now we start to bridge from theory to practice… Continue reading →

A Leader’s Guide To Emotional Intelligence (Part 1)

Posted on August 31, 2011 by

This three-part article offers a quick understanding of Daniel Goleman’s model of Emotional Intelligence and explains its relevance to life in organisations.  It explains how coaching can help and offers some tips on how to improve your own emotional intelligence.

Part 1 starts with the basics… Continue reading →