"Self-reverance, self-knowledge, self-control. These three alone lead life to sovereign power" (Lord Tennyson- circa 1870). "Know Thyself" (Thales of Miletus- 624 - 546 BCE, estimate). Rooted throughout antiquity, the portrayal of self-knowledge as being a primary stepping-stone to enlightened thought is both hollow hyperbole and practical proverb. That is, this is a concept that is easily understood intellectually but is more difficult to practically apply. As a consultant charged with engaging numerous people on this workplace topic annually, my recommendation is that the entire workforce become practically familiar with the current workplace research around knowing thyself, known as Emotional Intelligence (EI).
In a past blog post I defined emotional intelligence, per Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer, as “the subset of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one's own and others' feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one's thinking and actions.” As with any other endeavor that combines learning with the emotional sciences (psychology, counseling, etc.), self-development in the EI sense can be challenging and time-consuming. Coaching, self-assessment, and meta-cognitive thought development are practices that can certainly help. In this blog post I'll discuss using these practices for the purpose of increasing emotional intelligence.
In 1955, cognitive psychologists within the United States developed a tool commonly known today within the fields of I/O psychology and OD consulting as the "Johari Window." This somewhat simple tool improves individuals' interpersonal relationships through the process of both receiving and disclosing previously hidden characterizations of their personality. Through the ongoing process of genuine feedback and disclosure, the subject becomes aware of blind spots not previously known to him or herself while allowing others to know him or her at a deeper level. This process, quite common in today's workplace, is partially responsible for the increased organizational use of multi-rater and psychometric assessments.
Multi-rater assessments, such as CCL's Assessment Suite®, are designed to collect qualitative feedback from one's peers, superiors, and subordinates concerning one's performance against a number of performance categories commonly referred to as competencies or characteristics. More sophisticated methods seek feedback from beyond the immediate workplace to include suppliers and customers as well as family and friends. When facilitated properly, this process allows for the candidate receiving the feedback to broaden their understanding of their performance in targeted areas (such as leadership skill and effective communication) while increasing their awareness of the interpersonal affects they have on those around them. Through this process, the candidate receiving the feedback normally achieves heightened awareness of their interpersonal and performance effectiveness, consequently increasing their emotional intelligence over time.
Psychometric assessments, such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)®, offer similar methods for increasing self-awareness and empathy. Instead of obtaining performance and interpersonal feedback from individuals who work closely with you, these assessments provide a validated description of your personality tendencies, preferred behaviors, etc. based on psychometric research. These assessments normally split the testing population between four to sixteen categories of preferences depending on the test, landing each test taker into a category they are then asked to become familiar with. When using assessments with higher than average measures of validity and reliability, this process can be more enlightening than multi-rater assessment feedback as it provides the test-taker with an understanding of their unique motivations, preferences, and tendencies. Understanding one's unique preferences becomes even more useful when compared with other categories of preferences as it increases empathy and deepens one's appreciation for others.
One of the most important skills developed during the self-assessment process is thinking meta-cognitively. Meta-cognition very simply means thinking about our thinking or operating with multiple levels of awareness. Here is an example: you are in a conversation with a co-worker and you notice that the co-worker increases her direct eye-contact, raises her voice, and crosses her arms. You may pick up on these cues and begin an internal inquiry seeking to understand if there might be anything that you've done or said that could have caused this person to become defensive or angry. During the course of this inner inquiry, you may also ask yourself if the cues your picking up on are relevant to the current situation or are based on a memory of a previous yet similar conversation with someone else. This internal dialogue taking place while you remain engaged in the external conversation is meta-cognitive thinking.
Meta-cognitive thought is essential to the development of one's capabilities for being emotionally intelligent as it provides the real-time reflection and action-learning methods used for experimentation and learning. Without meta-cognition, one follows their usual routine for human interaction without paying attention to the affects their behavior might have on others. However, when thinking meta-cognitively, one is both in the conversation as well as outside of the conversation, operating...adjusting...learning. If the Johari Window allows one to gather a deeper awareness of possible blind spots affecting their performance and interpersonal effectiveness, meta-cognition adds real-time awareness to this process, therefore speeding one's development.
Lastly, leadership coaching is a resource that can combine the use of various assessments, advanced meta-cognitive thinking, and individualized learning in a Johari-esque model of development. Contemporary leadership coaching takes place in a humanistic yet goal-directed environment that many find renewing, deeply developmental, and enlightening. An experienced, ICF certified coach normally assists the candidate from two orientations. First, the coach and candidate complete an in-depth assessment of the candidate's strengths and weaknesses to be used as a foundation for the development of holistic goals. Secondly, while the candidate works toward goal attainment the coach continues the developmental relationship providing a forum for accountability, support and trustful disclosure, further reinforcing practical application of new skills.
For more information on applying these four practices, or questions about any other leadership oriented subjects, please contact me through my website: www.leadersmartconsulting.com.
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