By: Angela Fieler, MPA, CMQ/OE, Senior Consultant
In his new book, Justin Bariso set out to inspire people like me, who measured their emotional intelligence but didn’t really apply the concepts. In short, his goal is to “provide you with the strategies you need to put your EQ to work.” I’d say he hit it out of the park. By the time I got to Chapter 2 – which is jam-packed with practical tools to help you build self-awareness and practice self-management – I had ordered a hard copy and now dedicate time every week to learn how to control my thoughts and help me manage my emotions.
In the first two chapters, Bariso sets the stage by defining emotional intelligence and explaining why it matters, especially in today’s world. He goes on to lay a clear path for developing your EQ. The chapter titles are both specific and self-explanatory. The chapters themselves are full of great exercises (Bariso says “try this”) and self-reflective questions that help you create “case studies of your own behavior.” The stories and examples resonate. I probably shouldn’t admit that I started with two different highlighters to distinguish between what related to my personal life and what related to my professional life. By the end of Chapter 2, I realized that I have one life to which I should apply these strategies.
As a sidebar, one of the best measures of emotional and team intelligence that I’ve found comes from SurePeople. Their tools not only measure emotional intelligence but provide ongoing support for personal and team improvement necessary for employee engagement. I highly recommend checking it out.
I am an “active reader,” which means my hard copy of the book is now tagged, highlighted and scribbled all over. My journal is full of answers to the self-reflective questions and what happened when I tried what the author suggested. As a result, I don’t just think I am improving my ability to understand and manage my emotions, I’ve asked for and received feedback from those closest to me to help me on my journey and to confirm that I’m making progress. If you are more of a browser, I would suggest you read the Introduction – if that doesn’t motivate you, I don’t know what will – and then jump to the Appendix: The Ten Commandments of Emotional Intelligence. If you are interested in improving your patients’ and employees’ experiences, read Chapters 5 and 7, which cover empathy and trust respectively. And, finally, if you are trying to develop a culture of service, which is built on trust and fueled by empathy, call us at the Baird Group to discuss how our training and consulting services can help you.
