"Mastering the art of leadership is a lifelong endeavor..." Michael Useem, Wharton Professor and Director of the Wharton Center for Leadership and Change Management.
In the previous section you were given an overview of the rationale behind MY EQ. In this section you will be given a concise overview of the program by addressing these 6 questions. The first two questions have largely already been answered in the introduction but we will recap on them.
WHAT IS MY EQ?
As you know by now MY EQ is a journey in developing emotional competence and personal mastery and that EQ and personal mastery are at the core of effective leadership. MY EQ is a journey that will enable you to develop more emotionally intelligent behaviors and thereby enrich your leadership capability.
MY EQ is largely based on the personality assessment you completed which measured you on a number of personality dimensions that relate to emotional intelligence (commonly referred to as EQ or Emotional Quotient) and also personal styles and habits. (Going forward we will refer to all of this as EQ for easy reference.)
My EQ will provide you with tools and a detailed process that will help you to develop your EQ over time.
We have divided My EQ into three phases or smaller journeys.
Journey 1: Self - Regulation
Journey 2: Working with People
Journey 3: Managing Tasks
WHY DEVELOP MY EQ?
There is strong evidence that EQ is critical to leadership and business success. In the introduction we referred to a study done by Daniel Goleman that makes a compelling case for the role of EQ in leadership:
Studies have shown that people with high EQ have greater mental health, exemplary job performance, and more potent leadership skills. For example, Goleman’s research in his book, Working with Emotional Intelligence, indicated that EQ accounted for 67% of the abilities deemed necessary for superior performance in leaders, and mattered twice as much as technical expertise or IQ.[5] (Wikipedia)
HOW WILL I DEVELOP MY EQ?
You will be using a number of Tools and Activities to help you to develop your EQ in each of your three My EQ journeys:
The Tools Are:
- This Website - This doubles up as the manual which explains how to go about your development.
- Roadmap - This is a tool which will help you to prioritise your development.
- Expert Guides - This is a detailed feedback report on the personality test you did.
- Workbooks - There is a companion workbook for each of the personality dimensions on which you were assessed. This is the engine room of your development and provides you with development activities.
- Expert Tutor - This is a process that will help you to do an EQ Workout which is an intensive self - development exercise
The Activities Are:
- Increasing Insight and Self - Awareness
- Implementing Coaching Suggestions
- Recommended Readings
- Developing Target Behaviors
- The EQ Workout
- Reflection
You will be applying a combination of these development activities to address your development areas. Each Tool and Activity will be discussed in detail later in Modules 2 and 3 respectively.
WHY A JOURNEY?
My EQ is a journey. It is not a training program or a quick fix that will magically improve your EQ. Every journey in life takes time and effort. My EQ is no different. It is like anything else in life. What you put in, is what you will get out and will determine the extent to which you progress from unconscious incompetence to unconscious competence. How far you progress on this journey depends on you. We can't make you emotionally more intelligent. We are confident though, that if you carry out the recommendations we make with respect to improving your emotional intelligence, that there will be learning and growth with respect to your EQ and enhancement of your personal leadership brand.
HOW LONG WILL THE JOURNEY TAKE?
We have designed it as a one year program and areof the view that you will make substantial gains towards personal mastery if you follow the program closely over this time period. We are mindful of the fact that there are many other demands on your time as well, and that you may not be able to invest as much as may ideally be required or be able to carry out all of our recommendations. However, whatever you are able to invest will bring about growth, and you always have the option of re - registering for the course every 12 months.
We like to think of developing EQ and attaining personal mastery as a lifelong journey. Increasing self - awareness, which is the fundamental pillar of My EQ, is an ongoing requirement for personal growth and mastery. It is not an event. Uncovering our blind spots and deepening our understanding of ourselves and how we behave in different situations is a lifelong task, not to mention learning new behaviors. It is realistic therefore to take a long term view of your journey towards personal mastery.
We are confident that you will be able to use the tools and information we provide you in this course for the rest of your life, making you not only a better leader, but also enriching you in many other areas of your life as well.
HOW DO I PREPARE FOR MY JOURNEY?
Any journey requires preparation. There are three modules that will help you to prepare for My EQ and that will show you how to use the Development Tools and Activities. Please work through them carefully before starting with the Three Journeys.
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