|
|
Is Your Job a Pain and a Drag?
*****Be Your Own Business Expert.***** Do you have a dream of starting and developing your own business? If you are truly committed to this ideal there are now more possibilities of bringing it to reality than ever. Let me give you an easy...
Six Lessons for Getting in the “Right Mindset” For Starting Your Own Business
Believe it or not your childhood attitude towards a fence shapes your business mindset. As you’ll learn from my experience starting a business, having the right mindset is the key to being an entrepreneur. It’s all about being a fence hopper...
The Art Of Employee Motivation
If you think that your employees' poor performance on their
designated jobs is costing you a whole lot of lost profits, then
instead of just doing a total overhaul of your employee roster,
why not try to do some employee motivation tactics to get...
THE POWER OF DUPLICATION
I can remember when photocopiers first came on the market. But before that, I remember struggling with the machine that used methylated spirits and when you came out from a session of copying, you were invariably covered from head to toe in...
Turning Challenges into Opportunities
Turning Challenge Into Opportunity There is a common saying that whenever you are presented with a problem or a challenge, you should turn it into an opportunity. Some of the people who have mastered this concept are; the United States...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Not Getting the Support or Buy-In You Want? Try a little empathy!
"It’s not who is right, but what is right, that is of importance." Thomas Huxley
"An open ear is the only believable sign of an open heart." David Augsburger
"A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty." Albert Einstein
As someone who's always been interested in and curious about the "soft skills" that make individuals, groups, and teams particularly effective, it seems to me that empathy has gotten short shrift in terms of just how powerful a capability it is in influencing people, building relationships, getting buy-in and motivation, and creating resilience both personally and in systems. I've also been bemused by the irony of that expression, as the soft stuff is the hard stuff for many of us!
In working with an executive coaching client recently, I was asked to conduct some interviews for 360 feedback, and was struck by the importance her peers and bosses placed on her being able to understand and hold her customers' perspectives.
In fact, without actually using the word "empathy", a number of the interviewees indicated it was a key success factor if my client wants to be more effective in her leadership and influence, even though she is already perceived as a very caring, people-competent director.
So what are we talking about exactly? The American Heritage Dictionary defines empathy as "Understanding so intimate that the feelings, thoughts, and motives of one are readily comprehended by another."
In the emotional intelligence lexicon, empathy is the core, critical competence of social awareness. In this context, particularly as it applies to business performance and organizations, empathy is the ability to understand other people, to take other and multiple perspectives.
It is based in taking an active interest in others' concerns. The ability to be empathic reflects increasing complexity of perspective and depth of understanding of others, and thus is critical for effective leadership.
Our natural tendency to see the world as we are rather than as things are limits our abilities to connect with others and to make more appropriate or effective choices based on
what's right for the whole – be it a team, the organization, customers, or business partners. If we are not empathic to our colleagues, customers, and clients' perspectives, we will not be effective in selling our ideas, programs, and products.
Likewise, some organizational cultures value and foster empathy more than others. At one point, I coached in a Fortune 100 company where a command and control management style predominated. Empathy was dismissed as a sign of weakness and management failed to see the power it held in driving motivation and performance, and achieving results.
Another reason people are cautious about demonstrating empathy is a fear that if I show that I understand, care about, and acknowledge the other person's reality that means that I agree with them, and therefore I weaken my interests. However, acknowledging another's perspective and taking it into account, does not imply or mean that we have to agree with them.
While some folks are naturally hard wired to be empathic, anyone can develop empathy behaviors. How do you do that?
- Practice listening when someone approaches you to talk and express feelings if you would typically feel too busy to talk and brush them off.
- Try using open-ended inquiry, such as "tell me more about that" to make sure you understand the other person's point of view and their motivation, both in emotion and content.
- Be aware of your ability to adjust your style and approach based on the needs and style you are working with., not only verbally but also in para-language such as tone, pitch, volume and pace, non-verbal body language, and dress.
Be aware that even those of us who are more naturally empathic can fail to demonstrate this ability, when we're dealing with something that we have an emotional charge or investment in.
A final safety tip: If you want to demonstrate or develop empathy and experience its' potential power, you must necessarily let go of the need and desire to be right, even if you feel and believe passionately in your idea or position. Being right and being empathically curious just don't go together.
(c) Copyright 2003. Manya Arond-Thomas, all rights reserved.
About the Author
Manya Arond-Thomas, M.D., is the founder of Manya Arond-Thomas & Company, a coaching and consulting firm that catalyzes the creation of “right results” through facilitating executive development, high-performance teams and organizational effectiveness. She can be reached at (734) 480-1932 or e-mailed at manya@arond-thomas.com Subscribe to Emotional Intelligence at Work mailto:manya_list@aweber.com
|
|
|
|
|
Motivation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
Article giving an overview of the concept. Includes history, information on human psychological drives, and applications in business and education. |
en.wikipedia.org |
  |
Motivation 123. Motivation Techniques & Tips for Your Happiness ... |
Free Motivation Kit, techniques, tips, and ideas to help you achieve greater happiness and success. |
www.motivation123.com |
  |
Motivation - the international disability charity Motivation |
Motivation and other international organisations convene in Bangalore this ... Motivation is an international disability and development agency working in ... |
www.motivation.org.uk |
  |
Motivation |
Goal Setting is extremely important to motivation and success. So what motivates you? Why are you in college? If you are in college because that's what your ... |
www.d.umn.edu |
  |
Employee motivation. Motivation in the workplace- theory and practice |
Employee motivation in the workplace article. This article focus on aspects of employee motivation, theory and practice as applied to in the workplace and ... |
www.accel-team.com |
  |
Motivation |
Motivation Notecards pad. 6 notecards with envelopes pad ... Motivation Desktopper pad. Black brushed-aluminum frame with glass. (5"x7") pad ... |
despair.com |
  |
Motivation Point. Motivation Advice for Your Achievement and Success |
Motivation techniques and advice to help you achieve greater personal success in your life. |
getmotivation.com |
  |
The Motivation Tool Chest |
Motivation tips on self-development, workplace, leadership, at-risk youth, education. Example: People who have a vision control their destiny and lifestyle. |
www.motivation-tools.com |
  |
Seven Rules of Motivation |
Set a major goal, but follow a path. The path has mini goals that goes in many directions. When you learn to succeed at mini goals, you will be motivated to ... |
www.motivation-tools.com |
  |
Motivation |
MOTIVATION CHECKLIST. The following checklist may prove helpful in getting at the ... If you want to improve your motivation you may want to choose a ... |
www.ucc.vt.edu |
  |
GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF MOTIVATION |
Basic principles of motivation exist that are applicable to learning in any ... In a general learning situation, self-motivation without rewards will not ... |
honolulu.hawaii.edu |
  |
TIP: Concepts |
Weiner (1990) points out that behavioral theories tended to focus on extrinsic motivation (i.e., rewards) while cognitive theories deal with intrinsic ... |
tip.psychology.org |
  |
Motivational Quotes, Motivational Quotations, motivation quotes ... |
Motivational Quotes, Motivational Quotations, motivation quotes, inspirational quotations from Motivating Moments. Updated 2 times a week, ... |
www.motivateus.com |
  |
Motivation - Atom Wiki |
Motivation. Why are you doing this? RSS is [WWW] over five years old. It was designed for news sites, a way for them to list the stories they had. ... |
www.intertwingly.net |
  |
Motivation & Inspiration from The Daily Motivator® |
A brief, daily message of motivation and personal development, with an archive of more than 2000 previous messages. A positive approach to successful ... |
greatday.com |
  |
Pages tagged with "motivation" on del.icio.us |
by blowski to folksonomy marketing internet user generated content motivation theory business blog ... saved by 124 other people ... 3 mins ago ... |
del.icio.us |
  |
Motivational and Inspirational Resources, Quotes, Short Stories ... |
Free daily motivational & inspirational, quotes, short stories, messages, articles, thoughts, and poems designed to help you lead a happy and healthy life. |
www.motivational-messages.com |
  |
Mental Help Net - Psychological Self-Tools - Online Self-Help Book ... |
Methods For Changing Your Identity and Your Motivations ... There are two types of animal motivation: the motivation to approach something, ... |
www.mentalhelp.net |
  |
Teambuilding Inc. Article - Team Motivation |
Probably the first question to be answered in a discussion of motivation is ... Motivation in this case was lacking because the team’s purpose was not in ... |
www.teambuildinginc.com |
  |
Learning Skills Program - Increasing Motivation |
Motivation is a complex issue, with a number of causes and solutions -- many of which are of interest to university students, who usually know what they ... |
www.coun.uvic.ca |
  |
|