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Emotional Intelligence Resources

Jim Saveland, PhD. Human Factors & Risk Mgt. RD&A Rocky Mountain Research Station

USDA, Forest Service Overview – the four quadrants A key component of Forest Service Middle and Senior Leadership Training programs is learning about and working with emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is a key driver of high performance, and thus health (wellbeing) and safety (risk management). What follows is a general overview of emotional intelligence with reference material to books, articles, videos, and weblinks for further self-exploration of the topic. “Ever since the publication of Daniel Goleman’s first book on the topic in 1995, emotional intelligence has become one of the hottest buzzwords in corporate America. For instance, when the Harvard Business Review published an article on the topic in 1998, it attracted a higher percentage of readers than any other article published in that periodical in the last 40 years. When the CEO of Johnson & Johnson read that article, he was so impressed that he had copies sent out to the 400 top executives in the company worldwide.”1 Emotional intelligence has been defined as, “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” (Salovey and Mayer 1990). Goleman’s 4-quadrant model with its 20 competencies (top of next page) is often the entry point for learning about emotional intelligence. Emotional Skills Here are some emotional skills that can be cultivated: Identifying and labeling feelings Expressing feelings Assessing the intensity of feelings Managing feelings Delaying gratification Controlling impulses (to go faster - slow it down) Managing stress Knowing the difference between feelings and actions Positive attitude Self-awareness

1 Emotional Intelligence: What it is and Why it Matters by Cary Cherniss

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Self

Personal Competence

Other Social competence

Recognition

Self-Awareness - Emotional self-awareness - Accurate self-assessment - Self-confidence

Social Awareness - Empathy - Service orientation - Organizational awareness

Regulation

Self-Management - Self-control - Trustworthiness - Conscientiousness - Adaptability - Achievement drive - Initiative

Relationship Management - Developing others - Influence - Communication - Conflict management - Leadership - Change catalyst - Building bonds - Teamwork & collaboration

Self-awareness: observing yourself and recognizing your feelings; building a vocabulary for feelings; knowing the relationship between thoughts, feelings, and reactions. Personal decision-making: examining your actions and knowing their consequences; knowing if thought or feeling is ruling a decision. Managing feelings: monitoring "self-talk" to catch negative messages such as internal put-downs; realizing what is behind a feeling (e.g., the hurt that underlies anger); finding ways to handle fears and anxieties, anger, and sadness. Handling stress: learning the value of exercise, guided imagery, relaxation methods. Empathy: understanding other's feelings and concerns and taking their perspective; appreciating the differences in how people feel about things. Communications: talking about feelings effectively: becoming a active listener and question-asker; distinguishing between what someone does or says and your own reactions or judgments about it; sending "I" messages instead of blame. Self-disclosure: valuing openness and building trust in a relationship; knowing when it's safe to risk talking about your private feelings. Insight: identifying patterns in your emotional life and reactions; recognizing similar patterns in others. Self-acceptance: feeling pride and seeing yourself in a positive light; recognizing your strengths and weaknesses; being able to laugh at yourself.

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Personal responsibility: taking responsibility; recognizing the consequences of your decisions and actions, accepting your feelings and moods, following through on commitments Assertiveness: stating your concerns and feelings without anger or passivity. Group dynamics: cooperation; knowing when and how to lead, when to follow. Conflict resolution: the win/win model for negotiating compromise. Leadership Books & Articles Boyatzis, Goleman, and McKee have written several articles and books that relate emotional intelligence to leadership. A big part of that work is leaders creating resonant relationships by managing stress-recovery cycles through mindfulness, hope, and compassion. I’ve also included Susan Cain’s book here as it addresses the myth of charismatic leadership and the “extrovert ideal.” While extroverts may have an easier time with social competencies, introverts may have an easier time with personal competencies, so there is much that each can learn from the other. Most likely, there are many introvert leaders in the Forest Service (something to be embraced). Boyatzis, R. and A. McKee. 2005. Resonant Leadership. Harvard Business School

Press, Boston. Cain, S. 2012. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking.

Broadway Paperbacks, New York. Goleman, D. (2004). What Makes a Leader? Harvard Business Review, 82(1): 82-91. Goleman, D. (2000). Leadership That Gets Results. Harvard Business Review

78(2):78-90. Goleman, D., & Boyatzis, R. (2008). Social Intelligence and the Biology of Leadership.

Harvard Business Review, 86(9): 74-81. Goleman, D., R. Boyatzis, and A. McKee. 2002. Primal Leadership: Realizing the

Power of Emotional Intelligence. Harvard Business School Press, Boston. Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R., & McKee, A. 2001. Primal Leadership: The Hidden Driver

of Great Performance. Harvard Business Review, 79(11): 42-51. McKee, A., R. Boyatzis, and F. Johnston. 2008. Becoming a Resonant Leader: Develop

your emotional intelligence, renew your relationships, sustain your effectiveness. Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston.

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EI Books and Articles Here are the core references of Goleman, Salovey, and Mayer’s work. To this list I’ve added Darwin’s classic work, and Kantor’s brilliant work on behavioral profiles and structural dynamics (how face-to-face communication works and does not work in human systems). Cherniss, C. and D. Goleman, eds. 2001. The Emotionally Intelligent Workplace.

Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. Darwin, C. 1872. The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals. Penguin

Classics, New York. Goleman, D. 2011. The Brain and Emotional Intelligence: New Insights. More Than

Sound, Northampton. Goleman, D. 2006. Social Intelligence. Bantam Books, New York. Goleman, D. 1998. Working with Emotional Intelligence. Bantam Books, NY. Goleman, D. 1995. Emotional Intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. Bantam

Books, NY. Kantor, D. 2012. Reading the Room: Group Dynamics for Coaches and Leaders.

Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. Salovey, P. and J.D. Mayer. 1990. Emotional intelligence. Imagination, Cognition, and

Personality 9:185-211. Weisinger, H. 1998. Emotional Intelligence at Work. Jossey-Bass Inc., San Francisco. Websites: Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations http://www.eiconsortium.org One thing to think about here is the interaction with the body. After all, the mind is embodied and as we’ll see in a minute with Damasio’s work, “emotions play out in the theater of the body.” Amy Weintraub’s book, while focused on providing therapists with skills for working with their clients, nonetheless outlines yoga-based practices that are specific to mood management that can be used outside a therapeutic relationship. Amy Cuddy’s 20 minute talk provides a good introduction on the power of the body to affect the mind, including emotions.

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Weintraub, A. 2012. Yoga Skills for Therapists: Effective Practices for Mood

Management. Amy Cuddy’s Ted Talk (21 minutes). Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks-_Mh1QhMc More Videos Short FORA.tv clip of Antonio Damasio on the importance of emotions to decision making (3 minutes): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wup_K2WN0I Daniel Goleman discusses emotional and social intelligence at Google in 2007 (56 minutes): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hoo_dIOP8k Google TechTalk on contemplative neuroscience and neuroplasticity by Richie Davidson in 2009 (65 minutes): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tRdDqXgsJ0 Google TechTalk on Mindsight (the mind as an embodied and relational process that regulates the flow of energy and information) by Dan Siegel in 2009 (63 minutes): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr4Od7kqDT8 Daniel Kahneman’s Google Talk in 2011 on Thinking, Fast & Slow (62 minutes): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjVQJdIrDJ0 Philippe Goldin’s Google TechTalk in 2008 on The Neuroscience of Emotions (62 minutes): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tShDYA3NFVs Next Generation Emotional Intelligence From Antonio Damasio we discover that:

Emotions play out in the theater of the body. Feelings play out in the theater of the mind.

It is impossible to make decisions without emotions Emotions provide a natural means for the brain and mind to evaluate the

environment within and around the organism and respond accordingly and adaptively (situational awareness)

An understanding of the neurobiology of emotion and feelings is a key to the formulation of principles and policies capable of reducing human distress and enhancing human flourishing.

From Richie Davidson, we learn that there are six dimensions of “emotional style” each with their own identifiable neural signature:

Resilience: How slowly or quickly you recover from adversity

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Outlook: How long you are able to sustain positive emotion Social Intuition: How adept you are at picking up social signals form the people

around you. Sensitivity to Context: How good you are at regulating your emotional

responses to take into account the context you find yourself in. Self Awareness: How well you perceive bodily feelings that reflect emotions. Attention: How sharp and clear your focus is.

Chade-Meng Tan, Google’s “jolly good fellow,” writes about integrating mindfulness with emotional intelligence training at Google. Damasio, A. 2010. Self Comes to Mind: Constructing the conscious brain. Pantheon

Books, New York. Damasio, A. 2003. Looking for Spinoza: Joy, sorrow and the feeling brain. Harcourt,

Inc., New York. Damasio, A. 1999. The Feeling of What Happens: Body and Emotion in the Making of

Consciousness. Harcourt, Inc., New York. Damasio, A. 1994. Descartes’ Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain. Penguin

Books, New York. Davidson, R.J. and S. Begley. 2012. The Emotional Life of Your Brain. Penguin Group,

New York. Tan, C. 2012. Search Inside Yourself. HarperCollins, New York. With the recognition that emotions “play out in the theater of the body,” a classic text that coined the term “felt sense,” becomes increasingly important. An outline of the focusing process is presented in an appendix. Gendlin, E.T. 1978. Focusing. Bantam Books, New York. The Focusing Institute: http://www.focusing.org/ Mindfulness Mindfulness is rapidly being recognized as a core practice to improve emotional intelligence. Its rapid growth is partly a result of the research in affective neuroscience listed above that is leading to the next generation of emotional intelligence. There are a host of books and articles out there about mindfulness. Dan Siegel’s books and the multi-authored article give good summaries of the science that supports mindfulness practices. Jon Kabat-Zinn’s book discusses the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program developed at the University

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of Massachusetts Medical Center that is one of the most popular programs in hospitals around the world, as well as the foundation for business practices at places such as General Mills. Ted Putnam is a retired Forest Service employee, whose paper with Karl Weick tries to bridge the gap between the mindfulness studies of Ellen Langer that are the basis for High Reliability Organizing and the more common mindfulness practices. Professor Black provides a definition below. The MMFT website is an entry way to some of the leading-edge research being conducted with the military. Holzel, B.K., S.W. Lazar, T. Gard, Z. Schuman-Olivier, D.R. Vago and U. Ott. 2011. How

Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective. Perspectives on Psychological Science 6:537-559.

Kabat-Zinn, J. 2005. Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and

Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness, 15th Anniversary edition. Delta Trade Paperbacks. New York.

Siegel, D.J. 2010. Mindsight. Bantam Books, New York. Siegel, D.J. 2007. The Mindful Brain. W.W. Norton & Co., New York. Weick, K.E. and T. Putnam. 2006. Organizing for Mindfulness. Journal of

Management Inquiry 15(3):275-287. Websites: David Black of UCLA publishes a monthly newsletter that cites recently published research. Mindfulness Research Guide: http://www.mindfulexperience.org

“Mindfulness is a quality of human consciousness characterized by an accepting awareness of and enhanced attention to the constant stream of lived experience. Being mindful increases engagement with the present moment and allows for a clearer understanding of how thoughts and emotions can impact our health and quality of life. Mindfulness can be cultivated through meditation practice [and/or daily activities]. Mindfulness meditation practices have been formalized in programs such as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), and Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention (MBRP) as well as other programs [such as Mind Fitness Training (MMFT)]. Although mindfulness is an inherent human capacity that has been examined introspectively for millennia, scientific interest in mindfulness is burgeoning in the fields of medicine, psychology, social work, and business, as well as other areas.”

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Mind Fitness Training (MMFT) Institute: http://www.mind-fitness-training.org The U.S. Marines are conducting research studies on Mindfulness-Based Mind Fitness training. HeartMath is a type of mindfulness training with biofeedback on heart-rate variability. http://www.heartmath.com Intuition The other fallout from affective neuroscience research that is setting the stage for the next generation of emotional intelligence is the scientific study of intuition. Emotions are not simply something to be aware of, to communicate, and to regulate. They are integral to intuition. Evans, J. and K. Frankish (Eds.). 2009. In Two Minds: Dual Processes and Beyond.

Oxford University Press, New York. Gigerenzer, G. 2007. Gut Feelings: The Intelligence of the Unconscious. Penguin

Books, New York. Kahneman, D. 2011. Thinking, Fast and Slow. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, New York. Kahneman, D. and G. Klein. 2009. Conditions for Intuitive Expertise: A Failure to

Disagree. American Psychologist 64(6):515-526 Klein, G. 2009. Streetlights and Shadows: Searching for the Keys to Adaptive

Decision Making. MIT Press, Cambridge. Wilson, T.D. 2002. Strangers to Ourselves: Discovering the Adaptive Unconscious.

Harvard University Press, Cambridge. New research suggests that a sophisticated neural network transmits messages from trillions of bacteria in our gut that exerts a powerful influence over our brain. Carpenter, S. 2012. That Gut Feeling. Monitor on Psychology 43(8):50-55. Related – Positive Psychology Positive psychology is a huge field in and of itself. An excellent place to start is with Barbara Frederickson’s work. Fredrickson, B.L. 2009. Positivity. Crown Publishers, New York.

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Barbara Fredrickson’s research on the importance of experiencing positive emotions in at least a 3-to-1 ratio to negative emotions. Online positivity test: http://www.positivityratio.com/single.php Part of positive psychology is a focus on our strengths. The book reference for Gallup’s StrengthsFinder is: Buckingham, M. and D.O. Clifton. 2001. Now, Discover Your Strengths. The Free

Press, New York. Positive Psychology Center, University of Pennsylvania http://www.ppc.sas.upenn.edu/ Center for Positive Organizational Scholarship, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan http://www.bus.umich.edu/Positive/POS-Research/pastpositivesessions.htm Related – Servant Leadership & Adaptive Leadership Our culture is often consumed with what I call “private-sector envy.” “If only the federal government could operate more like the private-sector…,” is a common refrain. I believe that service trumps competition every time. Here are some reference materials on servant-leadership and related resources, such as Army and Marine Corps doctrine on command and control. Instead of looking to the private sector for excellence, we should look to service focused institutions, like the military (IMHO). Servant leadership is at the heart of “mission command,” and demands a high level of emotional intelligence.

Collins, J. 2005. Good to Great and the Social Sectors: Why Business Thinking is NOT

the Answer. Monograph. Collins, J. 2001. Level 5 leadership: The triumph of humility and fierce resolve.

Harvard Business Review. January:66-76. Greenleaf, R.K. 1977. Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate

Power and Greatness. Paulist Press, New York. Heifetz, R.A. 1994. Leadership Without Easy Answers. Harvard University Press,

Cambridge. Heifetz, R., A. Grashow, and M. Linsky. The Practice of Adaptive Leadership. 2009.

Harvard Business Press, Boston.

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Keith, K.M. 2008. The Case for Servant Leadership. The Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership. Westfield.

Spears, L.C., ed. 1998. The Power of Servant Leadership: Essays by Robert K.

Greenleaf. Berrett-Koehler Publ., San Francisco. U.S. Army. 2012. ADP 6-0 Mission Command. PIN: 102806-001. Washington, D.C.

U.S. Army. 2012. ADRP 6-0 Mission Command. PIN: 102808-001. Washington, D.C.

U.S. Army. 2003. Field Manual 6-0 Mission Command: Command and Control of Army Forces. Washington, D.C. (An earlier version that still has some good material that was dropped from the latest revision).

U.S. Marine Corps. 1996. MCDP 6 Command and Control. PCN 142 000001 00. Washington, D.C.

Related – Classics These two books are classics in the management literature and ultimately address fundamental aspects and underlying assumptions of emotional intelligence. Harvey, J.B. 1988. The Abilene Paradox and Other Meditations on Management. John

Wiley & Sons, New York. McGregor, D. 1985. The Human Side of Enterprise, 25th Anniversary Printing.

McGraw-Hill, New York. Related – Motivation Motivation was originally part of the mix of topics covered under emotional intelligence. In Goleman’s later work, it is subsumed in other topics. Here are some of the best resources on the effects of extrinsic motivation on intrinsic motivation. Deci, E.L., R. Koestner, and R.M. Ryan. 1999. A Meta-Analytic Review of Experiments

Examining the Effects of Extrinsic Rewards on Intrinsic Motivation. Psychological Bulletin 125(6):627-668.

Deci, E.L. and R.M. Ryan. 1985. Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in

Human Behavior. Plenum Press, New York.

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Pink, D.H. 2009. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. Riverhead Books, New York.

Related – Coping with Trauma Some of the positive psychology measures being tested for employee engagement interpret the scores in three categories: employees are thriving, surviving, or suffering. Cultivating emotional intelligence is largely focused on moving from surviving to thriving and taking those that are thriving to their next level. Yet emotions, and especially how they “play out in the theater of the body” are at the center of emotional suffering. The sad reality is that we have employees in the Forest Service struggling with depression and who have taken their life by suicide. The following references focus on psychological first aid, and recovery and healing from emotional trauma. Somatic practices such as yoga and mindfulness have been demonstrated effective in both cultivating excellence and coping with tragedy. Berceli, D. 2008. The Revolutionary Trauma Release Process. Namaste Publishing,

Vancouver.

Brymer, M., A. Jacobs, C. Layne, R. Pynoos, J. Ruzek, A. Steinberg, E. Vernberg, and P. Watson. 2006. Psychological First Aid Field Operations Guide, 2nd ed. National Child Traumatic Stress Network and National Center for PTSD. http://www.nctsnet.org/nctsn_assets/pdfs/pfa/2/PsyFirstAid.pdf

Emerson, D. and E. Hopper. 2011. Overcoming Trauma through Yoga: Reclaiming Your Body. North Atlantic Books, Berkeley.

Everly, G.S. Jr. 2011. Fostering Human Resilience in Crisis: A Primer on Psychological Body Armor, Psychological First Aid, and Resilient Leadership. Chevron Publ. Corp., Ellicott City.

Fosha, D., D.J. Siegel, and M.F. Solomon, eds. 2009. The Healing Power of Emotion: Affective Neuroscience, Development, and Clinical Practice. W.W. Norton & Co., New York.

Levine, P.A. 2010. In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness. North Atlantic Books, Berkeley.

Levine, P.A. 1997. Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma - The Innate Capacity to Transform Overwhelming Experiences. North Atlantic Books, Berkeley.

Naparstek, B. 2004. Invisible Heroes: Survivors of Trauma and How They Heal. Bantam Books, New York.

Ogden, P., K. Minton, and C. Pain. 2006. Trauma and the Body: A Sensorimotor Approach to Psychotherapy. W.W. Norton & Co., New York.

Rothschild, B. 2010. 8 Keys to Safe Trauma Recovery. W.W. Norton, New York.

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Rothschild, B. 2000. The Body Remembers: The Psychophysiology of Trauma and Trauma Treatment. W.W. Norton & Company, New York.

Scaer, R. 2001. The Body Bears the Burden: Trauma, Dissociation, and Disease. The Haworth Medical Press, New York.

Scaer, R. 2005. The Trauma Spectrum: Hidden Wounds and Human Resiliency. W.W. Norton & Co., New York.

Solomon, M.F. and D.J. Siegel, eds. 2003. Healing Trauma: attachment, mind, body, and brain. W.W. Norton & Co., New York.

Van der Kolk, B.A., A.C. McFarlane, and L. Weisaeth, eds. 1996. Traumatic Stress: The Effects of Overwhelming Experience on Mind, Body, and Society.

Appendix

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Focusing2 1. Clear a space

Get comfortable and relaxed. How are you? What’s between you and feeling fine? What is the main thing? Don’t answer; let what comes in your body do the answering. Don’t go into anything. Greet each concern that comes. Put each aside for a while, next to you. Except for that, are you fine?

2. Felt sense Pick one problem to focus on. Don’t go into the problem. What do you sense in your body when you recall the whole of that problem? Sense all of that, the sense of the whole thing, the murky discomfort or the unclear body-sense of it.

3. Get a handle What is the quality of the felt sense? What one word, phrase, or image comes out of this felt sense? What quality-word would fit it best?

4. Resonate Go back and forth between word (or image) and the felt sense. Is that right? If they match, have the sensation of matching several times. If the felt sense changes, follow it with your attention. When you get a perfect match, the words (images) being just right for this feeling, let yourself feel that for a minute.

5. Ask “What is it, about the whole problem, that makes me so ____________?” When stuck, ask questions:

What is the worst of this feeling? What’s really so bad about this? What does it need? What should happen?

Don’t answer; wait for the feeling to stir and give you an answer. What would it feel like if it was all OK? Let the body answer: What is in the way of that?

6. Receive Welcome what came. Be glad it spoke. It is only one step on this problem, not the last. Now that you know where it is, you can leave it and come back to it later. Protect it from critical voices that interrupt.

Does your body want another round of focusing, or is this a good stopping place?

2 Gendlin, E.T. 2007 (original 1978). Focusing. Bantam Books, New York. www.focusing.org

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Notes: “Judge any human process by your own direct bodily experience.” “Nobody can figure out, intellectually, all the details of a personal problem… The details are in your body.” A felt sense is something you do not at first recognize—it is vague and murky. It feels meaningful, but not known. It is a body sense of meaning. A felt sense is not a mental experience but a physical one. Physical. A bodily awareness of a situation or person or event. An internal milieu that encompasses everything you feel and know about the given subject at a given time—encompasses it and communicates it to you all at once rather than detail by detail. Think of it as a taste. A felt sense doesn’t come to you in the form of thoughts or words or other separate units, but as a single (though often puzzling and very complex) bodily feeling. “Focusing is not work. It is a friendly time within your body.” Partnerships Your partner offers no advice, no judgments, no comments. We have learned that people can go deeper and arrive at creative steps forward if the listener refrains from adding anything. Judgments, advice, and comments express the person who is giving them, not the person he or she is listening to. Your partner will tell you honestly whether he or she is following you or not. For example, “ My mind wandered. Would you please repeat that for me.” As focusers we only say as much about something as we want to say. We can enter deeply into ourselves in our own privacy.