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what is emotional intelligence?

popularized by daniel goleman’s book, emotional intelligence, it is this notion that one’s emotions are a domain of intelligence. unlike iq, which focuses on the potential performance in academia, emotional intelligence focuses on 4 key areas:

1. self awareness
2. self management
3. social awareness
4. relationship management

emotional intelligence, goleman argues, is an indespensible requirement for leaders.

in fact, i was reading recently where an author suggested that leaders are at their best when they are genuinely caring for others with emotional intelligence.

the elements of emotional intelligence allow a leader to be decisive, driven, and purposeful, but also warm, positive, and understanding.

emotionally intelligent leaders lead from the heart. they are democratic in character and sincerely value others, regardless of status or stature.

in gist, an emotionally intelligent person is not weak in nature, but quite the contrary, he or she is strong in character and has a strong desire to connect with the people around them! why? because they care for people.

so how is your emotional intelligence these days?

let me explain.

yesterday kathryn ended her maternity leave and went back to work at the church. it was my responsibility to watch him in the morning, then bring him to her.

all was going well at home: he was sleeping, eating, giggling…until i decided to bring him to the church, so i can go to work.

i put him in his car seat…and that is when the crying began! he would not stop!

i finally got to the church to do the baton hand-off, but being a good dad and husband i didn’t want to leave him with kathryn crying. i did all that i could to get him to stop: bounced him, talked to him, starred at him, held him upside-down (j/k), read pride and prejudice to him…i tried everything!

then the master stepped in: father of three, mac user, starbucks addict… in a single bounce and a little pep talk in his ear, he was calm and quiet.

what the heck!!!

here’s george with the master…

does anyone have word on the new mac that is coming out in december?

if so, i’m considering holding out to buy a mac until then…

my computer is on the fritz!!

this weekend was eventful, as my parents were in town to see their first grandchild. it was great to have them here, especially last night, since he slept with them, so we could remember what it was like to get 7 hours (straight) of sleep.

below are some pics from the weekend:

first picture with george…

a picture of the boys at a great lunch place called nosh (btw: great place scott!!)…

picture of the family after having a satisfying lunch (we missed you heather!)…

we then took a walk with scott and his family…here is a picture of scott and me sleeping in front of a great chocolate shop called graham’s…(kat says i was sleeping, but truly i was praying for world peace)…

today i am off to spend time with my family.  my mom and dad are in town to meet their first grandchild!  they drove up from the great state of oklahoma.

i was sitting here going through emails…my wife is next to me feeding george.

all of a sudden george let out a loud explosion that made the next door neighbor’s dog bark and the hair on the back of my neck stand straight up…

i said, “oh man, not again…it is never ending!!!”  the caveat is that at the end of the eruption my wife didn’t skip a beat, as she told me that her duties are shipping (feeding) and i am receiving (changing diapers).

maybe grandpa and grandma will take over receiving for the day…

monday night props go to:

> jeremy affeldt…one game away from being in the world series…

> made to stick…great book! (key pionts: simple. unexpected. concrete. credible. emotion. story.)

> the office…hit a home run on thursday!

> great leader here!

>  learning a lot about: leader as self, leader as strategist, leader as driver of results, leader as relationship-builder and leader as teacher (more on this list later).

>  i’m in tulsa at a work related workshop.

> quote of the week: “Each of us is a character in someone else’s story, the only question is, what character are we playing?  Each one of us will be remembered, the only question is what will we be remembered for?  And each of us makes a difference, the only question is what is the difference we are making?” jim kouzes, the leadership challenge

> i miss my wife and son (george).

>  i’m less than a year away from getting my degree in organizational management, then going into an mba program (finally!).

> i love the company i work for.

>  i am finding that the greatest test of one’s leadership isn’t how well one leads when they are in charge, but how well they serve when they are not in charge.

>  i missed the ultimate fighter tonight!

>  i know…i know…i am still a pc user…

>  why do people complain that they don’t have enough money and in the same breath they rattle off their latest purchase of frivolous gadgetry and high priced automobiles?

>  i wonder if the yankees are going to fire joe torre?

> did I mention that i miss my wife and son?

right now i am in tulsa attending a week long leadership session.  the whole week is focused on being a “servant leader.” 

the inspiration surrounds robert greenleaf, who wrote a book called, servant leadership.

“an institution starts on a course toward people building with leadership that has firmly established a context of people first.  with that, the right actions naturally fall into place.” robert greenleaf

what about you?  are you focused on serving others?  the further up you go, do you serve less or more? 

how is your serve these days?

(btw: if you want to read some good stuff on servant leadership, tim stevens has a great post from a recent talk by andy stanley.  you can read it here.)

i don’t know if anyone had the chance to watch the start of the playoffs yesterday, but my friend jeremy affeldt, who plays for the rockies, is in the playoffs!!!

i’m excited for his team and i hope they go all the way!!

good luck jeremy!

now, as it pertains to our cubbies, unfortunately they are starting the playoffs on the wrong foot!  hopefully their first game loss was a wake-up call, “hhelllooo, you are in the playoffs…you can’t blame anyone for losing this time!”

go cubbies!

george says hello…

“mom, this is embarrassing…”