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This One Skill Changes Everything

This One Skill Changes Everything

Justin Mecham
August 05, 2024

In partnership with

Hey Full Potential Zoners!

This one skill changes everything:

Emotional intelligence - the key to mastering your life.

Without emotional intelligence, you might:

➟ Fail to understand others.

➟ Struggle to express yourself.

➟ Not be prepared for changes.

➟ Find it hard to control your reactions.

First, a BIG thanks to this week’s sponsor:

Intercom for Startups

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Every aspect of your life improves when you develop emotional intelligence.

It transforms how you see the world.

When you master it, you control your life.

Today we are going to help leaders master this by using:

‘The Top 12 Emotional Intelligence Tips'.

Let’s dive in!

Download PDF at Bottom of Email

The “Why”

Monthly Self-Reflection
- What it is: Reflect on your emotions, actions, and interactions monthly.
- Why it is important: Helps identify patterns and areas for improvement, promoting continuous emotional growth.
Quarterly Emotional Check-Ins
- What it is: Assess your emotional health with a mentor quarterly and set emotional goals.
- Why it is important: Provides a structured approach to monitor progress and make necessary adjustments.
Create an Emotional Intelligence Plan
- What it is: Plan to improve your emotional intelligence over the next year with specific goals.
- Why it is important: Establishes a clear roadmap for developing skills like empathy and stress management.
Set Emotional Intelligence Goals
- What it is: Set key performance indicators for your emotional growth and track them regularly.
- Why it is important: Keeps you focused and motivated, ensuring continuous improvement.
Emotional Forecasting
- What it is: Predict emotional challenges and successes ahead.
- Why it is important: Helps prepare strategies for various emotional situations, reducing the impact of unexpected emotional responses.
Daily Emotional Journal
- What it is: Keep a daily log of your emotions and reactions.
- Why it is important: Enhances self-awareness by identifying emotional triggers and patterns over time.
Evaluate Emotional Balance
- What it is: Rate yourself on self-awareness, self-regulation, social awareness, and relationship management.
- Why it is important: Identifies areas needing improvement and promotes a balanced emotional state.
Spontaneous Emotional Assessments
- What it is: Do quick emotional checks in unexpected situations.
- Why it is important: Enhances your ability to adapt and manage emotions effectively in real-time.
Empathy Check
- What it is: Assess your empathy at different stages of interactions.
- Why it is important: Strengthens relationships by improving understanding and connection with others.
Relationship Mapping
- What it is: Map key relationships in your life and find ways to improve emotional connections.
- Why it is important: Helps identify and nurture important relationships, promoting a supportive network.
Share Your Emotional Intelligence Journey
- What it is: Share your progress with peers or mentors.
- Why it is important: Gains insights, support, and inspiration from others, enhancing your emotional growth.
Manage Emotional Triggers
- What it is: Identify situations that trigger negative emotions and develop strategies to handle them.
- Why it is important: Reduces the impact of negative emotions and promotes emotional stability.

Self-Awareness

At a company I was hired to help improve their culture, I noticed there was increasing tension and misunderstanding during meetings.

Team members often left meetings feeling frustrated, and productivity was dropping.

The core issue was that people were reacting emotionally to feedback and discussions, leading to conflicts and miscommunication.

I decided to implement self-awareness techniques to address the issue.

First, I encouraged everyone to reflect on their emotions and reactions during meetings.

I shared my own experiences and started by acknowledging how certain comments made me feel and how I usually react to them.

I asked the team to do the same by taking a few minutes at the end of each meeting to write down their immediate feelings and thoughts about the interactions.

Next, I scheduled one-on-one sessions to discuss these reflections.

During these sessions, I helped each team member identify their emotional triggers and understand how these reactions might be impacting their behavior and communication.

For instance, one team member realized they felt defensive when their ideas were challenged, which led to abrupt and confrontational responses.

With this awareness, we worked together to develop strategies for managing these emotions.

Here are the actionable steps we took:

Pause and Reflect

Before responding to any feedback, we practiced taking a deep breath and counting to three. This simple act helped in calming immediate emotional reactions.

Empathetic Listening

We focused on listening to understand rather than to respond. This involved paraphrasing what the other person said to ensure clarity and showing that we valued their input.

Setting Ground Rules

We established ground rules for meetings, such as no interrupting and allowing each person to finish their thoughts before responding. This created a more respectful and productive environment.

Result

Implementing self-awareness in their workplace significantly improved their team's dynamics.

We were able to transform a tense and unproductive environment into one of mutual respect and collaboration, demonstrating the powerful impact of understanding and managing our emotions at work.

Here's how you can make it real over the next 4 days:

Day 1: Self-Reflection

Choose one of the 12 EQ tips/lessons you want to work on this week.
Spend 10 minutes reflecting on a recent situation where you felt strong emotions.
Write down what happened, how you felt, and how you reacted.
- Consider what triggered your emotions and how you could respond differently next time.
ChatGPT Prompt to Help: "Help me reflect on a recent situation where I felt strong emotions. I want to understand what happened, how I felt, what triggered my emotions, and how I could respond differently next time. Guide me through this reflection step by step.”

Day 2: Active Listening

During your interactions today, practice active listening.
- Focus on truly understanding what the other person is saying without interrupting.
- Summarize their points back to them to ensure you’ve understood correctly.
ChatGPT Prompt to Help: "I want to practice active listening today. Give me tips on how to focus on understanding what others are saying without interrupting and how to summarize their points back to them. How can I make sure I’m listening effectively?"

Day 3: Emotional Regulation

When you feel stressed or upset today, take a moment to practice deep breathing.
- Inhale deeply for four counts, hold for four counts, and exhale for four counts.
- Repeat until you feel calmer.
ChatGPT Prompt to Help: "I need help with managing stress and emotions through deep breathing. Guide me through a simple deep breathing exercise to help me stay calm when I feel stressed or upset."

Day 4: Empathy Practice

Identify someone who seems to be having a difficult day.
- Reach out to them with a kind word or gesture, and ask how they’re doing.
- Listen actively and offer your support without trying to solve their problems.
ChatGPT Prompt to Help: "I want to practice empathy today. Help me with ways to identify someone who might be having a difficult day and suggest kind words or gestures I can use. How can I offer support without trying to solve their problems?"