Some Practical Uses of Emotional Intelligence at Work

  1.) Learn and practice optimism for success: see the doughnut, not the hole

To do more than survive – to thrive in a world of accelerating change and uncertainty – we need to respond well to adversity. Optimism is a skill just like listening which can be learned and perfected over time.

1. Positive self-talk: talk yourself out of defeat

The way we talk to ourselves can and does affect our sense of well-being and our ability to motivate ourselves in the face of challenge. By being optimistic and learning to replace negative self-talk with positive self-talk, this will help to bring about a proactive and creative climate at work and help participants to be proactive and take control of themselves.

1. The art of letting go: you’ll never be a butterfly if you can’t stop being a caterpillar.

It is important to learn to tackle the essence of coping effectively with change and letting go of old ways of thinking and doing. Challenging existing concepts enables the participants to understand their own resistance to change.

1. Managing unhealthy anger: you can’t always get what you want

Many people have difficulty managing anger-both their own and other people. Frustrations built up in the fast-changing workplace, where roles are not always well defined and job security no longer exists.

Anger usually results from frustration. Frustration results from feeling unable to control and/or improve their situation. A sense of control is a basic human need. Frustration behaves like an emotional virus, infecting everyone.

1. Increasing sensitivity: take a look at the emotional landscape

In a stressful work environment, it is easy to ignore the mood and morale of our co-workers. People rarely communicate how they feel. However, being insensitive to the needs and feeling of others makes it hard to gain their support and enthusiasm. The ability to recognize our own feelings and the emotions of those around us is a key step in developing emotional literacy.

Emotional bring people together. Our emotions are perhaps the greatest potential source of uniting all members of the human race. Empathy, Compassion, Cooperation and Forgiveness together have the potential to unite us as people. Out thought may tend to divide us, whereas our emotions, if give the chance, will unite us.

  George Anderson, MSW, BCD, CEAPwww.andersonservices.comwww.aaamp.orgwww.anger-management-resources.org

Notes from the World of Anger Management.

Editor’s note: We’re back once again with the sixty-seventh in our regular weekly series of PowerBlog Reviews of business weblogs. This week’s review is being guest-blogged by Lynne Meyer. Lynne Meyer, APR, is president of A Way with Words.

By Lynne Meyer

Today we review Notes from the World of Anger Management.

Bet you’re asking yourself “What in the world does anger management have to do with small business?”

Plenty, according to anger management expert George Anderson, who’s president of global anger management training company Anderson & Anderson and a Diplomate of the American Association of Anger Management Providers (AAAMP). In addition to his impressive professional credentials, George also recently had a gig in popular culture. He was the technical consultant on the Sony Pictures movie “Anger Management,” starring Jack Nicholson.

The contents and links George uses with his blog demonstrate many value-added techniques bloggers can incorporate in their own blogs.

He explains that his blog is designed “to promote professional anger management research, intervention, news and anger management provider information.” George links his blog to both his own business’s web site and that of the AAAMP.

In addition, the blog highlights and includes links to news articles on anger and anger management. The links are provided to educate readers about how anger is a significant problem in the workplace, schools, the criminal justice system, sports leadership and even politics.

Here’s something that readers of this blog will find interesting and that can work for any field. In the March 23 post, he describes “A Typical Day in An Anger Management Practice.” This is an excellent technique to illustrate what a particular field like anger management is all about, and it also personalizes the blog a bit giving us real life examples.

The postings also demonstrate how a blog can be used to take a stand on important policy issues and shape public debate on a subject. An example of this is the April 29 posting, “An Open Letter to Mental Health Clinicians.” George points out that anger management is a legitimate discipline that should play an important role in society and needs to be included on multiple fronts, including the military, with soldiers returning from Iraq, and school yard bullies. This aspect of his blog nicely complements the work of AAAMP in this area.

Additional techniques George employs are reporting on trends and giving real-world examples. In his May 4 posting titled “Trends in Anger Management,” he notes that there’s a growing trend of more small businesses requesting anger management training for their staff:

“Some of our recent small business cases include a pediatric medical practice that referred an office manager. An animal clinic sent a technician, and we received a request for executive coaching for an important Neurologist whose bedside manner was problematic.”

While the field of anger management may not be mainstream yet — and is even somewhat misunderstood — with the blog George is tackling the challenge of educating people and elevating awareness that this field exists, that it has applications in many settings and that it is has an important place in our world. Notes from the World of Anger Management is truly a purpose-driven blog.

The Adolescent Referral as a Ticket for Parents’ Anger Management

Adolescent turmoil is often a ticket for anger management for parents. Anger is a normal human emotion. It is considered a problem when it is too intense, occurs too frequently, lasts too long, impacts health, is harmful to self or others, leads to aggression or violence, or damages interpersonal relationships.

Teen behavior is generally an exaggeration of the patterns of behavior learned from parents. When parents begin to observe an imitation of their own angry expressions in their offspring, they suddenly recognize the need for help.

Case Example

A man from an affluent family requested help for his 17-year-old son who had physically attacked his mother. A careful review of the situation revealed an extremely bright youngster who had excelled in all high school subjects and had received scholarships to four of the top Universities in the Nation.

At age 13, this youngster had injured himself after smashing his hand through a window in a fit of anger. He had also smashed a computer monitor in reaction to a threat made by his mother.

An assessment of both parents showed a long-standing pattern of aggression and counter aggression between the two. The mother scored in the develop range in assertive communication, high in aggression, low in deference and the develop range in empathy.

The father scored in the normal range in all categories except assertive communication, in which he scored in the develop range. The develop range in any category means that the level of functioning represents a deficit in skill development for that particular category.

In this particular case, while this young man needed anger management, so did both parents. Therefore, the son was the ticket for help that both parents needed in terms of skill enhancement in anger management, stress management, communication and emotional intelligence.

George Anderson, MSW, BCD, CAMF, CEAP
Diplomate, American Association of Anger Management Providers
http://www.andersonservices.com/
http://www.angertrends.blogspot.com/
http://www.linkedin.com/in/coachinganger/
http://www.anger-management-resources.org/

Assertive Communication Skill Enhancement for Anger Management Clients

The Anderson & Anderson anger management curriculum includes four topics which are intimately related to managing anger and stress. These topics are anger management, stress management, assertive communication and emotional intelligence. Learn to combine honestly with emotional intelligence to get more of what you want. 

Assertive people can be honest and forthright while still showing respect for the feelings of others. Their skills and style of communication earn them respect and cooperation at work and in intimate relationships. Anger management training teaches skill enhancement in how to be more open, honest and direct in communication.

ASSERTIVE COMMUNICATION HIGHLITES

• An assessment at intake
• Learning to listen with your heart
• Practicing no-verbal communication
• Saying what you mean and meaning what you say
• Dealing with issues in an emotionally intelligent way
• Styles of communication

To learn more about the Anderson & Anderson anger management classes and executive coaching, visit our website at www.andersonservices.com

George Anderson, MSW, BCD

www.andersonservices.com

www.aaamp.org

www.anger-management-resources.org