-
Improve
or Develop Advanced Communication Skills
Leaders Transform Healthcare by Using
Emotional Intelligence
Are you a physician executive or emerging leader within your
organization?
Have you achieved the results you
expected?
Or have you been stumped at several
junctures by the apparent lack of
“understanding” or ‘buy-in” from
clinicians---buy-in that you thought would be a
matter of course?
Or perhaps you have achieved results,
but only by resorting to “doing it all”
yourself because you were unable to delegate
effectively or enroll others in your
mission.
If you’ve experienced any of these
challenges it’s time to take inventory of
your skills and critically evaluate whether
you are heavy on logic and rational
expertise, but light on relationship
management and emotional intelligence.
The concept of Emotional Intelligence
was popularized a few years ago by Daniel
Goleman and Richard Boyatzis when they
published their findings that supported what
perhaps many of us had intuitively
discovered:
how you handle yourself, your moods,
and your words has a significant impact on
your ability to influence others.
Emotional Intelligence is not too far
from the old saying:
“You can attract more flies with
honey than with vinegar.”
But what can be distilled into a
whimsical pearl is not quite as easily
developed or practiced in real life.
According to Goleman et al, the four components of emotional
intelligence are:
·
Self-awareness
·
Self-management
·
Social
awareness
·
Relationship
management
Self-awareness
is knowing yourself: your strengths,
weakness, blind spots.
It’ also knowing HOW you are
affecting others with your own moods.
Self-management
goes the next step and implies that you are
not only aware of your emotions and moods,
but you can control your communication.
For example, you may feel angry
because a colleague or subordinate did not
meet a performance metric.
However, if you have highly developed
emotional intelligence, you will not EXPRESS
your anger.
Rather, you’ll employ more creative
communication, knowing that your team will
perform more effectively in the ABSENCE of
anger.
Social awareness is having your finger on the pulse of those around you and
the organization.
It is knowing the strengths,
weaknesses and motivational levers of a
subordinate or a supervisor, and managing
them accordingly.
This is not “manipulation” but an
honest acknowledgement that team members are
unique and have different drivers for
success.
Relationship
management pulls
together the keen awareness of self and
others and begins to build bridges through
“advanced communication.”
Unfortunately the way most leaders
and managers communicate now is far from
advanced. As you develop skills in
relationship management you will be careful
to craft your speech (both oral and written)
in all forums in such a way that you are not
polluting the dialogue with your
emotions-run-amok, nor with insensitive
directives and critiques that only serve to
undermine performance.
If you aspire to lead, manage and contribute as a physician
executive or business person,
Emotional Intelligence concepts
and skills are essential to develop early
and develop well.
When I coach executives and physicians, we spend a lot of
time on advanced communication and
self-awareness. Most of them are amazed at
how even subtle shifts in mood, attitude and
communication have significant positive
impact in how they can influence and achieve
results.
I invite all leaders to invest time in developing this
critical leadership competency. Recommended
reading is “Primal
Leadership” by Goleman et al.
- Francine
R. Gaillour, MD
- Executive Coach for Healthcare Industry Leaders
- Francine@PhysicianLeadership.com
- (206) 686-4205
