Source: https://hbr.org/resources/images/article_assets/2017/01/W170124_GOLEMAN_EMOTIONALINTELLIGENCE.png
1.
Select three competencies you feel
very confident in, ones you feel you command well. For each, describe an
example of how you've used it recently. How did it go?
Considering
my personal strengths and where they lie within the twelve competencies
associated with emotional and social intelligence, the three that I feel that I
command well include:
· Achievement
Orientation:
According to the Korn Ferry Institute, when
we’re strong in the Achievement Orientation competency, we
strive to meet or exceed a standard of excellence. We look for ways to learn
how to do things better. We set challenging goals and take calculated risks. Personally,
this fits very well with my reasoning to pursue an MBA degree. I already hold a
Master of Arts in Educational Leadership as well as 30 hours beyond that MAEd
to attain certification as a supervisor of instruction and director of pupil
personnel. I felt that in my current role as STEM outreach director the skills
I could acquire in leadership, management, etc. from an MBA could certainly
bolster the work I am doing. In addition to this, we all know how well the
public education sector fared last spring during the legislative session here
in KY. Having a degree that gives me an option to pursue a career outside of
education isn’t a bad option to have for the future. Looking at this competency
in my current work and my work as a classroom teacher, I never settle for less
than the very best. I was very achievement driven in the classroom and strived
to make my classroom one of the best and from the awards I received, the
success of my students, and the relationships I forged with them, this hard
work paid off.
o
More information about this competency
can be found here: https://www.kornferry.com/institute/achievement-orientation
· Adaptability: Adaptability entails having the flexibility to adapt to new situations,
handle change, and balance multiple demands. An adaptable leader can meet
challenges as they arise and adjust their strategy based on what is needed
most. They are comfortable with the uncertainty that leadership can bring.
Working 13 years as a middle grades science teacher, adaptability comes as second
nature. In the world of a classroom teacher, being adaptable is key to success.
Even in my current work as the STEM Outreach Director here at NKU, adaptability
enables me to do my job and do it well. For example, in one of our recent professional
development sessions, the school apparently was not notified by the district administrator
in charge of scheduling the sessions and when we showed up with teachers from
every school in the district, they were certainly surprised and not in a good
way. We had no room to present in and the only empty room was on the third
floor of the section of the building that did not have elevator access. I told
them to not worry that we could certainly transport our materials (2 wagons
full of bins of science supplies) and set up there for the day. This is typical
of many situations we encounter in our work in outreach. You learn to fly by
the seat of pants while still maintaining control of the situation.
· Coach
and Mentor:
The ability to foster the long-term
learning or development of others by giving feedback, guidance, and support.
Leaders skilled at this competency have a genuine interest in helping
others develop further strengths. They understand the person’s goals, give
timely constructive feedback, and offer challenges that will provide growth
opportunities. As a teacher and now as a professional development
provider in my role as the STEM Outreach director, I learned to foster this
skill early on in my professional career and have worked to fine tune it since
then. I love the part of my job where I get to mentor and work with new
teachers and teachers new to teaching science. Sharing the passion I have for
the content is my favorite part of the job.
2.
Select three competencies you feel are
opportunities for you to improve, ones you feel need work. Identify a way you
can practice this competency (look at your calendar for meetings or events
where certain competencies may be most useful) and commit to practicing it. You
practice plan for each competency should include:
o the situation/meeting/event where you
plan to use it
o what you'll do to keep it top of
mind
o what behaviors you'll use to develop
this area
· Empathy: This competency forms the basis of social awareness and
relationship management. Empathy means having the ability to sense others’
feelings and how they see things. Leaders skilled at empathy take an active
interest in the concerns of others, pick up cues to what’s being felt and
thought, and sense unspoken emotions. They listen attentively to understand the
other person’s point of view and can communicate effectively with many
different types of people. Personally, this is something I have always
felt was a weakness of mine when it comes to leadership. I often keep to myself
and would rather not be drawn into the issues that others are dealing with. I
am currently dealing with developing this competency in dealing with a
co-worker at work that has been sick beyond what most would consider a normal
amount of time. There always seems to be something wrong with this individual
or with one of their children/family members, almost to the point where it
affects their quality of work. I’ve not said anything up until now because I
usually make up for their shortcomings in the outreach work we conduct. I
reached out to my director who is working with me on coming up with a tracking
system for this employee to chart their days missed and come to the agreement
that missed time will be made up. Salaried faculty that are 9 month employees
really don’t get sick days but it doesn’t seem fair to everyone else that one
person continually misses work.
o More information can be found here on empathy: https://www.keystepmedia.com/empathy/
· Teamwork: This is the ability to work with others toward a shared goal,
participating actively, sharing responsibility and rewards, and contributing to
the capability of the team. While
on one hand, I feel that I am rather good at working with teams, this is
certainly an area I feel as if I could grow professionally. When it comes to
getting work done, frankly, I’d rather just do it myself, even if it means more
work on my part. I know that a team approach can offer great insight and a
variety of ideas but on the other hand I also hate the feeling that some people
aren’t making much of a contribution while others are doing the majority of the
work. I suppose this stems from past experiences in working on teams where I
was the one that burdened that workload to ensure our success on a project. My
strength in being achievement orientated works against me in this aspect. In my
department, we are working on finding ways to put together a STEM expo for
elementary schools that we partner with. My plan is to get a group of our
colleagues together and help direct everyone towards contributing to make this
project a success. I would much rather step back and let others contribute more
versus having to do all of the work myself. I think the approach of really
creating an atmosphere where respect, helpfulness, and cooperation are highly
valued as is the concept of getting everyone on board with the common goal in
mind of completing this project.
· Organizational
Awareness: Organizational Awareness means having the ability to read a
group's emotional currents and power relationships, and identify influencers,
networks, and dynamics within the organization. Despite having been at
NKU for 3 years, I still feel as if I am growing in this strength as a leader.
There are still faces I don’t know and that’s not surprising. Part of the issue
I feel stems from the fact that as the STEM Outreach Director, most of my work
takes place with school districts off campus. I have set aside one day per week
where I am always on campus from 8-4 p.m. and that has really improved things
this year with regards to being available for campus wide events, etc. Still, I
think there are opportunities where I could be more involved in what is going
on here on campus. In the upcoming months, I plan to try and become involved in
more of the offerings for faculty such as lunch and learn seminars, college
wide meetings, etc. I am purposefully leaving portions of my calendar open to
allow more time on campus for these events. Having connections at work are
vital to one’s success and I think that is an area where I could see great
gains professionally should I make more of them.
o More
information on organizational awareness can be found here: https://www.kornferry.com/institute/organizational-awareness-leadership
Resources:
Here is a fantastic video to help clarify the meaning of the 12 elements of emotional and social intelligence:
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