Emotional Competence

Objectives• Understand the benefits of emotional

competence• Identify the stages of emotional

competence• Recognize emotionally incompetent

behaviors• Determine ways to assess your personal

reputation

The interpretation and translation of personal feelings into the processes of the workplace.

Nature of Emotional Competence

Managing the soft side

Benefits of Emotional Competence in Health Care

• Decreased cost of turnover

• Increased productivity

• Managing up

Teams that recognize the interconnectedness of members and acknowledge their unique contributions are able to make

substantial contributions to the organization. Specifically, improved outcomes, shorter implementation time, easier application of new

knowledge, and more creative problem solving.

Emotional Competence

Characteristics and Behaviors

Self-awareness

Cognition

(processing)

Competence(ability)

Emotion(feeling)

Intelligence(reasoning)

Volition(choosing)

Contradictions and uncertainty create opportunities for mentors

to explore perspectives that differ from theirs and to be

confronted with new ideas and feelings.

Appreciation for Ambiguity and Paradox

Openness to New Ideas

Listen to what others are

saying and integrate what is important into the

collective wisdom of the organization.

Four Types of ExperiencesThat Drive Belief

Type One

Experience

TypeTwo

Experience

TypeThree

Experience

Type Four

Experience

ClearlyUnderstood

Minimal Interpretation

ClearlyMisunderstood

MaximumInterpretation

A meaningful event leading to immediate insight; needs

no interpretation

An experience which needs to be interpreted in order to form desired

results

Experiences that won’t have an impacton prevailing beliefs because they are

perceived as insignificant

Experiences that will always be misinterpreted regardless of the amount

or quality of the interpretation

Valuing Knowledge

Emotionally competent mentors make decisions

readily and enthusiastically, not because they

believe they are always correct but because they understand that there is

always a risk of error and that progress cannot

be made without taking action.

Feedback Profiles

Does Not Share Perspectives

Op

en

to O

thers

Pers

pecti

ves Inviting

Open to feedbackfrom others and willingly

provides feedback

IntimidatingOpenly shares

their ownperspectives but relatively closed

ImmovableClosed to others’perspectives andsparingly sharestheir own views

InfluenceableOpen to feedback but less willing to

share their ownperspectives

Openly Share Perspectives

Clo

sed

to O

thers

Pers

pectiv

es

Compassion

•

It’s hard to dislike

someonewhose story

you know.

Be availableto showyou’re

connected and

willing To

participate

Presence

Mindfulness• Be aware of recurring situations, past

reactions and implications

• Be able to identify patterns of behavior

• Develop skills to understand

Past behavior predicts

future behavior

Non-verbal Emotional Competence

• 10 % spoken

• 50% body

language

• 40% tone of voice

Passionate Optimism

View all situationsas blessings

and opportunities

Pessimism sucks the life out

of everyone

Resilience The capacity to cope with unanticipated

problems or events and….

BounceBack

Impulse Control• Self-regulation

• Ability to temper negative feelings

• Share feelings appropriately

• Maintain dignity

Related Concepts to Consider

• Emotional intelligence– Self-awareness: recognizing the emotions of others– Self-regulation: managing your emotions– Motivation: passion beyond money and status– Empathy: understanding emotional make-up of others– Social skill: managing relationships proficiently

• Character: how you behave when no one’s looking

• Integrity: being morally upright, acting openly and honestly, consistently acting on your own values in all situations

Emotional Risks of Mentoring

It is only as we develop others

that we permanently

succeed. Henry Firestone

Developing Emotional Competence

Novice - detached observer

Advanced Beginner – active participant

Competent – integrated with the process

Proficient – therapeutic engagement

Expert – dialogic engagement

Position Dictates Perspective

Emotionally Incompetent Behaviors

• Acting as the devil’s advocate• Displaying a bad attitude• Displaying a superior attitude• Tolerating errors• Failing to balance work and

relaxation

Measuring Emotional Intelligence

Reputation Assessment and Management Survey

1. Am I trustworthy?2. To what extent do I trust others?3. Do I practice what I preach?4. Do I tell people why I’m acting a certain way?5. Am I dependable?6. Do I listen nondefensively?7. Am I able to find the grain of truth embedded in a

criticism?8. Am I visible and available when things are not going

well?9. Am I perceived as a hard worker?10. Do I value the contributions of team members?

The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear. Socrates

ReferencesConners R, Smith T. Journey to the emerald

city. 1998 Prentice Hall Press.

Porter-O’Grady, T., Malloch, K. Quantum Leadership: A resource for health care innovation. 2nd ed. 2007 Jones and Bartlett Publishers.