Workplace Psychology | The Science of People at Work

Time 2020-12-28 12:03:58

Web Name: Workplace Psychology | The Science of People at Work

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I was contacted by a journalist writing a story about workplace communication, why human beings need human-to-human connection in the office, and whether technology can mimic or replace face-to-face human-to-human connection. She wanted to know if video teleconferencing apps and technologies are getting better at mimicking or even replacing face-to-face human-to-human connection. I am reposting my responses below. 1. Are video teleconferencing apps and technologies capable of replicating and feeding that human connection that you say is so essential to our brains? As much as we would like to think that human beings are capable of duplicating and mimicking physical human connection, the answer is no. Human beings have not been able to virtually replicate the in-person connection. Perhaps the biggest reason is that, according to social psychologists, our human brains were created and wired to connect and interact with others and to do so in physical proximity to one another. We can see how, during the COVID-19 pandemic, people were Zoom-fatigued. That is, we connected online and virtually—seeing each other s faces and hearing one another talk—but at the same time feeling that it s just no where the same as doing so in person. Indeed, researchers have found that the greatest bonding experience actually occurs during in-person interaction rather than by video chat, audio chat, and instant messaging.2. What are the nonverbal cues that enrich our communication? Why are they so important to connecting and getting work done?The nonverbal cues that help further enrich human communication include gestures, body language, as well as tone, pauses, inflection, and volume. According to communications experts, nonverbal communication is important because it tends to be perceived as more believable than verbal communication. For instance, if you say I m fine, but your body language communicates something different (such as you are grimacing, with the corners of your mouth turned down), people will most likely not believe what you told them (your verbal communication) and instead believe your nonverbal communication.3. Are there times when face-to-face is not necessarily right? I believe that there may be times when it may not be in the best interests of either or both parties to meet face-to-face. This can be when emotions run extremely high, when there s protracted interpersonal conflict, or when there s risk to psychological or physical safety. In these scenarios, a third party mediator might need to step in to de-escalate and diffuse the situation prior to meeting in person.4. Will the push to recreate human-to-human connection via apps and video conferencing change our brains? Can we find the same kind of psychological connection through online groups like Slack and Facebook groups? I don t think our brains will change because of the use of apps and video conferencing softwares. The same applies to online group chats such as Slack or Facebook groups. Our minds adapt to a new/different way to communicate but the need to connect—physically—will always be there. As I mentioned in my answer to #1, researchers have discovered that the best and greatest bonding experience happens during in-person interaction, followed by video chat, audio chat, and instant messaging.Written By: Steve Nguyen, Ph.D.Leadership Development Advisor Consultant “Growth is the great separator between those who succeed and those who do not. When I see a person beginning to separate themselves from the pack, it’s almost always due to personal growth.” ―John C. MaxwellBlocked Personal LearnerAccording to Barnfield and Lombardo (2014), a person is a blocked personal learner if he or she:Is closed to learning new personal, interpersonal, managerial, and leadership skills, approaches, and tactics.Prefers staying the same, even when faced with new and different challenges.Is narrow in interests and scope.Uses few learning tactics.Doesn’t seek input.Lacks curiosity.Is not insightful about him/herself.Reasons Why a Person Is a Blocked Personal Learner (Barnfield Lombardo, 2014):Hangs on, hoping to make it without changing.Low risk taker.May block change for others.Narrow in scope and interests.Not open to new approaches.Perfectionist.Prefers the tried and true.Self-learning/development interest is low.Too busy to learn anything new.Too comfortable.If others describe you as someone who is often stuck or living in the past. If you often resist change or anything new or different and you re one of the last people to get on board with a new initiative, consider this: You can’t survive today without keeping you and your skills fresh. There’s not much room anymore for someone stuck in the past (Barnfield Lombardo, 2014, p. 471).“I do not think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday.”-Abraham Lincoln (16th President of the United States)Perhaps the reason blocked learners are closed to learning (Barnfield Lombardo, 2014, p. 472) is because they just don t see the value in developing themselves. After all, why would they if their scope and interests are narrow and they re comfortable with the way things are?Being a blocked learner is harmful to one s career. Barnfield and Lombardo (2014) list it as one of ten Career stallers and stoppers [Stallers and stoppers are behaviors generally considered problematic or harmful to career success (p. ii)].Living In the PastHave you noticed that some people live in the glory of the past? If you listen to them talk, they ll often reminisce about how life was 20 or 30 years ago. They ll recall facts and events almost as if they re happening in the present moment. There s a sense of longing to relive their past and feelings of regrets about missed opportunities or steps not taken.The key is to reflect on your past and learn from it, rather than to relive it or ruminate on your past.Learning From Your PastNancy Koehn, a Harvard professor, historian, and author of the book Forged in Crisis, wrote in one of her Leading yourself in crisis posts on LinkedIn (Insight #151): If you cannot learn from and then let go of past missteps, you cannot hone your talents and advance your mission. [Abraham] Lincoln became a great communicator because he kept moving beyond what went wrong in his speaking and writing. Forgive yourself first. Release the need to replay a negative situation over and over again in your mind. Don t become a hostage to your past by always reviewing and reliving your mistakes. Don’t remind yourself of what should have, could have, or would have been. Release it and let it go. Move on. -Les BrownSelf-Development Great leaders push themselves to learn, evolve, and adapt. Once leaders stop pushing themselves, their chances of continued success are greatly diminished. Self-development is a key ingredient for leaders who want to stay on the forefront in their professions (Nelson Ortmeier, 2011, p. 17).What s blocking you from taking on the commitment to and the work of self-development (Scisco, Biech, Hallenbeck, 2017)?You’re overwhelmed by how much you have to learn.You lack curiosity.You have been successful in the past and don’t see a need to change.You believe self-development calls attention to your weaknesses.You believe training time takes you away from your work.You’re satisfied in your current role and don’t want to take on another.You’re unable to fit your developmental commitments into your life.Your work priorities crowd out your attempts to develop new leadership skills. The bottom line is, those who learn, grow, and change continuously across their careers are the most successful. The skills someone has now are unlikely to be enough in the future. Acquiring new skills is the best way to navigate an uncertain future. . . . You look to grow from experience. Seek out feedback and are open to what you hear. Challenge yourself in unfamiliar settings. Try out new skills. Learn from others. . . . Development is a personal commitment. You make the choice (Barnfield Lombardo, 2014, p. 355).Growing from the InsideOutIn his book, You Already Know How to Be Great, Alan Fine (2010) writes that much of what holds us back from our full capacity or potential (i.e., high performance or being our absolute best) is interference. Interference is anything that keeps us from high performance (InsideOut Development, 2019); anything that gets in the way of higher performance (InsideOut Development, 2018); or anything that blocks progress (InsideOut Development, 2019).For blocked learners and those who don t believe or invest in self-development, their interference or the things that block progress or get in the way of their high performance include: fear of taking risks, not being open to new learning or approaches, being complacent, being arrogant, being defensive, being unsure what to do, and being afraid to fail or fearful that others may see their shortcomings.It Takes Ownership to Have a BreakthroughIn order to become unblocked and begin a journey of learning and self-development, these individuals must want to change and be motivated to change. They must take ownership for and accountability of their own learning and development. Accountability is doing what needs to be done because someone expects it. Ownership is doing what needs to be done because you expect it yourself. ―Alan FineSeize the OpportunitiesIn his book, Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell shares some interesting facts about the Beatles. For instance, many Americans thought that the Beatles were an overnight sensation when the band came to the United States and put out a string of hit records. However, the Beatles had been playing together for a while and had many years of experience under their belt. As a matter of fact, By the time [the Beatles] had their first burst of success in 1964, . . . they had [already] performed live an estimated twelve hundred times (Gladwell, 2008, p. 50). Gladwell points out that the time that elapsed between their founding and their arguably greatest artistic achievements—Sgt. Pepper s Lonely Hearts Club Band and The Beatles [White Album]—is ten years.  Gladwell (2008) reminds us that, success follows a predictable course. It is not the brightest who succeed. . . .Nor is success simply the sum of the decisions and efforts we make on our own behalf. It is, rather, a gift. Outliers are those who have been given opportunities—and who have had the strength and presence of mind to seize them (p. 267). Extraordinary achievement is less about talent than it is about opportunity. ―Malcolm GladwellTakeaway: Success belongs to individuals who seize opportunities in front of them or, if there aren t any, they seek out opportunities. Regardless of how intelligent or talented you are, you will not succeed if you don t invest in time to develop yourself and hone your skills. Never stop learning. Keep your skills fresh, be open to learning, and learn from your past to improve yourself. Even if you are a genius or lucky or both, you can still very easily squander your talents if you don t seize on the opportunities that are presented to you. Your success depends on the opportunities presented to you, along with a bit of good luck. But above all, success is about putting in the effort and hard work and using your imagination and creativity to act on the opportunities that might not be so obvious or even hidden. Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing. -PeleWritten By: Steve Nguyen, Ph.D.Leadership Development AdvisorReferencesBarnfield, H. C., Lombardo, M. M. (2014). FYI: For your improvement Competencies development guide (6th ed.). Korn Ferry.Fine, A. (2020, March 25). Working amid Coronavirus: 3 ways coaching can help. Retrieved from https://www.chieflearningofficer.com/2020/03/25/working-amid-coronavirus-3-ways-coaching-can-help/Fine, A. (2010). You Already Know How to Be Great: A Simple Way to Remove Interference and Unlock Your Greatest Potential. Penguin Group.Gladwell, M. (2008). Outliers: The story of success. Little, Brown and Company. InsideOut Development (2018, November 13). How to Get Executives Invested in Your Coaching Initiative. Retrieved from https://blog.insideoutdev.com/how-to-get-executives-invested-in-your-coaching-initiativeInsideOut Development (2018, November 26). Intro to the GROW Model and Performance Wheel. Retrieved from https://blog.insideoutdev.com/intro-to-the-grow-model-and-performance-wheelInsideOut Development (2019, August 13). Interference: The Impediment of Performance. Retrieved from https://blog.insideoutdev.com/interference-the-impediment-of-performanceInsideOut Development (2019). The State of Workplace Interference: An InsideOut Development Research Report. Retrieved from https://resources.insideoutdev.com/articles/the-state-of-workplace-interferenceNelson, S. E., Ortmeier, J. G. (2011). Awaken, Align, Accelerate: A Guide to Great Leadership. Beaver’s Pond Press, Inc.Scisco, P., Biech, E., Hallenbeck, G. (2017). Compass: Your Guide for Leadership Development and Coaching. Center for Creative Leadership Press. Leaders exhibit common bad habits and researchers have pinpointed specific behaviors that can derail a person s career (Lombardo Eichinger, 2009). For two great coaching and development guides, consult FYI: For Your Improvement: A Development and Coaching Guide (Lombardo Eichinger, 2009) and Compass: Your Guide for Leadership Development and Coaching (Scisco, Biech, Hallenbeck, 2017).Lombardo and Eichinger (2009) define derailing behaviors as negative characteristics or flame-out factors that derail an individual s career. According to the Center for Creative Leadership (Scisco, Biech, Hallenbeck, 2017), “A derailed leader is one who, after having reached a level of success in the organization, is fired, demoted, or involuntarily reaches a career plateau. Before these managers derailed, their organizations saw them as having high potential for advancement, having an impressive track record of results, and holding an established leadership position. But then something happened.”Statistics about failure or inadequate success experienced by executives in new leadership positions (in the first 18 months) range from 38% to over 50% (Riddle, 2016).Here are three common leadership derailing behaviors I see in leaders in organizations:The overwhelming desire to always add their two cents (i.e., their unsolicited opinion) to every discussion (Goldsmith, 2007).Not listening (Goldsmith, 2007).Not taking extreme ownership (Willink Babin, 2017) [Note: I m including Goldsmith s Refusing to express regret (inability to take responsibility or admit you’re wrong), Making excuses (stop making excuses), and Passing the buck (blaming everyone but ourselves) under the not taking extreme ownership derailing behavior].Always Adding Your Two CentsMarshall Goldsmith, a world-renowned executive coach, shared a story where he witnessed this very bad habit of adding too much value in action during dinner: The two men at dinner were clearly on the same wavelength. One of them was Jon Katzenbach, the ex-McKinsey director who now heads his own elite consulting boutique. The other fellow was Niko Canner, his brilliant protégé and partner. They were plotting out a new venture. But something about their conversation was slightly off. Every time Niko floated an idea, Katzenbach interrupted him. “That’s a great idea,” he would say, “but it would work better if you . . .” and then he would trail off into a story about how it worked for him several years earlier in another context. When Jon finished, Niko would pick up where he left off only to be interrupted within seconds by Jon again. This went on back and forth like a long rally at Wimbledon (Goldsmith, 2007, p. 48). Imagine you’re the CEO. I come to you with an idea that you think is very good. Rather than just pat me on the back and say, “Great idea!” your inclination (because you have to add value) is to say, “Good idea, but it’d be better if you tried it this way.” The problem is, you may have improved the content of my idea by 5 percent, but you’ve reduced my commitment to executing it by 50 percent, because you’ve taken away my ownership of the idea. My idea is now your idea—and I walk out of your office less enthused about it than when I walked in. That’s the fallacy of added value. Whatever we gain in the form of a better idea is lost many times over in our employees’ diminished commitment to the concept (Goldsmith, 2007, p. 48-49).Not ListeningLombardo and Eichinger (2009) wrote that people who are unskilled at listening tend to cut others off, try to finish other people’s sentences, and interrupt to make a pronouncement or render a solution or decision. As a result, those poor at listening do not learn much from their interactions with others.Goldsmith worked with a group of executives of one of the world’s most respected research and development organizations that had a problem retaining young talent. They had a very visible and annoying way to show that they weren t listening. During presentations everyone in senior management had developed the annoying habit of looking at their watches, motioning for junior scientists to move it along, and repeating over and over, “Next slide. Next slide.” . . . Have you ever tried to make a presentation while a manager grunted at you and kept telling you to move it along? Well, that’s how the junior scientists at this company felt (Goldsmith, 2007, p. 87).Not Taking Extreme OwnershipThe best and most concise description of taking ownership is from the book, Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win (Willink Babin, 2017): On any team, in any organization, all responsibility for success and failure rests with the leader. The leader must own everything in his or her world. There is no one else to blame. The leader must acknowledge mistakes and admit failures, take ownership of them, and develop a plan to win. The best leaders don’t just take responsibility for their job. They take Extreme Ownership of everything that impacts their mission (Willink Babin, 2017, p. 30). The irony, of course, is that all the fears that lead us to resist apologizing—the fear of losing, admitting we’re wrong, ceding control—are actually erased by an apology. When you say, “I’m sorry,” you turn people into your allies, even your partners (Goldsmith, 2017, p. 84). If we can stop excusing ourselves, we can get better at almost anything we choose (Goldsmith, 2017, p. 79). A leader who cannot shoulder the blame is not someone we will follow blindly into battle. We instinctively question that individual’s character, dependability, and loyalty to us. And so we hold back on our loyalty to him or her (Goldsmith, 2017, p. 94).I love this quote: Be humble to see your mistakes, courageous to admit them, and wise enough to correct them. The most difficult obstacles to remove are the ones that you create for yourself. If you cannot see your mistakes, you cannot fix them. -Amine AyadWritten By: Steve Nguyen, Ph.D.Leadership Development AdvisorReferencesGoldsmith, M. (2007). What Got You Here Won t Get You There. Hyperion.Lombardo, M. M., Eichinger, R. W. (2009). FYI: For your improvement: A development and coaching guide (5th ed.). Lominger International.Riddle, D. (2016). Executive Integration: Equipping Transitioning Leaders for Success. Retrieved from https://www.ccl.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/ExecutiveIntegration.pdfScisco, P., Biech, E., Hallenbeck, G. (2017). Compass: Your Guide for Leadership Development and Coaching. Center for Creative Leadership Press.Willink, J., Babin, L. (2017). Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win. St. Martin’s Press. Have you noticed that, in many companies, employees often have no clue what many of the other employees in other functions do to support the overall organization? When you look at how companies typically onboard new employees and the lack of follow-up employee development training, it s not at all surprising that so many employees struggle with not fully understanding what their colleagues do and how their companies operate.As a result, these employees, their teams, and leaders unintentionally and detrimentally create and maintain silos, often pitting one or several functions against each other. For example, in one organization, corporate staff and sales staff do not know what it is that each of the respective functions do to support the overall firm. Each group, failing to grasp how interconnected and interdependent they are to one another and the overall organization, operates and wages a daily battle of us vs. them. Sadly, they undermine not only their opponent but also their own efforts to help themselves and the larger organization.To improve job learning and experience, why not include a mini job rotation as part of a 2-week new employee orientation*?*NOTE: The new employee orientation must be part of a larger, well-designed onboarding program (Allen, 2020). Good onboarding begins before a person reports for the first day of work and extends to the end of the new employee’s first year (Workforce, 2011).In a job rotation, an employee (spending anywhere from several weeks to several months) rotates and does different jobs within an organization to increase their breadth of knowledge (Aamodt, 2016; Riggio, 2018). Of course, my recommendation of a mini job rotation during the new employee orientation means a much shorter time period.Companies can pilot a 5-day job rotation (part of a 2-week new employee orientation) in which new employees will rotate into, learn as much about, and practice doing only the most critical jobs/functions that enable the company to operate (e.g., critical roles within Finance, Operations, Human Resources, Sales/Business Development, and Customer Service).Here s one example of a 5-day job rotation integrated into a 2-week new employee orientation:New Employee Orientation Week 1:1-day new employee orientation (company history, mission, culture stories, organizational structure functions, benefits, payroll, company policies, employee ID, tour of workplace, introducing new employees to senior corporate and team leaders, etc.)3-day job rotation for Wk. 1 (one day in Finance, one day in Operations, one day in Human Resources)1-day debrief for Wk. 1 (Q Preparation for Capstone Project Presentations*New Employee Orientation Week 2:2-day job rotation for Wk. 2 (one day in Sales/Business Development, one day in Customer Service)1-day debrief for Wk. 2 (Q Overall Wk. 1 2 debrief; Preparation for Capstone Project Presentations*1-day Capstone Project Presentations*1-day New employee orientation wrap-up*NOTE: This recommendation to do a Capstone Project Presentation is based on advice from Eichinger, Lombardo, and Ulrich (2004) regarding using projects to help ensure new hires grasp the contributions that different functions make within the organization. To demonstrate their understanding of the contributions that different functions make, small teams of 3-4 new hires will do a Capstone Project Presentation. The Capstone Project Presentations will require new hires to work in small teams (of 3-4 people) to learn about the work and contributions of the most critical functions and apply that knowledge to resolve a real-life situation that the organization is facing]. The basic premise behind job rotation is to expose workers to as many areas of the organization as possible so they can gain a good knowledge of its workings and how the various jobs and departments fit together (Riggio, 2018, p. 195). Job rotation is especially popular for managerial training because it allows a manager trainee to experience and understand most, if not all, of the jobs within the organization that his subordinates will perform (Aamodt, 2016, p. 305).What many companies so often forget is this: Job rotation is also commonly used to train nonmanagerial employees. Aside from increasing employee awareness, the main advantage of job rotation is that it allows for both lateral transfers within an organization and greater flexibility in replacing absent workers (Aamodt, 2016, p. 305). Thus, if one employee suddenly quits or is absent, another person will have already been trained (also known as cross-training ) to step in to perform the job (Riggio, 2018).To help employees satisfy their need for growth and challenge, one of the easiest and most common things organizations can do is provide job rotations (Aamodt, 2016). Research has shown that job rotation not only increases learning, but it also has positive effects on employees’ career progression and development (Riggio, 2018, p. 195). Another benefit of job rotation is that it can alleviate the monotony and boredom associated with performing the same work, day in and day out (Riggio, 2018, p. 267).Eichinger, Lombardo, and Ulrich (2004) cautioned that if the goal is to introduce employees to on-the job knowledge, targeted training (i.e. training as a student) is more effective than job rotations. And, If the goal is really to understand the contributions that different functions make, then projects are far and away the most powerful source of how those skills are applied to real-life situations (Eichinger, Lombardo, Ulrich, 2004, p. 329-330).In addition, rather than simply offering a traditional orientation that highlights only job requirements and information about the company or one that s focused solely on the elements of the organization that foster pride, orientation that is focused on new employees personal strengths and how they can bring them to their work results in lower turnover and greater customer satisfaction (Levy, 2017). Obviously, this approach requires not only time and effort, but also dedicated staff, cost, and resources devoted to ensuring that the employee orientation experience (part of a larger onboarding program) and mini job rotation are well-designed and implemented (e.g., having a mentor, internal trainer, or supervisor/trainer at each step of the job rotation plan [Heathfield, 2019]).It s important to note that, while there are many great benefits to having a job rotation, there are also some things to consider. According to a Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) article: Job rotation may increase the workload and decrease productivity for the rotating employee and for other employees who must take up the slack. This may result in a disruption of work flow and a focus by line managers on short-term solutions to correct these problems (SHRM, 2020). Another factor to consider is cost — costs associated with the learning curve on new jobs, including time spent learning, training costs and errors that employees often make while learning a new job (Campion, 1996).So, with these cautions in mind, let s return to job rotation benefits. Researchers have discovered that people who are starting out in their careers typically are more eager to demonstrate their willingness to learn, to advance and to take on increasing responsibilities to enhance their skill development. And, overall, they have more to learn and benefit more from rotation experiences (Campion, 1996). Thus, it makes sense to incorporate a mini job rotation into the employee orientation period.Takeaway: If planned well and done correctly, a mini job rotation (during the new employee orientation) can result in tremendous benefits for the new employees, for the teams and departments they are joining, and for the larger organization. This includes exposure to different business areas [for the individual, team, and organization]; fresh perspectives to existing roles [for the team(s), department(s), and organization]; acceleration of professional development [for the individual, team, and organization]; enhancement to recruiting and retention [for the team and organization]; and career satisfaction, involvement and motivation in one’s career [for the individual].Written By: Steve Nguyen, Ph.D.Leadership Development AdvisorReferencesAamodt, M. G. (2016). Industrial/organizational psychology: An applied approach (8th ed.). Cengage Learning.Allen, T. (2020, April 2). The Key Difference Between Employee Onboarding and Orientation. Retrieved from https://trainingindustry.com/articles/onboarding/the-key-difference-between-employee-onboarding-and-orientationCampion, L. (1996, November 1). Study Clarifies Job-rotation Benefits. Retrieved from https://www.workforce.com/news/study-clarifies-job-rotation-benefitsEichinger, R. W., Lombardo, M. M., Ulrich, D. (2004). 100 things you need to know: Best people practices for managers HR. Lominger Limited.Heathfield, S. M. (2019, June 5). 6 Keys to Successful Job Rotation. Retrieved from https://www.thebalancecareers.com/keys-to-successful-job-rotation-1918167Levy, P. E. (2017). Industrial/organizational psychology: Understanding the workplace (5th ed.). Worth Publishers.Riggio, R. E. (2018). Introduction to Industrial/Organizational Psychology (7th ed.). Routledge.Robert Half. (2016, May 27). Job Rotation for Your Staff: Why Letting Go Could Mean Holding On. Retrieved from https://www.roberthalf.com/blog/management-tips/job-rotation-for-your-staff-why-letting-go-could-mean-holding-onSHRM [Society for Human Resource Management] (2020). How do I implement a job rotation program in my company? Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/hr-qa/pages/whatisjobrotation.aspxWorkforce. (2011, September 7). Dear Workforce Who Has a Good Blueprint for Creating an Onboarding Program? Retrieved from https://www.workforce.com/news/dear-workforce-who-has-a-good-blueprint-for-creating-an-onboarding-program I ve spent more than a decade working in three related and intersecting fields: Training, Learning Development, and Leadership Development. One can certainly make a case that these all fall under Talent Development. In my current role, I am a Leadership Development Manager Advisor. I partner with senior leaders and top decision-makers on ways to improve human behaviors in the workplace and on how to make people and organizations more effective (e.g., leadership development, training development, etc.). I m involved in developing and implementing key initiatives, training, and programs to create and sustain a high-performing organization. Finally, I m often tasked with developing, designing, and delivering leadership development training.I want to talk about some common issues and challenges in leadership development training. I m sharing best practices drawn from various resources and lessons learned from my own experience working within organizations in the hope that it will help you avoid missteps and prevent catastrophes as you design and execute leadership training in your own organizations.The Biggest Challenge Leaders In Organizations Face TodayBased on my experiences and observations, one of the biggest challenges leaders in organizations face today is how to recruit, develop, and sustain leaders in the company, and how to ensure that there s a pipeline of leaders who will be able to move into leadership roles. The need for this is what all organizations experience or face, which is the need to have effective leadership, not only at the very top, but also at the mid-level and front-line level of the organization.Leader Development, Leadership Development, and Leadership TrainingLeader development focuses on developing individual leaders whereas leadership development focuses on a process of development that inherently involves multiple individuals (e.g., leaders and followers or among peers in a self-managed work team) (Day, Fleenor, Atwater, Sturm, McKee, 2014).The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) defines leadership development as formal and informal training and professional development programs designed to assist employees in developing leadership skills (SHRM, 2020).Leadership training programs are programs that have been designed to enhance leader knowledge, skills, abilities. They include all types of leader, managerial, and supervisory training/development programs and/or workshops (Lacerenza, Reyes, Marlow, Joseph, Salas, 2017). Leader development is broadly defined as the expansion of a person’s capacity to be effective in leadership roles and processes. For organizations, developing leaders includes enhancing their performance in current roles, improving their ability to carry out the tasks of leadership in ways congruent with changing organizational realities, and, for some, expanding their capacity to take on higher positions (McCauley, Kanaga, Lafferty, 2010, p. 29).Three Mistakes about Leadership TrainingThe first and biggest mistake is not doing a needs assessment. Too many organizational leaders blindly dive in and begin developing a leadership training program without ever doing a needs assessment. They think that once you have someone or some team design a leadership development program that it will automatically—by sheer willpower and wishful thinking—become successful just because it was created. Leadership development does not work in a vacuum or silo. It has to be a part of an organization s DNA and corporate culture and mindset. The leadership training program is but one event that must be part of a larger strategic plan to grow and sustain leaders for the company s current and future needs.The second mistake is a tendency to try to cram too much content into the training and expecting participants who attend the leadership development program to instantly become an instant expert or a leader (i.e., meeting all the objectives of the program) once the program ends. In some ways, they treat it like a hot dog eating contest — the faster and more you consume in the allotted time the better. Instead of a seamless, connected, and well-organized program, what results is often a confusing and disjointed hodgepodge of courses and sessions.The third mistake is failing to evaluate the leadership training program. One of the fears to training evaluation is that evaluating will yield unwanted or unfavorable information about the training program (e.g., audience, design, delivery, presenters, instructional contents, etc.). Another fear to evaluating is struggling with when to evaluate and how to isolate the effects of training. However, rather than fearing evaluation, we should think of it in this manner: Training evaluation provides a way to understand the investments that training produces and provides information needed to improve training. . . Training evaluation provides the data needed to demonstrate that training does offer benefits to the company (Noe, 2017, p. 249).We ll delve into more details about evaluation in the Training Evaluation section.Leadership Training [E]vidence suggests that [leadership training] improves learning, transfer, and organizational outcomes by up to 29% (Lacerenza et al., 2017). Thus, not only do these programs affect leaders participating in the programs (i.e., by increasing learning and their ability to utilize concepts on the job, which is known as transfer), but they also influence desired subordinate outcomes as well (e.g., subordinate job satisfaction, turnover; Lacerenza et al., 2017) (Lacerenza, Marlow, Tannenbaum, Salas, 2018, p. 521).Researchers have suggested that leadership training developers should pay close attention to the desired outcome (e.g., organizational results, transfer, learning) because leadership training programs may be more effective for some than others. While leadership training typically shows positive results for affective learning and affective transfer, they tend to be even stronger for cognitive learning, cognitive transfer, skill-based learning, and skill-based transfer . . . [W]hen designing a leadership training program, it might be more beneficial to include (and evaluate) cognitive and/or skill-based content (Lacerenza, Marlow, Tannenbaum, Salas, 2018, p. 522).Key Questions Leaders Should Ask About Training (Salas, Tannenbaum, Kraiger, Smith-Jentsch, 2012):Steps to Effective Training (Davies, 2007)[For information on how to develop and implement a coherent training strategy, consult The Training Manager s Desktop Guide (2nd ed.) by Eddie Davies]Step one: Identify the training needInstead of jumping in and solving the immediate problem, you need to investigate to identify the true cause. This will help you decide if the problem is one that can be solved by training or will other remedies be more effective (Davies, 2007, p. 101).Step two: Design/choose the training/development interventionInfluences on the design of training to consider include: Training facilities available (space and equipment); time available; type of trainee; organization s culture; learning objectives; skills of trainer; principles of learning; group size; budget (Davies, 2007).Step three: Implement the event Senior management will need to be seen to be backing the programme. In addition to the customary chief executive’s letter of support, try to ensure that all senior managers that are due to attend come on the early courses. . . . In addition to gaining the explicit commitment of senior managers you will also need to make sure that the immediate line managers of the participants are also involved in the process. They will form an important role in raising trainee’s expectations before they attend. An equally essential activity will involve them in de-briefing the trainees when they return to work. This discussion should focus on how the new learning can be applied to make a real difference to both the individuals and organization’s performance (Davies, 2007, p. 108-109).Step four: Follow-up the training/development Training does not start and end in the training room. It is a widely reported phenomenon that whilst trainees learn in the classroom they sometimes fail to translate their learning back to the workplace. . . [Y]ou should also be thinking about this transferability of skills as part of the overall design. Individual sessions should end with time for reflection and review, and the participants should return to work with an action plan they can discuss with their managers (Davies, 2007, p. 109).Step five: Evaluate the outcome This final stage will involve you in going back to the start of the training cycle. The whole process was started because someone identified a need that could best be addressed through training. For the training department to survive and prosper it must show that it has been of benefit by providing the solutions in an efficient, effective and economical way (Davies, 2007, p. 110).Training EvaluationAn area in the leadership training space that requires particular attention is training evaluation or, rather, the lack of or inadequate measurement of leadership development training. As mentioned earlier, one of the fears and obstacles to training evaluation is deciding when to evaluate and how to isolate the effects of training (Kraiger, 2002). Another fear, often understood but not openly discussed, for not conducting more rigorous evaluations is that the training function may have everything to lose and nothing to gain from the data (Kraiger, 2002, p. 340).Two strategies for increasing the impact of training evaluation practices (Salas, Tannenbaum, Kraiger, Smith-Jentsch, 2012):(1) Begin training evaluation efforts by clearly specifying one or more purposes for the evaluation and should then link all subsequent decisions of what and how to measure to the stated purposes. STEP: Clearly specify the purpose of evaluation. ACTION: Determine what you hope to accomplish by evaluating the training and link all subsequent decisions back to the purpose (Salas, Tannenbaum, Kraiger, Smith-Jentsch, 2012).(2) Use precise affective, cognitive, and/or behavioral measures that reflect the intended learning outcomes. STEP: Consider evaluating training at multiple levels. ACTIONS: (a) Consider measuring reactions, learning, behavior, and results. (b) Use precise affective, cognitive, and/or behavioral indicators to measure the intended learning outcomes as uncovered during the needs assessment (Salas, Tannenbaum, Kraiger, Smith-Jentsch, 2012).As Kraiger (2002) explained: The art of training evaluation springs from knowing why. What s the purpose for evaluation (is it for decision making, feedback, and/or marketing)? How will the results be used to make decisions affecting training courses or the training function?We need to know what to measure but to also be able to place it into a larger context in which success indicators and reasons why the evaluation is being conducted are considered.The training evaluation outcomes table (Table 6.1) from the Noe textbook (2017) is helpful. Training outcomes are grouped into six categories: reaction outcomes, learning or cognitive outcomes, behavior and skill-based outcomes, affective outcomes, results, and return on investment. Table 6.1 shows training outcomes, the level they correspond to in Kirkpatrick’s evaluation model, a description of each of the outcomes and how they are measured, and the question that each outcome can help answer. Kirkpatrick’s original evaluation model included only four levels (reaction, learning, behavior, and results) but recent thinking suggests a fifth level, return on investment (ROI), is necessary to demonstrate the financial value of training. Both level 1 and level 2 outcomes (reactions and learning) are collected at the completion of training, before trainees return to the job. Level 3 outcomes (behavior/skills) can also be collected at the completion of training to determine trainees’ behavior or skill level at that point. To determine whether trainees are using training content back on the job (i.e., whether transfer of training has occurred), level 3, level 4, and/or level 5 outcomes can be collected. Level 3 criteria can be collected to determine whether behavior/skills are being used on the job. Level 4 and level 5 criteria (results and return on investment) can also be used to determine whether training has resulted in an improvement in business results, such as productivity or customer satisfaction (Noe, 2017, p. 252). A useful taxonomy of content and design dimensions for assessment was provided by Lee and Pershing (1999), and is shown in Exhibit 11.1. The exhibit lists ten potential assessment dimensions, along with the specific purpose for the dimension (what is to be learned, and how that information is useful), and sample questions (Kraiger, 2002, p. 344).Avoiding Leadership Training MistakesOne important tip to always remember is this: Not all participants who attend leadership development training will be successful after training and this is to be expected. The reason is because of two things:(1) The motivation, attitudes, and expectations of the learner are absolutely critical to training effectiveness (Tannenbaum Yukl, 1992). If an employee is unmotivated to learn, doesn t believe in their own abilities, and is not goal-oriented during training then the chances of this employee learning and applying the knowledge and behaviors taught will be negligible (Salas, Tannenbaum, Kraiger, Smith-Jentsch, 2012).(2) The support and encouragement from the employee s supervisor is also key to training success. Research shows that one of the biggest determinants to whether training is successful or not is the amount and degree to which each participant s manager will provide support and offer a chance to practice once the participant is back in his/her role after training (Salas, Tannenbaum, Kraiger, Smith-Jentsch, 2012). So be sure to ask and have the answers to these post-training questions: (a) How much support and encouragement will they get from their managers/supervisors once they return to their roles after training? (b) Will there be on-the-job training to further support their growth?It s very demoralizing for an employee to return from leadership development training to a boss who doesn t support, encourage, or provide an opportunity for that employee to put into practice the things he or she learned in leadership development training. Indeed, one of the major reasons employees leave an organization is due to the lack of growth and advancement opportunities (Branham, 2012).Therefore, make sure that the culture of the overall organization and within each department is one that values, supports, and encourages growth of each employee. I would recommend surveying leaders and employees throughout your organization about the amount and level of support they believe they get for training and employee development learning from the overall organization and from within their own teams and departments.Conducting a PreMortem ExerciseA great way to anticipate problems, prior to implementing a leadership development program, is to use what s called a PreMortem. The purpose of a PreMortem is to find key vulnerabilities in a plan (Klein, 2004, p. 98). In a PreMortem, the group tries to anticipate a plan s weaknesses through the simulations of different disaster and failure scenarios. The group s job is to then find ways to counter the weaknesses they have pinpointed (Klein, 2004, p. 99). PreMortem begins with the assumption that the plan has failed. The attitude of complacency and the false sense of security is punctured, at least temporarily, and is replaced by an active search aimed at preventing trouble later on (Klein, 2004, p. 101).The PreMortem is designed to provide a safe format that supports a productive critique of a plan (Klein, 2004, p. 99). In a PreMortem, the team members independently list everything that worries them about a new plan or project. This method challenges the complacency of the group which can sometimes masquerade as harmony (Klein, 2014).The PreMortem is used in a project kickoff meeting. The project team has reviewed the plan the members developed. In the PreMortem exercise, the team is told to imagine that it is now some time in the future — say 6 months from now. We are looking in a crystal ball, and what we see is terrible. The plan has been a disaster. Each person in the room has the next two minutes to write down all the reasons he/she can think of to explain what went wrong. Once the two minutes are up, the facilitator captures what the team members wrote down — a blueprint for failure (Klein, 2015). As a by-product of using the PreMortem exercise, team members will become better at mentally simulating how a plan or project is likely to play out. They will learn from each other about ways that plans can fail, and thereby increase the patterns they can recognize and their mental models, which in turn strengthens their intuitions. These skills enable people to produce better plans and avoid pitfalls (Klein, 2004, p. 99).Leader Self-DevelopmentThere are various ways to develop a person’s leadership capacity. One type of leader development is leader self-development. Leader self-development refers to activities that leaders take upon themselves in order to develop their leadership capacity (Simmons, 2017).Here s something to think about: Although learning and training are related, they are not the same. Some training fails to produce any learning, and a great deal of learning occurs outside of training. Learning is a desired outcome of training—a process of acquiring new knowledge and behaviors as a result of practice, study, or experience. It involves relatively permanent changes in cognition, behavior, and affect (Salas, Tannenbaum, Kraiger, Smith-Jentsch, 2012, p. 77).What this means is that, even after a weeklong training program, a person might not learn much or even anything at all. A trainee s motivation, attitudes, and expectations strongly influence training effectiveness (Tannenbaum Yukl, 1992). What s more, only 7 to 9 percent of skill acquisition comes from formal training. Instead, leaders (both formal and informal) are key factors in learning—as they greatly influence what people actually do on the job. Obviously, trainees must continue to learn on the job after they ve attended training (Salas, Tannenbaum, Kraiger, Smith-Jentsch, 2012).Self-development is learning beyond the classroom and individuals who commit to this learning mindset will grow as a leader (Scisco, Biech, Hallenbeck, 2017).Leader Development Is Personal Development [A]ll people can learn and grow in ways that make them more effective in the various leadership roles and processes they take on (McCauley, Velsor, Ruderman, 2010, p. 3). Leader development is about the process of personal development that improves leader effectiveness (McCauley, Velsor, Ruderman, 2010).I like the Center for Creative Leadership s view that leader development is synonymous with personal development (McCauley, Velsor, Ruderman, 2010): developing the individual capacities needed for effective leadership—such as self-management, social skills, and work facilitation capabilities—is synonymous with what is often labeled personal development' (McCauley, Velsor, Ruderman, 2010, p. 26).A suggestion I share with leaders (when they seek my advice about self-improvement) is to choose what they want to work on and focus on just that one thing or two things. You don t need to be perfect and you don t need to be everything to everybody. You just need to be you, not a perfect you, just a better you. You can’t set goals for every leadership competency you want to develop. Narrow your goals to those that you feel passionate about, those that benefit you or can reduce mistakes, and those that are not too difficult to achieve but still stretch your abilities (Scisco, Biech, Hallenbeck, 2017, p. 349).Marshall Goldsmith (2007) has similar advice: Pick one issue that matters and attack it until it doesn’t matter anymore. If you’re a bad listener, choose to become a better listener—not the best listener in the world (p. 192-193).Takeaway: Everyone in an organization — from rank-and-file employees to mid- and senior-level, and C-suite members — needs to understand that leadership development is self-development and requires taking an honest and humble examination of yourself. Leader self-development means adopting a learning beyond the classroom mindset. Remember, you do not need to be a perfect you, just a better you. Each of us must continually learn, own up to our mistakes, acknowledge that we do not know enough, and accept that part of learning means to change something about ourselves, even changing something we don t think needs changing.Written By: Steve Nguyen, Ph.D.Leadership Development AdvisorReferencesBranham, L. (2012). The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave (2nd ed.). AMACOM.Davies, E. (2007). The Training Manager s Desktop Guide (2nd ed.). Thorogood Publishing.Day, D. V., Fleenor, J. W., Atwater, L. E., Sturm, R. E., McKee, R. A. (2014). Advances in leader and leadership development: A review of 25 years of research and theory. The Leadership Quarterly, 25(1), 63-82.Goldsmith, M. (2007). What Got You Here Won t Get You There. Hyperion.Klein, G. (2004). The Power of Intuition: How to Use Your Gut Feelings to Make Better Decisions at Work. Currency.Klein, G. (2014). Different Tactics for Making Discoveries: Each path to insight calls for its own techniques. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/seeing-what-others-dont/201403/different-tactics-making-discoveriesKlein, G. (2015, October 21). The Pro-Mortem Method: Creating a blueprint for success. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/seeing-what-others-dont/201510/the-pro-mortem-methodKraiger, K. (2002). Decision-based evaluation. In K. Kraiger (Ed.), Creating, implementing, and maintaining effective training and development: State-of-the-art lessons for practice (pp. 331-375). Jossey-Bass.Lacerenza, C. N., Marlow, S. L., Tannenbaum, S. I., Salas, E. (2018). Team development interventions: Evidence-based approaches for improving teamwork. American Psychologist, 73(4), 517-531.Lacerenza, C. N., Reyes, D. L., Marlow, S. L., Joseph, D. L., Salas, E. (2017). Leadership training design, delivery, and implementation: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 102(12), 1686-1718.McCauley, C., Kanaga, K., Lafferty, K. (2010). Leader Development Systems. In E. V. Velsor, C. D. McCauley, M. N. Ruderman (Eds.), The Center for Creative Leadership Handbook of Leadership Development [3rd ed.] (pp. 29-61). Jossey-Bass.McCauley, C. D., Velsor, E. V., Ruderman, M. N. (2010). Introduction: Our View of Leadership Development. In E. V. Velsor, C. D. McCauley, M. N. Ruderman (Eds.), The Center for Creative Leadership Handbook of Leadership Development [3rd ed.] (pp. 1-26). Jossey-Bass.Noe, R. A. (2017). Employee Training and Development (7th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.Salas, E., Tannenbaum, S. I., Kraiger, K., Smith-Jentsch, K. A. (2012). The science of training and development in organizations: What matters in practice. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 13(2) 74-101.Scisco, P., Biech, E., Hallenbeck, G. (2017). Compass: Your Guide for Leadership Development and Coaching. Center for Creative Leadership Press.SHRM (Society of Human Resource Management). (2020). Developing Organizational Leaders. https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/toolkits/pages/developingorganizationalleaders.aspxSimmons, M. J. (2017). Leader self-development: An emerging strategy for building leadership capacity. [Doctoral dissertation, Kansas State University]. K-State Research Exchange. https://krex.k-state.edu/dspace/handle/2097/38200Tannenbaum, S., Yukl, G. (1992). Training and Development in Work Organizations. Annual Review of Psychology, 43, 399-441. The traditional, physical office is not going away any time soon despite advances in technology allowing people to work remotely, either at a home office, coworking space, virtual office, or another remote location (such as a coffee shop, library, or bookstore). Similarly, face-to-face meetings will not disappear, even though we can use email, phone, text, or virtual conference calls to conduct business meetings.The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic reignited the debate about remote work, with some suggesting that it will be the new normal even after COVID-19 (Verbeemen D’Amico, 2020).There are 3 reasons why remote work will not be the new normal and why physical offices and face-to-face meetings will stick around:The reactive response of companies to initiate a temporary work-from-home solution resulted in a bad experience to long-term remote work.Companies won’t invest time or money to address remote work structurally in their organizations.Our brains are wired to connect with others because humans have a need for meaningful social connection.Reason #1 Companies Haphazard Response to Initiate a Temporary Work-From-Home:Shifting the workforce to remote work as a haphazard and forced reaction to COVID-19 will leave a bad taste in many people’s mouths about their experience working remotely. This GitLab article, titled “What Not to Do When Implementing Remote” is a fantastic resource:“Remote work isn t something you do as a reaction to an event — it is an intentional approach to work that creates greater efficiency, more geographically and culturally diverse teams, and heightened transparency.What is happening en masse related to Coronavirus (COVID-19) is largely a temporary work-from-home phenomenon, where organizations are not putting remote work ideals into place, as they expect to eventually require their team members to resume commuting into an office.” -GitLabIn a Forbes article titled, “Remote Work Advocates Warn Companies About COVID-19 Work-From-Home Strategies,” Laurel Farrer wrote: “all of this unexpected remote work adoption has telecommuting experts concerned instead of celebrating.”Reason #2 Companies Not Willing to Invest Time Money:Most companies are not investing and will not invest time and money to tackle remote work structurally in their organizations.Verbeemen D’Amico (2020) wrote that remote work “will only be a real success if companies start tackling remote working structurally.” Organizations must secure the infrastructure for remote work and implement remote work in a structural way:“Companies that see salvation in a fast adoption of tools without structural adjustments, risk a loss of efficiency and frustration among employees and stakeholders. It is not enough to simply provide the necessary infrastructure and tools. Some companies already had the infrastructure and tools available at the start of the crisis, but are only now realizing their full potential. Tools are important, but a successful migration also requires leadership, clear guidelines and real commitment” (Verbeemen D’Amico, 2020).Here are some findings:At a global level: 56% of global companies allow remote work, but 44% of global companies don t allow remote work (Owl Labs Global State of Remote Work Report 2018).At a company level: Only 30% of senior managers feel their organization is well prepared for the rise of remote work (Future Positive Report).At a leadership level: While 82% believe that leaders in the new economy will need to be digitally savvy, less than 10% of respondents strongly agree that their organizations have leaders with the right skills to thrive in the digital economy (The New Leadership Playbook for the Digital Age).At a worker level: 38% of remote workers and 15% of remote managers received no training on how to work remotely (Owl Labs State of Remote Work Report 2019).Werk (a people analytics company) conducted a comprehensive study [The Future is Flexible Werk Flexibility Study] on the state of flexibility in corporate America. “According to [the] research, there is a significant gap between the supply and demand of workplace flexibility. 96% of employees in the U.S. workforce need some form of flexibility at work, yet only 42% have access to the type of flexibility they need, and only 19% have access to a range of flexible options. This gap is even more pronounced for women, where only 34% have access to the flexibility they need.”Even though organizations are becoming aware that they need to adopt a more human-centric view, one that supports the employees’ needs (e.g., remote work, wellness programs, etc.), “innovation in terms of how the workplace and jobs are structured has been slow. If companies are going to truly adapt, stay nimble, and poise themselves for growth in the Human Era, they must reconsider the fundamentals of how jobs are designed and how, where, and when work gets done” (The Future is Flexible Werk Flexibility Study Report).In the Owl Labs’ State of Remote Work Report 2019, remote employee managers were asked about their biggest challenges and concerns when it came to managing their remote employees. Here’s what they said They are most concerned about reduced employee productivity (82%), reduced employee focus (82%), lower employee engagement and satisfaction (81%), and whether their remote employees are getting their work done (80%).Somewhat troubling in that Owl Labs’ State of Remote Work Report 2019 was what remote managers said were their least concerns: Managers are least concerned with employee loneliness (59%), the career implications of employees working remotely (65%), employees overworking (67%), and difficulty managing them (68%).Gallup research suggests there are three areas in which managers struggle to engage their remote workers (Mann, 2017):Not recognizing or praising good work.Not talking to remote workers about career goals and personal growth.Not providing opportunities to connect with coworkers.“While remote work is a valid strategy to maintain business continuity in times of crisis like the outbreak of COVID-19, suddenly allowing remote work with no clear policy or processes in place will not have the same positive outcomes as investing adequate resources into preparing leaders and employees for success in a remote environment.” -Tammy Bjelland, CEO WorkplacelessWhat I see happening—and I believe this trend will continue—is a semi-hybrid company [in which most employees are co-located/on-site and a handful who work remotely] that uses a semi-flexible schedule approach requiring significant time onsite [for co-located employees] and some time offsite/remote. In this semi-flexible schedule approach, organizations require most of their workforce to work and attend meetings onsite but will allow some leaders and staff (at the discretion and whim of their managers) the flexibility to occasionally work and/or attend meetings remotely.Reason #3 The Human Brain is Wired to Connect to Others:The third and my strongest argument why remote work won’t be the new normal is that human beings have an innate and basic need for in-person interactions and the bias toward and preference for face-to-face interactions.A Futurestep poll of 1,320 global executives in 71 countries found that 61% of senior managers think telecommuters are not as likely as conventional office workers to be promoted, despite the fact that over three-quarters also think teleworkers are equally productive as (42%) or more productive than (36%) their office-dwelling colleagues (Vickers, 2007 citing Bridgeford). Managers might recognize that teleworkers are productive, but they are still accustomed toward face-to-face interactions.Indeed, remote workers are at risk of getting lower performance evaluations, smaller raises and fewer promotions (even if they work just as long and hard) due to what is called, “passive face time” or the notion of just being “seen” in the workplace even if we don’t interact with anyone in the office (Elsbach Cable, 2012).Face-to-face meetings are crucial to business success (Goman, 2016). Even those who make a case for remote work must concede that, “collaborating face-to-face probably is better than collaborating remotely” (Clancy, 2020). When extensive collaboration is required, remote work “may be less productive than colocation [where coworkers are physically clustered together in the same physical workplace]” (Clancy, 2020).Michael Massari, Caesars Entertainment’s Senior Vice President of National Meetings and Events and Chief Sales Officer, shared some sage advice about the value and advantage of face-to-face meetings:“No matter what industry you work in, we are all in the people business. Regardless of how tech-savvy you may be, face-to-face meetings are still the most effective way to capture the attention of participants, engage them in the conversation, and drive productive collaboration.” -Michael Massari (Caesars Entertainment’s Senior Vice President of National Meetings and Events and Chief Sales Officer)Contrary to the belief that making a phone call saves time over a face-to-face meeting, Massari said this:“If I have to go outside my division to ask for resources from someone I don’t know, I can usually get what I need in a five-minute in-person conversation. If I have to rely on a phone call, it is going to take over 30 minutes to explain who I am, why my request is important, and why the other person should help me. That’s because it is so much faster and easier to establish trust when people physically meet.” -Michael Massari (Caesars Entertainment’s Senior Vice President of National Meetings and Events and Chief Sales Officer)Researchers have found that, “people tend to overestimate the power of their persuasiveness via text-based communication, and underestimate the power of their persuasiveness via face-to-face communication.” (Bohns, 2017). As a matter of fact, a face-to-face request is 34 times more successful than an email (Bohns, 2017).In a survey of 760 business executives conducted by Forbes Insights in June 2009, respondents were asked to choose the meeting method that was most conducive to fostering a certain business action or outcome. “Executives preferred face-to-face meetings when the decision-making process was fluid, requiring the kind of give-and-take typical of complex decisions and sales” (Forbes, 2009).“Surprisingly given the advances in information technology, CEOs today spend most of their time in face-to-face meetings. They consider face-to-face meetings most effective in getting their message across and obtaining the information they need. Not only do meetings present data through presentations and verbal communications, but they also enable CEOs to pick up on rich nonverbal cues such as facial expressions, body language, and mood, that are not apparent to them if they use e-mail or Skype” (Rothaermel, 2016, p. 43).Beyond the business desire to close a deal, “the benefits of in-person social interaction—from bonding with co-workers to using time at the pool or café to cement a client relationship—are among the more subtle, less measurable advantages executives cited” (Forbes, 2009).The COVID-19 pandemic and the importance and need for social distancing and remaining indoors and away from others exacerbated our experiences of cabin fever, isolation, and loneliness.Research has provided consistent evidence linking social isolation and loneliness to worse cardiovascular and mental health outcomes (Leigh-Hunt, Bagguley, Bash, et al., 2017). Indeed, “social isolation [not being alone but one’s experience of feeling lonely] has an impact on health comparable to the effect of high blood pressure, lack of exercise, obesity, or smoking (Cacioppo Patrick, 2008, p. 5).Although people claim that their goal is to be able to work from home, when they actually have to do their work from home, those individuals reported higher levels of stress (Scott, 2020). For a great article on what’s stressful about working from home (e.g., lack of structure; lots of distractions; difficulty setting boundaries; social isolation; and lack of focus) see How to Handle the Stress of Working From Home.“Those who work at home may find that the solitude can be a double-edged sword. It is, of course, easier to focus when you re in your own home with no co-workers coming by your desk to chat at random times. But while this solitude can feel blissful at times, when we have no mandate for social interaction during the workday—when we don t automatically run across people outside of those we live with—we can become lonely before we realize it” (Scott, 2020).As evidenced, during the COVID-19 pandemic, by the boredom, loneliness, and isolation—with some people even going so far as paying money to join virtual Zoom parties (starting at $10 and going up to $80 for a private room in Club Quarantee to virtually party alongside Instagram-famous DJs and burlesque dancers)—human beings desire, indeed we need, human connections, and in particular in-person interaction and connection.There’s value in face-to-face interaction collaboration. Human beings crave human connection and interaction. “[O]ur brains are wired to connect with other people” (Lieberman, 2013, p. x). Lieberman says human beings are wired in a way such that our well-being depends on our connections with other people. “We depend on the most complicated entities in the universe, other people, to make our food, pay our rent, and provide for our general well-being” (2013, p. 238).“Everything we have learned about the social brain tells us that we are wired to make and keep social connections, that we feel pain when these connections are threatened, and that our identity, our sense of self, is intimately tied up with the groups we are a part of” (Lieberman, 2013, p. 248-249).But these interactions are not just about the number of people you spend time with. Rather, these connections need to satisfy our need to have close, satisfying relationships. Indeed, “loneliness is typically rooted in the quality rather than the quantity of social interaction: Lonely people spend plenty of time with others, but they do not come away from these interactions feeling satisfied” (Baumeister Bushman, 2014, p. p. 410).Loneliness is a state of mind and causes us “to feel empty, alone, and unwanted. People who are lonely often crave human contact, but their state of mind makes it more difficult to form connections with other people.” (Cherry, 2020).Experts contend that humans are social creatures and we function better when we are around other people (DiGiulio, 2018). Even more strongly, a case can be made that our need to connect with others is as strong and fundamental as our need for food and water (Cook, 2013). Physical connection between humans is so strong that the power of touch can even create an analgesic, painkilling effect (Lamothe, 2018).During this COVID-19 pandemic, it is more important than ever to foster relational connection to curb the rise of loneliness (Stallard Stallard, 2020). “Research suggests that the majority of individuals today lack sufficient social connection. This connection deficit may exacerbate the negative effects of stress and diminish physical and emotional resilience that people will need to fight the COVID-19 virus” (Stallard Stallard, 2020).In his TEDx Talk, neuroscientist Matthew Lieberman said: “Our urge to connect and the pain we feel when this need is thwarted, is one of the seminal achievements of our brain that motivates us to live, work, and play together. You can have the greatest idea in the world, but if you can’t connect with other people nothing will come of it. You can’t build a rocket ship by yourself.”“To the extent that we can characterize evolution as designing our modern brains, this is what our brains were wired for: reaching out to and interacting with others. These are design features, not flaws. These social adaptations are central to making us the most successful species on earth.” (Lieberman, 2013, p. 9).According to social psychologists, our need for affiliation or connection to others is universal and all human beings have this need. “Some individuals claim that they have little or no need for affiliation—for connections to other people. But research findings indicate that even such persons really do have affiliation needs. How do we know that’s true? When such people learn that they have been accepted by others, both their moods and self-esteem increase. That would only be expected to happen if such acceptance satisfied a basic need for affiliation. . . . In short, all human beings—even people who claim otherwise—have strong needs for affiliation—to feel connected to others. They may conceal these needs under a mask of seeming indifference, but the needs are still there no matter how much such people try to deny them” (Baron Branscombe, 2012, p. 218).Researchers examined the emotional experience of connectedness between pairs of close friends in digital (text, audio, and video) versus in-person environments. They recruited 58 female university students aged 18-21 years (consisting of 29 pairs of close female friends). Although adolescent and emerging adults’ digital communication is primarily text-based, the researchers discovered that the greatest bonding actually occurs during in-person interaction, followed by video chat, audio chat, and instant messaging (Sherman, Michikyan, Greenfield, 2013).“Despite our remarkable ability to utilize tools and technologies to improve our lives in many ways, humans are constrained by the evolutionary context in which human social interaction developed” (Sherman, Michikyan, Greenfield, 2013).Takeaway: Traditional physical offices and face-to-face meetings are here to stay and remote work will not be the new normal as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are three reasons why. First, most people’s introduction to and experience with remote work occurred as a direct, but reactive response of companies to initiate a temporary work-from-home solution. Second, most companies will not be spending the time and money to tackle remote work structurally in their organizations. Third, the human brain is wired to connect with other people and human beings have a need for meaningful social connection. It’s a beautiful, defining quality of being human.Written By: Steve Nguyen, Ph.D.Leadership Development AdvisorReferencesBaron, R. A., Branscombe, N. R. (2012). Social Psychology (13th Ed.). Pearson Education, Inc.Baumeister, R. F., Bushman, B. J. (2014). Social Psychology and Human Nature (3rd Ed.). Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.Bloomberg Lhooq, M. (2020, April 14). People are paying real money to get into virtual Zoom nightclubs. https://fortune.com/2020/04/14/zoom-nightclubs-virtual-bars-video-calls-coronavirus/Bohns, V. K. (2017, April 11). A Face-to-Face Request Is 34 Times More Successful Than an Email. https://hbr.org/2017/04/a-face-to-face-request-is-34-times-more-successful-than-an-emailCacioppo, J. T., Patrick, W. (2008). Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection. W. W. Norton Company.Cherry, K. (2020, March 23). The Health Consequences of Loneliness. https://www.verywellmind.com/loneliness-causes-effects-and-treatments-2795749Clancy, M. (2020, April 13). The Case for Remote Work. Economics Working Papers: Department of Economics, Iowa State University. 20007. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/econ_workingpapers/102Cook, G. (2013, October 22). Why We Are Wired to Connect. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-we-are-wired-to-connect/Cuncic, A. (2020, March 27). How to Cope With Loneliness During the Coronavirus Pandemic. https://www.verywellmind.com/how-to-cope-with-loneliness-during-coronavirus-4799661DiGiulio, S. (2018, January 9). In good company: Why we need other people to be happy. https://www.nbcnews.com/better/health/good-company-why-we-need-other-people-be-happy-ncna836106Doherty, C. (2020, May 2). What Is Coronavirus (COVID-19)? https://www.verywellhealth.com/coronavirus-overview-4783291Elsbach, K., Cable, D. M., Sherman, J. W. (2010). How passive ‘face time’ affects perceptions of employees: Evidence of spontaneous trait inference. Human Relations, 63(6), 735-760.Farrer, L. (2020, March 5). Remote Work Advocates Warn Companies About COVID-19 Work-From-Home Strategies. https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurelfarrer/2020/03/05/ironically-remote-work-advocates-warn-companies-about-covid-19-work-from-home-strategies/#536739222051Forbes. (2009). Business Meetings: The Case for Face-to-Face. Forbes Insights. https://images.forbes.com/forbesinsights/StudyPDFs/Business_Meetings_FaceToFace.pdfFritscher, L. (2020, April 23). Cabin Fever Symptoms and Coping Skills. https://www.verywellmind.com/cabin-fever-fear-of-isolation-2671734Fuller, J. B., Wallenstein, J. K., Raman, M., de Chalendar, A. (2019, May). Future Positive Report: How Companies Can Tap Into Employee Optimism to Navigate Tomorrow’s Workplace. BCG, Harvard Business School.GitLab. What not to do when implementing remote: don t replicate the in-office experience remotely. https://about.gitlab.com/company/culture/all-remote/what-not-to-do/Goman, C. K. (2016, March 11). The Immeasurable Importance Of Face-To-Face Meetings. https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolkinseygoman/2016/03/11/the-immeasurable-importance-of-face-to-face-meetings/#440d18934937Lamothe, C. (2018, January 3). Let s touch: why physical connection between human beings matters. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jan/03/lets-touch-why-physical-connection-between-human-beings-mattersLieberman, M. D. (2013). Social: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Connect. Oxford University Press.Lieberman, M. D. (2013, September 19). The social brain and its superpowers TEDxStLouis. https://youtu.be/NNhk3owF7RQLeigh-Hunt, N., Bagguley, D., Bash, K., et al. (2017). An overview of systematic reviews on the public health consequences of social isolation and loneliness. Public Health, (152)157-171.Mann, A. (2017, August 1). 3 Ways You Are Failing Your Remote Workers. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/236192/ways-failing-remote-workers.aspxOwl Labs. 2018 Global State of Remote Work. https://www.owllabs.com/state-of-remote-work/2018Owl Labs. The State of Remote Work Report. https://www.owllabs.com/state-of-remote-workOwl Labs. [New Research] 2019 State of Remote Work. https://www.owllabs.com/blog/2019-state-of-remote-workReady, D. A., Cohen, C., Kiron, D., Pring, B. (2020, January). The New Leadership Playbook for the Digital Age: Reimagining What It Takes to Lead.Rothaermel, F. T. (2016). Strategic Management (3rd Ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.Scott, E. (2020, March 17). How to Handle the Stress of Working From Home. https://www.verywellmind.com/the-stress-of-working-from-home-4141174Sherman, L. E., Michikyan, M., Greenfield, P. M. (2013). The effects of text, audio, video, and in-person communication on bonding between friends. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 7(2), Article 3. https://doi.org/10.5817/CP2013-2-3Stallard, M. L., Stallard, K. P. (2020, March 26). COVID-19 Is Coinciding With a Loneliness Epidemic. https://www.govexec.com/management/2020/03/covid-19-coinciding-loneliness-epidemic/164153/Verbeemen, E., D’Amico, S. B. (2020, April 9). Why remote working will be the new normal, even after COVID-19. https://www.ey.com/en_be/covid-19/why-remote-working-will-be-the-new-normal-even-after-covid-19Vickers, M. (2007). Adapting to Teleworker Trends. American Management Association’s Moving Ahead Newsletter, 2(10). http://www.amanet.org/training/articles/Adapting-to-Teleworker-Trends.aspxWerk. The Future is Flexible Werk Flexibility Study. https://werk.co/documents/The%20Future%20is%20Flexible%20-%20Werk%20Flexibility%20Study.pdfWorkplaceless. (2020, May 1). Preparing for Emergency Remote Work. https://www.workplaceless.com/blog/emergency-remote-work In honor of National Volunteer Week (April 19-25, 2020), the organization I’m volunteering at—North Texas Food Bank (NTFB)—has asked us to share our own volunteer story of why we chose to volunteer with NTFB and about being a virtual volunteer as a Social Media Ambassador.Founded in 1982, the North Texas Food Bank (NTFB) is a nonprofit hunger relief organization that distributes donated, purchased and prepared foods through a network of more than 200 Partner Agencies in 13 counties.My volunteer story with the North Texas Food Bank (NTFB) started in early spring 2019 when my company hosted a canned food drive. Several of my colleagues and I volunteered to help organize the food items that employees at our company donated. During this period of collecting the food items, I learned that one of my coworkers received help from NTFB at a time when she really needed it. This touched me deeply and I knew I had to get involved and volunteer to help NTFB throughout the year.I was so happy to learn about the NTFB’s Social Media Ambassador program since going to volunteer in person would not work for me. Because I have several social media sites (LinkedIn, Twitter, as well as my own blog and official website), I knew I could help spread the word on social media about hunger and North Texas Food Bank’s mission to feed food insecure children, families, and seniors in the North Texas community.I’m passionate about issues related to children, poverty, and hunger. April 2020 marks 40 years that my family and I have been in the U.S. Ten years ago, I made a personal pledge to give back and encourage others to volunteer their time and donate money to worthwhile causes.My life’s journey has been marked by challenges. These hardships have served as important life lessons. They keep me humble and remind me to give thanks, give back, help others, not complain, and be mindful that no matter how bad I think my problem or situation is in life, there is always someone who is much worse off than me, and who would give anything to trade places with me.I give (my time and money) not because I’m a saint (far from it) or because I want the recognition (I don’t), but because I know what it feels like to struggle. Every time I give, I am reminded of how lucky I am to be alive, healthy, and living in America [read my story about the significance of April 30th and escaping from Vietnam].I love this quote from the book, Ego Is the Enemy:“Imagine if for every person you met, you thought of some way to help them, something you could do for them? And you looked at it in a way that entirely benefited them and not you. The cumulative effect this would have over time would be profound.” -Ryan HolidayFinally, as a father and parent to a soon-to-be six year old girl, my hope is that, through watching her daddy and mommy help others, that she, too, would do the same. There is, perhaps, no greater honor or success as a parent than to raise a child to be happy, kind, compassionate, helpful, and generous. And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, ‘Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.’ (Mark 12:41-44, New American Standard Bible)Written By: Steve Nguyen, Ph.D.Leadership Development Advisor I have been asked about tips and strategies to help individuals be effective in working remotely during this COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. Here are my thoughts.Tips for Effectively Working Remotely:1. Technology Tools: Make sure you have the technology, equipments, and softwares to continue to be productive and get your work done. Practice and become comfortable with the various tools that your team and/or company requires you to use. For instance, for videoconferencing, be sure to know how to use the applications that your team uses (e.g., Zoom, WebEx, etc.). Also, even if you are familiar with the app, learn to use it and understand its limitations. Many videoconferencing tools are good to use for video through your laptop or computer s built-in camera. However, the audio can, and is often spotty. So many times, it is best to dial in to the video call, and also call in on your cell phone for the audio portion.Another thing to consider are the restrictions placed on you by your company s IT department when you use your work laptop to work remotely. Some companies will require you to use a secure two-factor authentication process by going through an app, such as Duo Mobile, to log into your work laptop. Depending on how reliable the app and service is, this process can be quite cumbersome.When doing video calls, preparation can go a long way in making your calls more tolerable for you and your colleagues (Chen, 2020). You will want to check your webcam, microphone, and internet speed. Also, be aware of what is in the background behind you (pets, kids, personal or identifiable items, etc.) and, as much as possible, minimize distractions and be sure that you can pay attention. Equally important is to remember that when a video call will not work (newsflash: not everyone is comfortable using or being on a video call), try something else — like calling them on the phone.*For Leaders:* If you are a leader leading a team, don’t forget that the virtual tools and technology serve to help you connect with your team. They aren’t meant to replace you in communicating and connecting with your team members.I love this message from Patrick Lencioni reminding leaders to be exceedingly human:“Demonstrate your concern for the very real fears and anxieties that your people are experiencing, not only professionally and economically, but socially and personally. Even though you don’t have definitive answers to all of their questions, don’t let that keep you from listening to them and empathizing with their fears.” -Patrick LencioniHere’s a great reminder that remote teams need real communication: “You are a human manager learning to communicate with other humans aided by the power of technology. These efforts should allow you to think about the value of the human experience as supported by the best version of technology we can leverage for the goal. The power really is in your human hands; the technology just helps it virtually travel around the world” (Bisbee Wisniewski, 2020).2. Workspace: You need to set up a work office environment. Setting up a workspace will mentally prepare you and can be a good way to help separate your work home space.3. Rituals, Structure, and Breaks: You will want to develop rituals and be consistent about how you will start and end your day, as well as give yourself time to eat lunch and take short breaks throughout the day. You ll also need to create a system or devise a method so that both you and those around you understand and know your work schedule.4. Watercooler Conversations: When you are physically at the office, you can and do run into colleagues in the break room and are able to catch up with them or even solve or work through a challenge just by engaging in an unplanned watercooler conversation. When you work remotely, this is not possible so be sure to design a way to engage with your coworkers and/or your boss. Some teams use an instant messaging app like Microsoft Teams, Skype, or Slack to stay connected.5. Chunk Your Time: Block times throughout the day that will work with your schedule, while trying to balance working at home . For instance, being at home and especially currently with many of the school children also in the home, you might not be able to follow a strict 8-5 schedule as you would normally follow in your office. In that case, break that up or chunk it into smaller chunks of time. For example, you might schedule 6am 8am; 10am 12pm; 2pm 4pm; and 7pm 9pm or 8am 11am; 1pm 3pm; 6pm 9pm.6. Be Prepared to Work More or Longer Hours: Make no mistake, working from home requires MORE (not LESS) of your time. As a matter of fact, people who telecommute, especially those who have done so for an extended period of time will tell you that it actually requires you to work more, not less.Tips for Maintaining Your Emotional Health Mental Sanity:1. The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic has created a unique scenario because it is the reason why this forced social experiment of remote work is suddenly on everyone s mind. Indeed, many companies are suddenly requiring their employees to work from home to help contain the spread of the virus. It is important to understand and acknowledge some of the things you may experience as a result of this disruption to your regular routines (i.e., if you typically come into the office to work), such as fear and anxiety; depression and boredom; and anger, frustration or irritability.2. To better handle and cope with this situation, try the following:limit the amount of news you consume; get news from reliable sourcesset up and follow a daily routinestay connected to your coworkers, friends, and familyadopt a strong internal locus of control; realize there are things within your control things outside of your controltake breaks and make time to unwindpractice gratitude and try to look for the positivestry meditation, mindfulness, or other relaxation exercisesget enough sleep, eat well, and exerciseWritten By: Steve Nguyen, Ph.D.Leadership Development AdvisorReferencesAmerican Psychological Association. Keeping Your Distance to Stay Safe. https://www.apa.org/practice/programs/dmhi/research-information/social-distancingAmerican Psychological Association. (2020, March 16). Seven crucial research findings that can help people deal with COVID-19. https://www.apa.org/news/apa/2020/03/covid-19-research-findingsBisbee, B., Wisniewski, K. (2020, March 18). Remote Teams Need Real Communication. Association for Talent Development. https://www.td.org/insights/remote-teams-need-real-communicationCenters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Manage Anxiety Stress. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prepare/managing-stress-anxiety.htmlCenters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Taking Care of Your Emotional Health. https://emergency.cdc.gov/coping/selfcare.aspChen, B. (2020, March 25). The Dos and Don’ts of Online Video Meetings. NYTimes.com. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/25/technology/personaltech/online-video-meetings-etiquette-virus.htmlNeeley, T. (2020, March 15). 15 Questions About Remote Work, Answered. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2020/03/15-questions-about-remote-work-answeredNguyen, S. (2015, August 22). The Pitfalls Of Telecommuting. https://workplacepsychology.net/2015/08/22/the-pitfalls-of-telecommuting/ “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”―William ShakespearIn his book, The Obstacle Is the Way, Ryan Holiday (2014) shares the wisdom of Stoicism* (a Greek philosophy) and ancient Stoics to help readers accomplish the very specific and increasingly urgent goal we all share: overcoming obstacles. Mental obstacles. Physical obstacles. Emotional obstacles. Perceived obstacles (Holiday, 2014, p. 5).*Stoicism is about acknowledging our emotions, reflecting on what causes them, and redirecting them for our own good. It is about keeping in mind what is and what is not under our control, focusing our efforts on the former and not wasting them on the latter. It is about practicing virtue and excellence and navigating the world to the best of our abilities, while being mindful of the moral dimension of all our actions (Pigliucci, 2017, p. 2-3). The Stoics realized that we have considerable flexibility in how we frame the situations we experience. They discovered, more precisely, that by thinking of setbacks as tests of our character, we can dramatically alter our emotional response to them. We can, in particular, develop our ability to stay clam, even in the face of very significant setbacks, and this in turn can have a dramatic impact on our quality of life (Irvine, 2019, p. 17).Holiday s book teaches us: How to turn the many negative situations we encounter in our lives into positive ones—or at least to snatch whatever benefit we can from them. To steal good fortune from misfortune (2014, p. 5). We re dissatisfied with our jobs, our relationships, our place in the world. We re trying to get somewhere, but something stands in the way. So we do nothing. We blame our bosses, the economy, our politicians, other people, or we write ourselves off as failures or our goals as impossible. When really only one thing is at fault: our attitude and approach (Holiday, 2014, p. 2).But not everyone is stuck like this. Some people are able to turn their obstacles and trials into triumphs. What s more, many of these individuals faced unimaginable challenges and frustrations and despite those obstacles, or perhaps thanks to those obstacles, they overcame and succeeded. Great individuals, like great companies, find a way to transform weakness into strength. They are able to take what should have held them back and used it to move forward (Holiday, 2014). Like oxygen to a fire, obstacles became fuel for the blaze that was their ambition. Nothing could stop them, they were (and continue to be) impossible to discourage or contain. Every impediment only served to make the inferno within them burn with greater ferocity (Holiday, 2014, p. 4).There are a few things to keep in mind when faced with a seemingly insurmountable obstacle. We must try (Holiday, 2014, p. 18):To be objectiveTo control emotions and keep an even keelTo choose to see the good in a situationTo steady our nervesTo ignore what disturbs or limits othersTo place things in perspectiveTo revert to the present momentTo focus on what can be controlled This is how you see the opportunity within the obstacle. It does not happen on its own. It is a process—one that results from self-discipline and logic (Holiday, 2014, p. 18).Take Helen Keller, the first deaf and blind person to ever graduate from college. Can you imagine losing one of your senses, let alone two? Many people know about Keller s successes and accolades, but not many are familiar with the struggles she had to overcome to get there. For instance, Keller was such a temperamental, wild, and unruly deaf-blind child that even family and close friends didn t think she could be taught. It took Helen s mother, Kate Keller, and her unrelenting quest for a teacher (one who would be willing to travel to rural Tuscumbia, Alabama to teach Helen), and a teacher (Anne Sullivan), who was both qualified and willing to travel to Alabama. Under Sullivan s tutelage, the young Keller thrived ― learning how to fingerspell, read Braille, and write. Helen Keller eventually graduated from Radcliffe College. Keller could read English, German, French, Greek, and Latin in Braille! She also learned to speak (McGinnity, Seymour-Ford, Andries, 2004). Keller hit, pinched and kicked her teacher and knocked out one of her teeth. Sullivan finally gained control by moving with the girl into a small cottage on the Kellers’ property. Through patience and firm consistency, she finally won the child’s heart and trust, a necessary step before Keller s education could proceed (McGinnity, Seymour-Ford, Andries, 2004).What s perhaps more remarkable is that Anne Sullivan (Helen Keller s teacher) herself experienced much more extreme hardships growing up. When Sullivan was about five years old, she contracted trachoma, an eye disease caused by bacteria. Trachoma causes repeated, painful infections, making the eyes red and swollen. Over time the recurring irritation and scarring of the cornea causes severe vision loss. Sullivan dealt with the effects of trachoma throughout her life. After her mother died (Anne was eight years old), her father struggled to raise the family and soon abandoned his children. Anne and her younger brother Jimmie were sent to Tewksbury Almshouse, a home for the poor. Sadly and very tragically, the conditions there were so deplorable that three months after they arrived, Jimmie Sullivan died. Early in her stay at Tewksbury, Anne realized that her best chance at a better life was to get an education at a school for blind children. This became her central focus. She heard about a commission coming to investigate the conditions at Tewksbury, and on the day of their visit, she followed them around waiting for her time to speak up. As the tour was wrapping up, Anne approached one of the inspectors and told him she wanted to go to school. That moment changed her life. On October 7, 1880, Anne Sullivan entered the Perkins School for the Blind (McGinnity, Seymour-Ford, Andries, 2004).And even after she got into the school, many of the other girls (most from wealthy families) made fun of her because, at the age of 14, she was unable to read or write her name. And she had never owned a nightgown or hairbrush. Anne Sullivan s recollections of her early years at Perkins were mainly of feeling humiliated about her own shortcomings. Her anger and shame fueled a determination to excel in her studies (McGinnity, Seymour-Ford, Andries, 2004). Not everyone looks at obstacles—often the same ones you and I face—and sees reason to despair. In fact, they see theopposite. They see a problem with a ready solution. They see a chance to test and improve themselves. Nothing stands in their way. Rather, everything guides them on the way (Holiday, 2014, p. 178).Anne Sullivan s life experiences, like so many of the great history changers and makers before and after her, were tested in the crucible of adversity and forged in the furnace of trial (Holiday, 2014, p. 178). People seldom see the halting and painful steps by which the most insignificant success is achieved. ―Anne Sullivan Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved. ―Helen KellerTakeaway: You will come across obstacles in life—fair and unfair. And you will discover, time and time again, that what matters most is not what these obstacles are but how we see them, how we react to them, and whether we keep our composure. . . . [T]his reaction determines how successful we will be in overcoming—or possibly thriving because of—them (Holiday, 2014, p. 16).Written By: Steve Nguyen, Ph.D.Leadership Development AdvisorReferencesHoliday, R. (2019). The Daily Stoic. What Is Stoicism? A Definition 9 Stoic Exercises To Get You Started. https://dailystoic.com/what-is-stoicism-a-definition-3-stoic-exercises-to-get-you-started/Holiday, R. (2014). The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph. Portfolio.Irvine, W. B. (2019). The Stoic Challenge: A Philosopher s Guide to Becoming Tougher, Calmer, and More Resilient. W. W. Norton Company, Inc.McGinnity, B.L., Seymour-Ford, J. and Andries, K.J. (2004) Anne Sullivan. Perkins History Museum, Perkins School for the Blind, Watertown, MA. [Also from https://www.perkins.org/history/people/anne-sullivan]McGinnity, B.L., Seymour-Ford, J. and Andries, K.J. (2004) Helen Keller. Perkins History Museum, Perkins School for the Blind, Watertown, MA. [Also from https://www.perkins.org/history/people/helen-keller]Pigliucci, M. (2017). How To Be a Stoic: Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life. Basic Books. The Self-Evolved Leader was written to take you on a journey, from making the critical shift in perspective needed to break the cycle of mediocre leadership, to building a foundation for effective leadership, strengthening the disciplines you need to deliver great leadership, and ending with a plan for mastering and sustaining leadership (McKeown, 2020, p. 10).In The Self-Evolved Leader, McKeown contends that for too long leaders have mistakenly assumed that the value they bring to their organization is to play the role of the hero, someone has all the answers and swoops in to save the day. However, as heroic leaders, they also swing for the fences (i.e., attempt to satisfy high aspirations that are very difficult to achieve), tend to confuse busyness with progress, and will move from one crisis to another putting out fires. By being/playing the hero, the leader creates a sense of learned helplessness in their team, and as a result, they end up creating a cycle of mediocrity.I like what McKeown (2020) says about our society s misguided reliance on heroics: We’ve heard time and again in movies, literature, and sports of the lonely hero who embarked on a personal journey of discovery and managed to steal victory from the jaws of defeat, save the day, and emerge transformed. These mythical stories have infiltrated their way into our perception of an effective leader. Yes, there are times when we need diving catches and acts of heroism, but if that’s what your success as a team or organization is built on, then you have a shaky foundation. There are only so many superheroes you can hire. Instead, it’s more sustainable to build a foundation of great leadership that’s based on shared accountability rather than heroics. Building deep ownership allows your team to have flurries of heroism, without the heroics becoming the defining feature (p. 6). In being an overwhelmed leader who is taking on too much and trying to save the day, you reinforce the belief that your team isn’t quite good enough, that it requires something special or magical from you to make it just so. That in itself puts a brake on your team’s desire to go above and beyond what’s necessary, and instead to sit back and wait for you to bail them out (McKeown, 2020, p. 23).McKeown describes a vicious cycle wherein the leader creates learned helplessness in their team, which leads to members feeling disempowered and which then creates a sense of urgency requiring the leader to swoop in and play the hero.McKeown says, In the long run, learned helplessness leads to disempowerment. Over time your team slowly cedes authority to you. They subconsciously elect not to make a tough call, so as to defer to your wisdom, to give you the final say (p. 24).McKeown argues that, there s a way to break out of the Cycle of Mediocrity, with a new set of patterns and behaviors that move toward a new cycle, the Cycle of Excellence (p. 25).In the Cycle of Excellence, the building of shared accountability and the development and empowerment of your team will propel you and your team to greater levels of success.As you empower and grant your team more decision-making authority and responsibility, you ll discover that some members of your team will grow through the experience of handling the increasingly more complex challenges and problems you give them (McKeown, 2020, p. 28).As leaders elevate their focus toward the important, not the urgent, they ll find more time to have conversations focused on team members development and more clarity to assess their individual challenges (McKeown, 2020, p. 28).The most crucial shift in perspective to become a Self-Evolved Leader is to see that your value comes not from saving the day but from equipping your people to deliver on the day-to-day tactics and grow into the best version of themselves so that you can focus on the medium- and long-term direction of your team (p. 10-11).Before leaders can work on improving their teams they must first work on improving themselves. To do that they have to adopt the characteristics and behaviors of the Self-Evolved Leader. Every transformation starts from within, and this one is no different. Before you can make a material impact on your team and organization, there are some internal characteristics that need to be nurtured (McKeown, 2020, p. 32).Internal Characteristics of Self-Evolved Leaders (p. 32-38):1. Push for Growth2. Demonstrate Vulnerability3. Practice Empathy4. Feel a Sense of Connectedness5. Operate from Locus of Their ControlDeveloping the 5 internal characteristics bring about the following external behaviors.External Behaviors of Self-Evolved Leaders (p. 38-39):1. Set Common Goals2. Help Their Team Achieve Those Goals3. Focus on the Development of Their People4. Focus on the Long-Term Direction of Their Team5. Move From Pull to PushWhat the Self-Evolved Leader Achieves (p. 39-41):1. More Time and Space2. More Clarity3. Better Agility4. High-Performing Teams5. BalanceSelf-Evolved Leader s mantra (p. 42): My focus is to help those on my team achieve our shared goals and in doing so to help them become the best version of themselves. After you ve committed to breaking out of the mediocre mentality and the cycle of mediocrity and have hit reset with your team, you are ready to tackle the Key Elements of Self-Evolved Leadership:1. VISION: Create a compelling vision to inspire your team — A compelling vision brings alignment, a shared purpose, and a North Star for decision-making. The vision should be clear, excite the team, present your why, and be connected to the organization s vision.2. PULSE: Build a pulse for implementation — Building an implementation pulse is a proactive way to protect your own and your team s time to focus on what s important.3. DISCIPLINE: Develop and work through six micro disciplines to dramatically accelerate the impact you have on your team — 1. Take a pause, 2. Exist in the present, 3. Set context, 4. Be intentional, 5. Listen first, 6. Push for clarity. These six micro disciplines serve as the foundation of the five core disciplines of Self-Evolved Leadership: Reclaim Your Attention, Facilitate Team Flow, Support High Performance, Have Symbiotic Conversations, and Build Shared Accountability.In Part 3 of the book, McKeown discusses the five key leadership disciplines of self-evolved leaders:1. Reclaim Your Attention — Allowing other sources to have a hold on our attention is sapping our ability to stay present in our interactions and draining our cognitive ability to make high-quality decisions (p. 102).2. Facilitate Team Flow — is about coming to grips with the numerous inputs to your team from the wider organization or marketplace, assigning a quick prioritization, putting the most appropriate people to work on it, and then passing back the output in a smooth, efficient fashion. The goal is to give your team more authority and responsibility over the projects and tasks that come your way and to keep you focused on those areas that you can impact in the most powerful way (p. 119).3. Support High Performance — Supporting high performance, rather than trying to manage it, involves helping your team identify the root cause of the issues they face, sorting through the solutions in front of them, and then assisting them in deciding on a plan of action (p. 146).4. Have Symbiotic Conversations — Having symbiotic conversations involves assuming positive intent, mapping a path to your desired outcome, and ultimately giving others the choice about what they wish to do next (p. 160).5. Build Shared Accountability — The main characteristic of a group with deep accountability is that there is enough trust, respect, and desire to see each other succeed that they re able to spur one another on toward achieving their common goals (p. 164). Accountability and ownership cannot be taught; you can only provide the environment for your team to want to take it. Building shared accountability is a natural outflow of setting a clear vision, building an implementation pulse, and mastering the key disciplines (McKeown, 2020, p. 175).In Part 4 (Sustaining Self-Evolved Leadership), there s a 15-week program (Ch. 11) that guides you in charting your own journey to becoming a Self-Evolved Leader as well as implementing the practices within your own team.I especially like Week 3 Map Your Pulse (p. 186-192) where you are shown five different vantage points that you should plan with your team [annual review (50,000 feet), quarterly review (30,000 feet), monthly review (10,000 feet), weekly review (5,000 feet), and daily review (runway)].McKeown ends the book (in Ch. 12) by extending Self-Evolved Leadership at the team level to the rest of the organization. He talks about building a shared vocabulary, aligning visions across the organization, creating a shared pulse, and having a collective focus on mastering the disciplines.What I Did Not Like:My one criticism of the book is McKeown s coverage of the Self-Evolved Organization (the last chapter). I was disappointed in the hasty ending and it felt very rushed and seemed insufficient since Chapter 12 is just 8 pages long. Because it summarized the other chapters, it would have been better to label Chapter 12 under the heading Conclusion or Summary and tie those chapters together and mention how they contribute to a Self-Evolved Organization.At the end of each chapter is a What to Remember (brief summary) and What to Try (actionable insights) section. There s also a URL to a video summaries of the chapters (https://resources.selfevolvedleader.com/). To access the video summaries, you must register on the site.Takeaway: The Self-Evolved Leader is a short book and even shorter if you don t count the workbook portion (Ch. 11, which is about 40 pages). This is not a bad thing because it makes for a very easy and quick read. McKeown does a good job being concise and getting to the point without rambling and being long-winded.Overall, The Self-Evolved Leader is an enjoyable and practical book. McKeown does a fine job providing advice, guidance, and tools to help seasoned executives as well as newly promoted leaders become their best. I appreciate the 15-week road map for implementing the Self-Evolved Leadership philosophy and practices. And I applaud the What to Remember and What to Try section summarizing almost every chapter. I ll be using this book for my own development and sharing it with other leaders. Highly recommended!Written By: Steve Nguyen, Ph.D.Leadership Development AdvisorReferenceMcKeown, D. (2020). The Self-Evolved Leader: Elevate Your Focus and Develop Your People In a World That Refuses To Slow Down. Greenleaf Book Group Press.*Note: The page numbers referenced in this post refer to the Advance Reader s Copy of The Self-Evolved Leader. For the most part, they are identical to the final copy. However, there are still some errors. For example, in the final print copy, Ch. 12 starts on p. 217, whereas in the advance reader s copy, Ch. 12 begins on p. 219. Another mistake is on p. 11 in the advance copy, under Mastering the Self-Evolved Leadership Disciplines, it states: This section of the book is a deep dive into six key leadership disciplines . . . However, it was corrected in the final version to say five key leadership disciplines. This is why I dislike reviewing a galley or advance copy of a book.Disclosure: I received an advance reader s copy of The Self-Evolved Leader as a complimentary gift. I thought this might be an interesting case study. I ve come across many articles where writers (both lay and scholars) have stated that they believe Steve Jobs had high emotional intelligence (EQ).Let s start by defining emotional intelligence:Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive and express emotion, assimilate emotion in thought, understand and reason with emotion, and regulate emotion in the self and others (Mayer, Salovey, Caruso, Cherkasskiy, 2011, p. 532).Emotional intelligence is a set of emotional and social skills that influence the way we perceive and express ourselves, develop and maintain social relationships, cope with challenges, and use emotional information in an effective and meaningful way (Multi-Health Systems, 2011).Here s my position: Steve Jobs emotional intelligence was very unbalanced, so much so that I believe his overall EQ score was moderately low to moderate.In this article, I have included extensive passages, statements, and stories and quoted them verbatim from the Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson as well as from a few other sources to support my viewpoint. This is done intentionally as rewording or paraphrasing would dilute the writings and storytelling and I didn t want to do that.There s no doubt that Steve Jobs was a visionary genius who, over three decades, brought some incredible products (e.g., Apple II, Macintosh, iPod, iPhone, iPad, and many others) to market, and who transformed entire industries (Isaacson, 2011).While he was very effective in some leadership areas, he was extremely lacking in others. Therefore, I would argue that Steve Jobs had a very unbalanced emotional intelligence which contributed to his moderately low overall emotional intelligence.I will use the Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i) 2.0. The EQ-i 2.0 measures emotional intelligence. More specifically, the EQ-i 2.0 measures a set of emotional and social skills that influence the way individuals: (1) perceive and express themselves, (2) develop and maintain social relationships, (3) cope with challenges, and (4) use emotional information in an effective and meaningful way.The EQ-i 2.0 is made up of 5 composites: Self-Perception, Self-Expression, Interpersonal, Decision Making, and Stress Management. Each of the composites contains 3 subscales.Self-Perception: Self-Regard, Self-Actualization, Emotional Self-AwarenessSelf-Expression: Emotional Expression, Assertiveness, IndependenceInterpersonal: Interpersonal Relationships, Empathy, Social ResponsibilityDecision Making: Problem Solving, Reality Testing, Impulse ControlStress Management: Flexibility, Stress Tolerance, OptimismIf we re going by the EQ-i 2.0 and its 15 subscales, Jobs had extremely high self-regard, self-actualization, and self-awareness. He was also very assertive and optimistic.However, a strength overdone or overused can become a weakness. In FYI: For Your Improvement (a guide for coaching and development), Lombardo and Eichinger (2000) cautioned that, Sometimes a strength used to extreme turns into a weakness (p. vi).Too much Self-Regard can be or look/sound:ArrogantVain conceitedNarcissisticOver-confidentBurdensome with thoughts of superiorityToo much Self-Actualization can be or look/sound:Perpetually dissatisfied with the status quoOverly goal-driven—too intenseOverly exuberant with your activities and points of passionSelf-centered—blind to the needs and interests of othersToo much Emotional Self-Awareness can be or look/sound:Self-consumed—seeing things unrelated to you only through your own emotional filtersSelf-centered and self-indulgentHypersensitive to your own emotionsInsensitive to others’ needsToo much Assertiveness can be or look/sound:AggressiveAbusiveMilitant or bossySelf-centered (commanding the spotlight and excessive air-time)Too much Optimism can be or look/sound:Blind to reality and dangerProne to viewing bright sides and opportunities that do not actually existKnown to let an unrealistic belief in a positive outcome take the place of effortOn the opposite end, Jobs had very low interpersonal relationships, low empathy, low impulse control (even describing himself as mercurial ), low flexibility, and low reality testing.Low Interpersonal Relationships can be or look/sound:A lonerSocially withdrawnCold and unfriendlyHard to like or get to knowLow Empathy can be or look/sound:InattentiveUncompassionate, unfeeling, or inhumaneEmotionally detached or distantSelfish and self-centeredLow Impulse Control can be or look/sound:Lacking in self-controlImpulsiveExplosiveOverly talkative—monopolizing conversationsShort fused, quick to angerLow Flexibility can be or look/sound:Rigid in your thinkingSet in your ways and opinionsLacking curiosityChange-resistantSlow to start new project or effortsLow Reality Testing can be or look/sound:Unrealistic and overly dramaticImpractical untrustworthyDishonest—prone to exaggerationFor Steve Jobs, his Emotional Expression was much higher than his Empathy. He focused much more (almost exclusively) on the expression of his emotions, thoughts, and feelings than on being empathic toward others. Balancing these facets required that Jobs listened carefully to the ideas of others and be attentive to their feelings. Because these facets were often out of balance, Jobs was never able to gauge whether the intensity and timing of his expression was appropriate for the situation.Job s Assertiveness was also quite high compared to his low Empathy score. Because these scores were out of balance, people viewed and experienced him and his behaviors as abrasive.Finally, another area where Jobs emotional intelligence was out of balance was related to his low Empathy and high Emotional Self-Awareness. This meant that although he understood how he felt about a particular situation, he had the tendency to not spend enough time uncovering how others felt.Steve Jobs used the handicap parking space as his own personal parking spot (Isaacson, 2011). He frequently berated and yelled at others and threw temper tantrums. He also tended to distort reality and was well-known for his reality distortion field ( He has his own way with the truth [Isaacson, 2011, p. 185]). It was the key people in his life who helped to soften his unpleasant treatments of others as well as soothe his volatile behaviors.For his Steve Jobs biography, Walter Isaacson conducted more than forty interviews with Jobs over two years. Isaacson also interviewed more than a hundred family members, friends, adversaries, competitors, and colleagues of Steve Jobs.Here are some passages from Isaacson s Steve Jobs biography: Ann Bowers became an expert at dealing with Jobs’s perfectionism, petulance, and prickliness. She had been the human resources director at Intel, but had stepped aside after she married its cofounder Bob Noyce. She joined Apple in 1980 and served as a calming mother figure who would step in after one of Jobs’s tantrums. She would go to his office, shut the door, and gently lecture him. “I know, I know,” he would say. “Well, then, please stop doing it,” she would insist. Bowers recalled, “He would be good for a while, and then a week or so later I would get a call again.” She realized that he could barely contain himself. “He had these huge expectations, and if people didn’t deliver, he couldn’t stand it. He couldn’t control himself. I could understand why Steve would get upset, and he was usually right, but it had a hurtful effect. It created a fear factor. He was self-aware, but that didn’t always modify his behavior” (Isaacson, 2011, p. 121). [Steve Jobs] had always been temperamental and bratty. At Atari his behavior had caused him to be banished to the night shift, but at Apple that was not possible. “He became increasingly tyrannical and sharp in his criticism,” according to Markkula [the first big Apple investor; also a father figure to Jobs]. “He would tell people, ‘That design looks like shit.’” He was particularly rough on Wozniak’s young programmers, Randy Wigginton and Chris Espinosa. “Steve would come in, take a quick look at what I had done, and tell me it was shit without having any idea what it was or why I had done it,” said Wigginton, who was just out of high school (Isaacson, 2011, p. 81-82).Many people who worked at Apple were afraid of Jobs “because of his spontaneous temper tantrums and his proclivity to tell everyone exactly what he thought, which often wasn’t very favorable” (Isaacson, 2011, p. 113).Jobs never apologized for treating people, especially those around him and people who worked for him, poorly. He thought it was his job to be honest because I know what I m talking about, and I usually turn out to be right (Isaacson, 2011, p. 569).There s a useful Management Blind Spots Self-Evaluation created by Michael Timms of Avail Leadership. Out of the 15 common undesirable management tendencies (and their associated behaviors), Jobs easily checked off 13 of the 15 undesirable management tendencies!MicromanageKnow-It-AllDictatorialImpersonalFail to Develop OthersUntrustworthyBlame OthersSteal CreditProvide Unclear DirectionDemanding Taskmaster* (Timms used the term Slave Driver, but I renamed it)Emotionally VolatileOverly NegativePlay Favorites Research has shown that people are five times more sensitive to their manager’s unconscious negative actions than to their manager’s efforts to motivate them. In other words, much of what managers do to motivate their staff is being undone by their thoughtless negative actions (Timms, 2016).The reason why people tolerated Jobs was because they realized that despite his temperamental failings, Jobs had the charisma and corporate clout that would lead them to “make a dent in the universe” (Isaacson, 2011, p. 112).And to be very clear, Steve Jobs was successful despite his moderately low emotional intelligence because he had people around him [like Joanna Hoffman (his right-hand woman), Ann Bowers and her husband Bob Noyce (who were surrogate parents to Jobs) and Laurene Powell Jobs (his wife)] who had a strong, commanding, and/or calming influence on Jobs and who kept him in line.Isaacson described Laurene Powell in this manner: Smart, yet unpretentious. Tough enough to stand up to him, yet Zen-like enough to rise above turmoil. Well-educated and independent, yetready to make accommodations for him and a family. Down-to-earth, but with a touch of the ethereal. Savvy enough to know how to manage him, but secure enough to not always need to (Isaacson, 2011, p. 267).According to Joanna Hoffman, one of Steve Jobs right hand woman, Jobs can be very obnoxious because he thinks he can get away with anything (Isaacson, 2011, p. 184). While on a business trip in Italy, he became so nasty and was so mean to the waiter at a restaurant that Hoffman threatened that if Jobs didn t calm down that she would pour hot coffee on him (Isaacson, 2011).Apple s manager in France, Jean-Louis Gassée said this about Steve Jobs: The only way to deal with him was to out-bully him (Isaacson, 2011, p. 185). I remember grabbing his lapel and telling him to stop, and then he backed down. I used to be an angry man myself. I am a recovering assaholic. So I could recognize that in Steve (Isaacson, 2011, p. 185).Andy Hertzfeld, who worked with Steve Jobs at Apple in the early 1980s said: The key question about Steve is why he can’t control himself at times from being so reflexively cruel and harmful to some people (Isaacson, 2011, p. 5).This part aptly summarizes Steve Jobs as a leader: There were some upsides to Jobs’s demanding and wounding behavior. People who were not crushed ended up being stronger. They did better work, out of both fear and an eagerness to please (Isaacson, 2011, p. 121). Was all of his stormy and abusive behavior necessary? Probably not, nor was it justified. There were other ways to have motivated his team. Even though the Macintosh would turn out to be great, it was way behind schedule and way over budget because of Jobs’s impetuous interventions. There was also a cost in brutalized human feelings, which caused much of the team to burn out (Isaacson, 2011, p. 123-124).When Walter Isaacson, the biographer, asked Jobs: Why are you sometimes so mean? Jobs replied, This is who I am, and you can’t expect me to be someone I’m not (Isaacson, 2011, p. 565).What Ann Bowers said about Steve Jobs is my main argument for why I believe Steve Jobs emotional intelligence is moderately low: that although he was very self-aware (i.e., he knew exactly what he was doing), he really didn t care how he acted or treated others.Walter Isaacson, who interviewed Jobs extensively and interviewed many of his friends, colleagues, and family for the biography, concluded that Jobs could have controlled himself, if he had wanted. When he hurt people, it was not because he was lacking in emotional awareness. Quite the contrary: He could size people up, understand their inner thoughts, and know how to relate to them, cajole them, or hurt them at will (Isaacson, 2011, p. 565). Most people have a regulator between their mind and mouth that modulates their brutish sentiments and spikiest impulses. Not Jobs. He made a point of being brutally honest. “My job is to say when something sucks rather than sugarcoat it,” he said. This made him charismatic and inspiring, yet also, to use the technical term, an asshole at times (Isaacson, 2011, p. 564).These stories and descriptions do not describe a person with high emotional intelligence. On the contrary, they describe some with low emotional intelligence.Some have claimed that emotional intelligence is not about being nice. Rather it s about the ability to use the right emotion at the right time to get the right result. It requires the ability to read the other person, know how far you can push their buttons, and knowing when to back off and when to persist. If it is done with good intentions, even though unpleasant at the time, the payoff can be rewarding (Stein, 2017, p. 49).This sounds an awful lot like people who know how to read others and then use that knowledge and skill to manipulate others into doing what they want. When you are selfish and you use your talents to manipulate others, that s not emotional intelligence. That s just being manipulative.As Isaacson wrote (2011, p. 312): Jobs could seduce and charm people at will, and he liked to do so. People such as Amelio [Apple s CEO who brought Steve Jobs back to Apple officially in January 1997 as a part-time advisor] and Sculley [Pepsi executive recruited by Jobs in 1983 to be Apple’s CEO; he clashed with and ousted Jobs in 1985] allowed themselves to believe that because Jobs was charming them, it meant that he liked and respected them. It was an impression that he sometimes fostered by dishing out insincere flattery to those hungry for it. But Jobs could be charming to people he hated just as easily as he could be insulting to people he liked. While it s true that Steve Jobs inspired Apple employees to create ground-breaking products and instilled in them a belief that they could do what seemed impossible at times, the result was that many people experienced burnout and left. Those who worked for and/or with Jobs stated that it was one of the most stressful times of their lives.Even Jony Ive admitted this about Steve Jobs: He has this very childish ability to get really worked up about something, and it doesn’t stay with him at all. But there are other times, I think honestly, when he’s very frustrated, and his way to achieve catharsis is to hurt somebody. And I think he feels he has a liberty and a license to do that. The normal rules of social engagement, he feels, don’t apply to him. Because of how very sensitive he is, he knows exactly how to efficiently and effectively hurt someone. And he does do that (Isaacson, 2011, p. 462).A Wired article talked about a reunion of former Apple employees. More than 1,300 ex-Apple employees showed up. Not surprisingly, many people shared stories about Steve Jobs as a demanding and hot-tempered leader. Everyone has their Steve-Jobs-the-asshole story, one of the attendees said (Kahney, 2003). Everyone dreads getting caught in an elevator with him, said another attendee (Kahney, 2003).Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak said that Steve Jobs drove away some of Apple’s most talented employees (Bauter, 2014; Gibbs, 2014): Some of my very best friends in Apple, the most creative people in Apple who worked on the Macintosh, almost all of them said they would never, ever work for Steve Jobs again, said Wozniak in an interview with the Milwaukee Business Journal. It was that bad. Katie Savchuk (2019) wrote that narcissistic CEOs weaken collaboration and integrity, and while some may be bold leaders, they nevertheless create a dangerous corporate culture. Success for such leaders is often attributed to their bold vision, extreme self-confidence, and determination to win at all costs. Less palatable qualities of the narcissistic personality type — including entitlement, hostility when challenged, and a willingness to manipulate — are seen as part of the package, writes Savchuk.Having high emotional intelligence does not mean being manipulative, mistreating others, deriving pleasure from hurting others, or justifying your own bad behaviors.In an influential article that became the hallmark of the emotional intelligence theory, professors Peter Salovey and John Mayer (1990) wrote: The person with emotional intelligence can be thought of as having attained at least a limited form of positive mental health. These individuals are aware of their own feelings and those of others. They are open to positive and negative aspects of internal experience, are able to label them, and when appropriate, communicate them. Such awareness will often lead to the effective regulation of affect within themselves and others, and so contribute to well being. Thus, the emotionally intelligent person is often a pleasure to be around and leaves others feeling better (Salovey Mayer, 1990, p. 201).Therefore, a person who is smug, willful, brazen, demeaning, volatile, vindictive and manipulative (Wasylyshyn, 2011), someone who s a jerk, throws temper tantrums (Jobs temper has been described as legendary [Isaacson, 2011]), is childish and takes license to hurt others (Isaacson, 2011), and doesn t care how he treats others or his negative effects on others (Wasylyshyn, 2011) is not a person with high overall emotional intelligence. In fact, anyone who engages in behaviors like these—regardless of being moderately emotionally intelligent or not—isn t a very nice person.Written By: Steve Nguyen, Ph.D.Leadership Development AdvisorReferencesBauter, A. (2014, Jun 24). One-on-one with Woz : Steve Wozniak talks Steve Jobs (Video). https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2014/07/02/one-on-one-with-woz-steve-wozniak-talks-steve-jobs.htmlGibbs, S. (2014, Jul 8). Steve Wozniak: No one wanted to work under Steve Jobs ever again. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jul/08/steve-wozniakr-steve-jobs-appleIsaacson, W. (2011). Steve Jobs. Simon Schuster.Kahney, L. (2003, September 15). Apple Memories Not Sweet as Pie. https://www.wired.com/2003/09/apple-memories-not-sweet-as-pie/Lombardo, M. M., Eichinger, R. W. (2000). FYI: For Your Improvement: A Development and Coaching Guide (3rd ed.). Lominger Limited, Inc.Mayer, J. D., Salovey, P., Caruso, D. R., Cherkasskiy, L. (2011). Emotional Intelligence. In R. J. Sternberg S. B. Kaufman (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of intelligence (pp. 528-549). Cambridge University Press.Multi-Health Systems (MHS). (2011). EQ-i 2.0 User’s Handbook. Multi-Health Systems.Salovey, P. Mayer, J. D. (1990). Emotional intelligence. Imagination, Cognition, and Personality, 9, 185-211.Savchuk, K. (2019, November 4). Narcissistic CEOs Weaken Collaboration and Integrity. https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/narcissistic-ceos-weaken-collaboration-integrityStein, S. J. (2017). The EQ Leader. John Wiley Sons.Timms, M. (2016). Management Blind Spots Self-Evaluation. Avail Leadership. https://www.availleadership.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Avail_Leadership_Management_Blind_Spots_Self-Evaluation.pdfWasylyshyn, K. M. (2011, November 1). The Real Lessons from Steve Jobs’ Career. https://chiefexecutive.net/the-real-lessons-from-steve-jobs-career/ The older I get, the more reflective and observant I become. It might be because I m older and a bit wiser, but I think it s more about me learning important life lessons, appreciating and valuing what I have, not looking around comparing myself to others, or seeking other people s approval or validation, and most of all being the best version of me.Individuals who are self-assured and have secure high self-esteem aren t bothered when others criticize their appearance, attack or make fun of their work, or try to humiliate them. Why?If you are a Secure High Self-Esteem person, you:Know and stand firm in the belief that you do not want, need, or seek approval or validation from others;Recognize that the attacks unleashed on you or directed at you often have nothing (or very little) to do with your message, project, product, service, or who you are as a human being; andAlways respect and accept yourself. You understand and appreciate your strengths, but you also acknowledge your weaknesses.I see so many people who constantly struggle because they either see themselves as victims of life, that life is a dogfight with only a winner and a loser, or they try desperately to seek approval or validation from other people. I can relate because I once saw myself as a victim (woe-is-me mentality) and, before I finally found my voice and myself, I also sought approval and validation from others around me. I truly believe the best gift you can give yourself is self-validation. Something remarkable happens when you truly stop seeking other people s approval, you automatically gain it, and find that others will then seek your approval. -Steve AitchisonSecure self-esteem comes from inside you. It is associated with high self-determination, knowing who you really are, and behaving independently (Vonk, 2006). What s more, researchers have also found that even with high self-esteem, there s an important distinction between someone with a stable high self-esteem vs. someone whose high self-esteem is unstable and contingent (Kernis, Lakey, Heppner, 2008).Secure high self-esteem involves favorable feelings of self-worth that arise naturally from successfully dealing with life challenges, being authentic and expressing one’s true self in everyday life, and having relationships in which one is valued for whom one is and not for what one achieves (Kernis, Lakey, Heppner, 2008, p. 479).People with secure high self-esteem are happy with themselves and like who they are, warts and all. Their sense of self-worth is stable and they re able to accept their weaknesses. They do not feel a need to be superior to others; for these individuals, high self-esteem is a given and does not need to be validated on an everyday basis (Kernis, Lakey, Heppner, 2008, p. 479).Stephen Covey, in his classic The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (2004), talked about the Abundance Mentality vs. the Scarcity Mentality.Abundance Mentality is the belief that there s plenty out there for everyone. Scarcity Mentality is the thinking that there s only so much and that there s not enough for everyone. Those with a scarcity mindset believe if someone were to get a big piece of the pie, it would mean less for everybody else (Covey, 2004, p. 219).Those with a Scarcity Mentality will hoard or even steal recognition and credit, and power or profit. They re unhappy for or jealous about the success or happiness of others around them. It s almost as if something is being taken from them when someone else receives special recognition or windfall gain or has remarkable success or achievement (Covey, 2004, p. 219).It s very sad because, instead of seeing their lives as being filled with abundance, they see themselves as lacking.Covey (2004) said this is because the sense of self-worth for those with a scarcity mindset comes from being compared, and someone else s success, to some degree, means their failure (p. 219). People with a Scarcity Mentality harbor secret hopes that others might suffer misfortune not terrible misfortune, but acceptable misfortune that would keep them in their place. They re always comparing, always competing. They give their energies to possessing things or other people in order to increase their sense of worth (Covey, 2004, p. 219-220).The author of The EQ Difference (2005) uses The Famine Voice in place of a Scarcity Mindset, and The Abundance Voice rather than a Abundance Mindset.I especially like how The Abundance Voice is described (Lynn, 2005): [T]he abundance voice proclaims that, indeed, life’s riches are plentiful. She believes that somehow there will always be enough, and she refuses to be ruled by thoughts of scarcity. She can convince you that a crumb of bread, when served with a smile, is indeed a feast (p. 67).Takeaway: Secure High Self-Esteem people (1) Know and stand firm in the belief that they don t need or seek approval or validation from others; (2) Recognize that attack(s) directed at them usually have nothing to do with their project, product, service, or who they are as a human being; (3) Always accept and respect themselves. They understand and appreciate their strengths, while also acknowledging their weaknesses; and (4) Have an Abundance Mindset. They believe there is plenty of riches to go around and that life isn t a competition, with a winner or loser. They are simply content running their own race.Written By: Steve Nguyen, Ph.D.Leadership Development AdvisorReferencesCovey, S. R. (2004). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change. Free Press.Kernis, M. H., Lakey, C. E., Heppner, W. L. (2008). Secure Versus Fragile High Self-Esteem as a Predictorof Verbal Defensiveness: Converging Findings AcrossThree Different Markers. Journal of Personality, 76(3), 477-512.Lynn, A. B. (2005). The EQ Difference: A Powerful Plan for Putting Emotional Intelligence to Work. AMACOM.Vonk, R. (2006). Improving Self-Esteem. In M. H. Kernis (Ed.), Self-Esteem Issues and Answers: A Sourcebook of Current Perspectives (pp. 178-186). Psychology Press. An Introduction to Management Consultancy by Marc Baaij is a book that really pulls back the curtains and reveals the inner workings of management consultancies. I have never seen a book about management consulting like this before. I actually received a print copy of An Introduction to Management Consultancy to review in late summer 2018 but wasn t able to find time to do a proper book review so I kept delaying it. What’s so valuable about this textbook is that its author, Professor Marc G. Baaij, is both an academic (Associate Professor of Strategic Management at the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam) and, perhaps even more importantly, a former management consultant, having worked for over four years at The Boston Consulting Group (2 years as a strategy consultant and 2 years as a manager of research).As Baaij shared in the book, it is very difficult for outsiders (i.e., those not working in a management consultancy) to understand what management consulting is and what management consultancies do due to the secretive and ambiguous nature of these firms and the management consulting industry as a whole.I love that Baaij devoted an entire chapter (Chapter 2) to covering the origin and development of management consultancy — from the emergence of the management consultancy industry during the second industrial revolution (the first field of management consultancy: Operations Consultancy), to the emergence of the second field of management consultancy: Organization and Strategy Consultancy, and finally to the emergence of the third field of management consultancy: Information Technology Consultancy.I wish I had this book years ago when I was still in my doctoral program in industrial and organizational psychology. At the time, I thought I wanted to get a job with one of the well-known management consultancies. I had these grand illusions of the incredible prestige, the superb salary, and the importance of the role in providing management consulting advice to clients. And while many of those things are certainly there, what is not there and what is often unspoken and unshared are the way the management consultancies operate, the extremely high demands on your time to travel and work, and the hyper-competitive nature of the work and the constant competition to be a part of every client project, even after you’re hired. Management consultancies primarily compete on intangibles: reputation, relations, knowledge, and staff (p. 236). And in case anyone forgets, Baaij reminds us that the staff is the ultimate source of sustainable competitive advantage (p. 236).Applying to a Management Consultancy If you consider applying for a position at a (top tier) management consultancy firm, you will not be the only one. Management consultancy is very popular among MBA and other business students, as well as more experienced people from industry, that is non-consultancy sectors. The prestigious management consulting firms in particular are seen as attractive employers (Baaij, 2014, p. 274). Management consultants should have at least the basic knowledge and skills with respect to the main business disciplines, such as accounting, HRM, organization, IT, marketing, logistics, finance, and strategy. MBA and other business studies are natural training backgrounds for management consultants. However, a business degree is not always necessary (Baaij, 2014, p. 289).In the preface, Baaij wrote: This book aims to help outsiders with an interest in management consultancy to develop a better understanding of what management consultancy is in order to make an informed career decision and start their consultancy career with an advantage (2014, p. xiv).The textbook takes a multi-level perspective to management consultancy and introduces it using four levels: Level 1 management consultancy phenomenon; Level 2 management consultancy industry; Level 3 management consultancy firm; and Level 4 management consultancy project.In line with the four levels, the book is divided into four parts.Part 1 (Chapter 1-3) introduces readers to the phenomenon of management consultancy. Chapter 1 covers the distinguishing characteristics of management consultancy and which professional services belong to the domain of management consultancy. The author reviews the various roles of management consultants, both formal and informal ones. Chapter 2 looks at the history of the management consultancy industry the origins and the development of management consultancy. It explores both the rise and decline of management consultancy firms. Chapter 3 examines why clients hire management consultancies, both the formal and the informal reasons.Part 2 (Chapter 4-6) looks at the management consultancy at the industry level. Chapter 4 provides an overview of the global management consultancy landscape. It explores the range of consultancy services, the various client sectors, and the different client geographies. Chapter 5 analyzes the competitive strategies of consultancy firms, and the competitive forces in the consultancy industry. Chapter 6 examines the relationship between management consultancy and the broader (macro) environment. It looks at how management consultants create and disseminate management knowledge, and investigates the impact of macro-economic (business) cycles, globalization, and technological developments on the management consultancy industry.Part 3 (Chapter 7-9) looks inside the management consultancy firm. Chapter 7 provides a peek inside the firm’s activities. It talks about the value chain of a management consultancy firm and covers the various primary and support activities. Particular attention is paid to marketing and sales activities. Chapter 8 explores the management of the consultancy firm. It investigates the different types of organization, governance, and culture of the various consultancy firms. Chapter 9 is about people and careers in management consultancy. It discusses in detail how consultancy firms deal with recruitment, training, development, promotion (in particular, the up-or-out model which many consultancies use), (involuntary) turnover, and alumni.Part 4 (Chapter 10-15) walks the reader through a typical management consultancy project. Chapter 10 takes a comprehensive look at client management and other stakeholders inside and outside the client organization. It outlines the development of a project proposal by consultants. It also discusses the consultants’ contractual and moral obligations to clients. Chapter 11 offers a detailed look at how management consultants set up a client project. It talks about the management and organization of a consultancy project. It provides an overview of the phases of a project: initiation, design, execution, control, and closure. It also covers the selection of the project team and the stages of team development. Chapter 12 explains how the world’s top tier management consultancy firms approach complex client problems and opportunities. It lays out a well-illustrated, step-by-step guide to structured problem diagnosis. Chapter 13 describes how top tier consultancies develop solutions for their clients and outlines, in detail, the process of structured solution development. Chapter 14 is about how top tier consultants communicate their recommended solutions to clients. The book provides a structured approach to the design of client presentations and reports. Chapter 15 presents a structured approach to implementation and examines why implementations may sometimes fail to produce the expected results.One of the things I really appreciate and, in fact, had been trying to learn about for a while now is the breakdown of what a typical week in the life of a management consultant is like (in Table 9.3 A week in the life of a management consultant, p. 298). I had heard that there is quite a bit of traveling but didn’t realize the time it took to work in the management consultancy industry. For instance, it’s common to attend dinner gatherings with colleagues in the evening.I also like the discussion about the resistance that management consultants face (p. 99-100) from the client organization and employees working in that particular organization.One of the more interesting aspects of management consultancy is the consultancy project (Ch. 11, pp. 366-397). The product of the management consultancy firm is the project. Consultancy firms sell projects to clients. The consulting staff deliver the project (with the support of the support staff) (Baaij, 2014, p. 259).As expected, management consultancies follow the typical project management life cycle that includes:Scoping/Initiating preliminary planning; defining the problemPlanning/Designing developing the plan solutions; setting the stageExecuting making it happen; getting it doneMonitoring and controlling tracking progress; keeping on courseClosing closeout; transitionInterestingly, regarding the consultancy project team members, Baaij shared that the up-or-out policy (a fixture of management consultancies in which an employee either gets promoted to the next hierarchical level or they are forced to leave the firm) may cause rivalry between consultants. What’s more, because not every management consultant will be promoted, the up-or-out policy can also lead to pressures to engage in unethical conduct. Colleagues may use each others’ ideas or work without giving them credit. Even though team work is part of the evaluation, each consultant wants to enhance their promotion chances by excelling (Baaij, 2014, p. 394). Most management consultancy firms have a so-called ‘up-or-out’ career policy for consultants. Consultants are evaluated on a regular basis. Based on these evaluations, and the consultancy firm’s vacancies, consultants either get promotion to a higher level or they have to leave the consultancy firm. At regular intervals, consultants have to face the up-or-out decision. Because of the pyramidal organization structure of most consultancy firms, the up-or-out policy implies a relatively high turnover of consultancy personnel and a steady stream of alumni. Management consultancies with an up-or-out policy typically have (much) more alumni than consultants (p. 172). The consultancy firm will have all kinds of disguising jargon [such as up-or-out or grow or go], but it comes down to a dismissal of those employees who do not meet the firm’s expectations. The policy means that if you are not considered for promotion, you cannot stay with the firm. The up-or-out system is the ultimate consequence of a meritocracy. It is not seniority but performance that matters (Baaij, 2014, p. 303).Another thing I really appreciate about this book is its critical, but fair, examination of management consultancy.For instance, in Chapter 3 (Difficulties in Measuring the Effect of Management Consultancy), Baaij (2014) wrote: Critical academic literature . . . argues that management consultancy faces ambiguities over the claimed results. Because of the difficulties of investigating the effectiveness, critical academic studies have not focused on the effect of management consultancy. Popular criticism by some journalists and alumni of management consultancies questions the effect of management consultancy (p. 76).Baaij (2014) stated that it s very challenging to isolate the effect of management consultancy on client performance. Baaij points to three methodological issues that make this difficult:Difficulties in isolating the effectLack of comparison The advice, and implementation assistance, of management consultants are among several factors that will influence the performance of clients. Moreover, the effects of consultancy may only materialize some time after the completion of the consultancy project. The causality between management consultancy and client performance is, therefore, difficult to measure (p. 77).Regarding reasons for a deviating performance, Baaij said, The client may implement the consultants’ solution wrongly or with a delay. The client may also lack sufficient resources and capabilities to implement the solution correctly. Actors within the client organization may shirk. Even worse, actors within the client organization who oppose the solution may sabotage the implementation (p. 77).Also, there is the problem of bias. The stakeholders, clients and consultants have an interest in justifying the consultancy project and will, therefore, overrate the effectiveness of the project. Objective measurement will be difficult to achieve (p. 78).Under the section titled Reasons for Hiring Management Consultants (in Chapter 3), Baaij explained that the reason why management consultancies are hired are not always related to the improvement of the performance of an organization. Management consultants are sometimes hired to provide knowledge and capabilities to solve problems in an objective and independent way (p. 83). However, there are other times when companies will retain management consultants in order to legitimize clients’ solutions which other stakeholders oppose (legitimator), to support clients in political fights (political weapon), and to take the blame for clients’ solutions that are not in the interests of some other stakeholders (scapegoat) (p. 84).Indeed, in the preface, Baaij wrote: This book also takes a critical perspective on management consultancy. We critically reflect on the practices of management consultancy. Moreover, we broaden our perspective to include consultants’ clients, client employees, consultancy firm employees, other stakeholders, and society in general. We consider the effects that management consultancy may have on all these groups. This book acknowledges various conflicts of interests between consultancy firms and these other actors. We are critical not only about consultants but also about clients. We emphasize that both parties may behave opportunistically and unethically. Such behaviour is not reserved for consultants. Clients may manipulate consultants as well. Finally, I found the detailed coverage of the structured problem solving method (in Chapter 12 and 13) to be remarkably informative. The book provides a step-by-step guide (in Chapter 12) to diagnose problems (identify the result gap; decompose the gap by drivers; investigate where the gap is; explain why the gap exists; and formulate the problem in the form of a key question). Then, in Chapter 13, the author shows how top tier management consultants develop solutions for their clients’ problems and opportunities. He provides a step-by-step guide for developing solutions in a structured way.The structured problem solving approach, used by top management consultancy firms, is a two-stage process consisting of problem diagnosis and solution development. The problem diagnosis (Chapter 12) translates a client problem into a single question, while the solution development (Chapter 13) is about answering that question. The structured problem solving method is the hallmark of the world’s top tier management consultancy firms, such as McKinsey Company, the Boston Consulting Group, Bain Company, Booz Co, Roland Berger Strategy Consultants, and A.T. Kearney (p. 399).Takeaway: An Introduction to Management Consultancy is a marvelous introduction to the world of management consultancy. Marc Baaij did a masterful job distilling the core essence into a substantive yet digestible textbook, while also critically examining management consultancy from all sides. It s refreshing to be able to bypass the secrecy and ambiguity of management consulting and learn about what s really going on behind the scene. If you are considering joining a management consultancy or want to learn more about what management consulting firms do, you HAVE TO read this book!Written By: Steve Nguyen, Ph.D.Leadership Development AdvisorReferenceBaaij, M. G. (2014). An Introduction to Management Consultancy. London, UK: Sage Publications.Disclosure: I received a print copy of An Introduction to Management Consultancy as a complimentary gift, but my book review was written as though I had purchased it.In the book, Extreme Ownership, Leif Babin (a U.S. Navy SEAL officer who was a SEAL instructor overseeing the Junior Officer Training Course in the Naval Special Warfare Training Center) shared a story about the performances of two boat crews during Hell Week. Boat Crew II (which dominated and had a strong leader) and Boat Crew VI (which came in last in almost every race and had an indifferent and inexperienced leader). A SEAL senior chief officer (one of the SEAL instructors) suggested that they swap out the boat crew leaders from the best and worst crews and see what happens. The turnaround was stunning: “Boat Crew VI, the same team in the same circumstances only under new leadership, went from the worst boat crew in the class to the best” (Willink Babin, 2017, p. 48-49).As Babin wrote (Willink Babin, 2017, p. 49): “How is it possible that switching a single individual—only the leader—had completely turned around the performance of an entire group? The answer: leadership is the single greatest factor in any team’s performance. Whether a team succeeds or fails is all up to the leader. The leader’s attitude sets the tone for the entire team. The leader drives performance—or doesn’t. And this applies not just to the most senior leader of an overall team, but to the junior leaders of teams within the team.”The APA Dictionary of Psychology (VandenBos, 2007) defines Pygmalion effect as: “a consequence or reaction in which the expectations of a leader or superior engender behavior from followers or subordinates that is consistent with these expectations: a form of self-fulfilling prophecy. For example, raising manager expectations of the performance of subordinate employees has been found to enhance the performance of those employees” (p. 868).“The idea here is that if an employee feels that a manager has confidence in him, his self-esteem will increase, as will his performance” (Aamodt, 2010, p. 330). Indeed, leaders often get the performance they expect from their employees.In a classic Harvard Business Review article (originally published in 1969, reprinted in 1988), Livingston wrote (1988, p. 122):What managers expect of subordinates and the way they treat them largely determine their performance and career progress.A unique characteristic of superior managers is the ability to create high performance expectations that subordinates fulfill.Less effective managers fail to develop similar expectations, and as a consequence, the productivity of their subordinates suffers.Subordinates, more often than not, appear to do what they believe they are expected to do.“[S]uperior managers have greater confidence than other managers in their own ability to develop the talents of their subordinates” (Livingston, 1988, p. 126). Superior managers don’t give up on themselves and they definitely do not give up easily on their subordinates (Livingston, 1988).“Managers not only shape the expectations and productivity of subordinates but also influence their attitudes toward their jobs and themselves. If managers are unskilled, they leave scars on the careers of young people, cut deeply into their self-esteem, and distort their image of themselves as human beings. But if they are skillful and have high expectations, subordinates’ self-confidence will grow, their capabilities will develop, and their productivity will be high” (Livingston, 1988, p. 130).Takeaway: Leadership is, singularly, the most crucial factor in a team’s performance. What managers expect of their subordinates and the way they treat them significantly determine their performance and career progress. Superior managers create high performance expectations that subordinates fulfill. The best managers have confidence in themselves and in their ability to develop the talents of their subordinates.Aamodt, M. G. (2010). Industrial/organizational psychology: An applied approach (6th ed.). Wadsworth.Livingston, J. S. (1969/1988). Pygmalion in management. Harvard Business Review, 66(5), 121-130.VandenBos, G. R. (Ed.). (2007). APA dictionary of psychology. American Psychological Association.Willink, J., Babin, L. (2017). Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win. St. Martin’s Press. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal, titled Executive Coach or Therapist? It s Getting Harder to Tell the Difference (Bindley, 2019) again renews the debate about the blurred line between where coaching ends and where therapy begins.But why are personal issues coming up when coaches are hired by companies to do executive coaching (performance improvement or development)?Here s a good reason — According to a Hardvard Business Review (HBR) survey of 140 leading coaches, even though organizations don t hire coaches to deal with personal problems or issues in the lives of their executives, 76 percent of the time when an executive coach is engaged, personal issues are also addressed (Coutu Kauffman, 2009).That is a staggering percentage!I ve written before about coaching and mental illness, but wanted to do a second post with new coaching guidelines from the International Coach Federation. I also wanted to include some statistics about the prevalence of mental illness among U.S. adults in the workplace.International Coach Federation Referral GuidelinesThe International Coach Federation (ICF) is quite clear in its guidelines to coaches about when and how to refer a coaching client to therapy (Hullinger DiGirolamo, 2018). There s a white paper as well as a one page reference sheet explaining why, when, how to refer, and even signs for referral.The ICF guidelines for referral talked about the importance of coaches staying within their scope of work and within their level/area of expertise. A mental health professional is equipped to diagnose and help the individual develop coping skills to manage deep emotions related to difficult situations (Hullinger DiGirolamo, 2018, p. 4-5).Distinction between Coaching and Therapy Coaching focuses on visioning, success, the present, and moving into the future. Therapy emphasizes psychopathology, emotions, and the past in order to understand the present. The purpose of coaching is frequently about performance improvement, learning, or development in some area of life while therapy often dives into deep-seated emotional issues to work on personal healing or trauma recovery. Coaching tends to work with well-functioning individuals whereas therapy work tends to be for individuals with some level of dysfunction or disorder (Hullinger DiGirolamo, 2018, p. 6).When Clients Need Deserve Counseling, Not CoachingIn a Hardvard Business Review (HBR) survey of 140 leading coaches, Coutu and Kauffman (2009) found that although companies don t hire coaches to address personal issues in executives’ lives, more often than not, personal matters creep in. They discovered that 76 percent of the time when an executive coach is engaged, personal issues are also addressed.Similarly, in the same HBR article, Anthony Grant (a coaching psychologist and professor at the University of Sydney) shared that studies conducted by the University of Sydney have found that between 25% and 50% of those seeking coaching have clinically significant levels of anxiety, stress, or depression.Dr. Grant wrote: I’m not suggesting that most executives who engage coaches have mental health disorders. But some might, and coaching those who have unrecognized mental health problems can be counterproductive and even dangerous. The vast majority of executives are unlikely to ask for treatment or therapy and may even be unaware that they have problems requiring it. That’s worrisome because contrary to popular belief, it’s not always easy to recognize depression or anxiety without proper training. . . .Given that some executives will have mental health problems, firms should require that coaches have some training in mental health issues – for example, an understanding of when to refer clients to professional therapists for help. Harder, Wagner, and Rash (2014), wrote that workplace depression is under-diagnosed. One reason might be because of the fear or stigma associated with mental illnesses. The workplace prevalence of depression is estimated at 9-11%, yet only approximately 2% of employees receive diagnosis and treatment. Despite this data being more than 20 years old, it speaks to the worrisome problem of a mental illness not being diagnosed and treated.Any Mental Illness Prevalence and TreatmentAccording to a United States National Survey on Drug Use and Health, in 2018, approximately 47.6 million adults aged 18 or older had any mental illness (AMI)* in the past year. This number represents 19.1 percent of U.S. adults. *[AMI is defined as having any mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder in the past year that met DSM-IV criteria (excluding developmental disorders and SUDs [substance use disorders (alcohol or illicit drugs)].Among the 47.6 million adults in 2018 with AMI, fewer than half (20.6 million, or 43.3 percent) received mental health services in the past year!Depression Prevalence and TreatmentOf the 17.7 million adults aged 18 or older in 2018 who had apast year major depressive episode (MDE), 64.8 percent (or 11.5 million adults) received treatment for depression, but 35.2 percent (or 6.2 million adults) did not receive treatment for depression.Depression in the WorkplaceOne study estimates that 6.4% of working U.S. adults have depression in a given year (Kessler et al., 2006).Recognize Remember Your LimitationsIt is absolutely imperative that coaches acknowledge their limitations and lack of training and expertise in dealing with mental health issues.Recognize When Clients Need Counseling [C]oaches [must] recognize and know how to manage a client who shows up with a mental health issue that goes outside the scope of coaching. . . .Some clients who seek coaching may exhibit severe mental health problems that need to be addressed in therapy, sometimes referred to as counseling. Coaches need to be aware of their limits and recognize when a client needs more than what coaching can provide (Hullinger DiGirolamo, 2018, p. 4).Recognize When to Refer to Mental Health Professionals Common issues that warrant a referral to therapy include anxiety, depression, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress (PTSD), substance abuse, suicidal ideation, and thought disorders (Hullinger DiGirolamo, 2018, p. 11).Written By: Steve Nguyen, Ph.D.Leadership Development AdvisorReferencesBindley, K. (2019, September 20). Executive Coach or Therapist? It s Getting Harder to Tell the Difference. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/executive-coach-or-therapist-its-getting-harder-to-tell-the-difference-11568971811Coutu, D., Kauffman, C. (2009, January). What Can Coaches Do for You? Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2009/01/what-can-coaches-do-for-youHarder, H. G., Wagner, S. L., Rash, J. A. (2014). Mental Illness in the Workplace. Gower.Hullinger, A. M. and DiGirolamo, J. A. (2018). Referring a client to therapy: A set of guidelines. International Coach Federation. https://coachfederation.org/app/uploads/2018/05/Whitepaper-Client-Referral.pdf.Kessler, R. C., Akiskal, H. S., Ames, M., Birnbaum, H., Greenberg, P., Hirschfeld, R. M., … Wang, P. S. (2006). Prevalence and effects of mood disorders on work performance in a nationally representative sample of U.S. workers. The American journal of psychiatry, 163(9), 1561–1568.Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). (2019, August). Key Substance Use and Mental Health Indicators in the United States: Results from the 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/cbhsq-reports/NSDUHNationalFindingsReport2018/NSDUHNationalFindingsReport2018.pdf

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