Why leaders should keep a work diary

Many leaders operate on the belief they know everything there is to know about their role, company, industry, etc. But in many cases the opposite is true.

Whether leaders acknowledge their own weaknesses or not, everyone else sees them. Instead of trying to deny any exist; it is more beneficial for leaders to take responsibility for what they don’t know. In other words, leaders need to become self-aware.

There are many definitions of self-awareness but generally speaking it is how conscious you are of what you excel at, while at the same time acknowledging the fact you still need to grow. In some cases, self-awareness is often incorporated with emotional intelligence, the self-perceived ability to identify, assess, and control the emotions of oneself, of others, and of groups.

One great way to develop self-awareness is to simply keep a diary. Keep in mind diaries are not just reserved for teenage girls expressing feelings about their latest crushes. Many great leaders and innovative thinkers were avid diary writers such as World War II General George Patton, John Adams, and Andy Warhol.

A diary provides a place for people to vent frustrations, work through emotions, and grants the ability to look into the past and remember certain things that may have been forgotten. Diaries can provide an avenue for one to gain perspective, which makes sense why it could help leaders become self-aware.

I’m not saying that once you start keeping a diary you will automatically become self-aware and gain emotional intelligence, but it can aid your journey.

You can use the work diary to write about specific outcomes, shortcomings, and achievements. It can provide a snapshot of the best and worst moments of the workday, which can also help you plan for the future.

No matter your preference for composing the work diary, either on the computer or with a notebook and pen, make sure you keep it private. Whether you use the diary to reveal frustrations or just to maintain a log of your daily activities and meetings, it shouldn’t be shared with anyone else.

Okay, I do understand as a leader you're under a lot of pressure and never seem to have enough time. However, maintaining a work diary does not have to be a long, in-depth process – just commit a small amount of time to compose your thoughts. Even 10 minutes a day of reflection can help slow you down and get reconnected.

What are you waiting for? Start writing.

Emotional Intelligence and Leadership: A Fascinating Connection

By Caroline Fox

Here at TBC we like to keep abreast of industry news, so we read from a lot of different sources: blogs, websites, white papers, scholarly articles, research, etc. We know that not everyone likes to read scholarly research, so decided to make it easy for you by summarizing some important industry articles and putting them into less intimidating language.

One researcher we really enjoy following is Dr. Frank Shipper Ph.D., Professor of Management in the Franklin P. Perdue School of Business at Salisbury University in Salisbury, MD. He has conducted many studies on using 360 Feedback to develop leadership and workplace skills, and has been awarded many accolades for his research.

One particularly interesting article is titled, “A cross-cultural exploratory study of the link between emotional intelligence and managerial effectiveness” (2003). In this article, Shipper explores the association between emotional intelligence, which is the ability to manage emotions and create motivation, and the effectiveness of employees in a managerial setting across three different cultures: The US, the UK, and Malaysia.

A quick background:

Emotional intelligence has garnered a large following over the past century, starting with Darwin’s work on emotional survival in the 1900s. As early as the year 1920, researcher E.L. Thorndike described “social intelligence” to describe the skill of managing and understanding other people. The first person attributed with using the term, “emotional intelligence” was Wayne Payne in his doctoral thesis, although there is proof that the term occurred in papers as early as 1966. EI became mainstream after the publication of Daniel Goleman’s best selling book, Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ. Since its publication, many theories on EI have developed and, inevitably, controversy has ensued. Wikipedia does a great job of summarizing information on EI and providing further links to different theories, ideas, and opinions on the worth validity EI.

According to Shipper, emotional intelligence (EI) is a “self-other argument” that can be gathered and tentatively measured by using 360 surveys. It is very complicated to measure EI, and there are many differing opinions on the best instrument for its collection and measurement. Shipper, however, decided that the most effective way to measure self-awareness, which is directly correlated with EI, was to use 360 surveys.

Through completing 360 Feedback surveys of 3,785 managers from the U.S., the U.K., and Malaysia, Shipper proved his hypothesis that there is a relationship between self-awareness and managerial effectiveness, but determined that the link is more complicated than previously thought. He noted that the culture in which the survey was written and the content of the survey can affect the visible strength of this relationship. Shipper also noted that interpretation of 360 instruments should be done carefully in countries where the instrument was not developed, and that cross testing of 360 instruments must take place for accurate results.

Shipper’s article supports the idea that good managers are able to understand their emotions and interact with others in a way that encourages and inspires them. Developing EI skills are an essential step on the path to leadership development, and can make or break leadership in the workplace.

The Booth Company Releases Updated Executive Leadership 360 Feedback Survey

The Booth Company introduces the new Executive Leadership Survey (ELS), an updated version of its popular 360 feedback survey for developing executive leadership talent. The newly-added emotional intelligence dimensions and their time-tested counterparts combine to provide the executive with a realistic and comprehensive view of the executive role, and feedback that is used to develop relevant skills.

Boulder, CO (PRWEB) November 15, 2007 -- The Booth Company introduces the new Executive Leadership Survey (ELS), an updated version of its popular 360 feedback survey for developing executive leadership talent. This is the most significant update to the survey in over a decade, combining current research, industry trends and customer feedback to refresh its relevancy while increasing the simplicity of the feedback process.

The everyday responsibilities of executives have evolved significantly since the ELS was created in 1989. Recent technological developments have led to greater amounts of communication, requiring executives to make decisions more frequently and within shorter timeframes. Taking this into account, The Booth Company has included three new dimensions in the new ELS: "Awareness of Others," "Self-Awareness" and "Self Management." These additions allow the executive to receive confidential feedback regarding his or her abilities to professionally interact with others, master personal impulses, and make rational choices in situations that often involve pressure and disagreement.

Evaluating such competencies has become an increasingly common industry practice in recent years, typically under the label of "emotional intelligence." Known as "E.Q." (Emotional Intelligence Quotient) - primarily to differentiate it from the more traditional intelligence assessment, I.Q. (Intelligence Quotient) - emotional intelligence provides an interesting model to assess interpersonal leadership skills and rationality in pressured decision-making situations. However, this approach has also received its share of criticism, mostly stemming from emotional intelligence tests that evaluate personality traits and characteristics instead of skills and abilities that may be developed.

The new ELS dimensions and their time-tested counterparts (such as "Business & Financial Acumen," "Industry & Market Insight," and "Organizational Savvy") combine to provide the executive with feedback from peers that is used to develop relevant skills. In this way the new E.Q. dimensions reliably augment the 360 feedback assessment of traditional executive competencies, providing an assessment that remains explicitly focused on a well-rounded set of the most relevant skills needed by today's executives. According to Dr. Daniel Booth, founder of The Booth Company, "combining E.Q. with traditional executive skills in one coaching tool is not only more efficient, it helps executives accept that being an effective thought leader and organizational manager is only half of the effectiveness equation. He or she might be the smartest person on the team, yet still fail or fall short for lack of empathy, self-awareness or skills in managing emotions. The new ELS helps the executive achieve a more realistic and comprehensive view of the executive role."

About The Booth Company:
The Booth Company publishes and administers 360 degree feedback surveys based on the Task Cycle®, a validated theory of leadership and management roles. Its comprehensive set of surveys measure the fundamental skills of mission-critical organizational roles, including executives, first-line and middle managers. The survey results are compared to continuously updated industry and country norms. Since 1972 The Booth Company has distributed its surveys and feedback workshops internationally through corporate universities and an exclusive network of certified senior executive coaches.