Education
This section is devoted to learning that can be accessed by listening and reflecting on material produced as either video clips or webcasts.
We select a relevant media download and invite you to play the video or audio track then reflect on the subject matter. In your reflection you should look for the connection to your own life and experience, applying what messages you take to challenges you are facing or have faced. Most challenges are accompanied by opportunities. Overcoming the first and grasping the second is at the heart of achieving something extraordinary.
The two areas covered in this quarter are Failure and Imagination. We have selected the graduation speech given by J.K. Rowling at Harvard University in 2008. This neatly covers both topics and is of course magical.
Failure
The fear of failure is often said to be the reason so much never gets done. Putting off doing things until the moment or the best moment has past is endemic in business.
The psychological reasons why we fear to fail are embedded throughout our life and this is both normal and well understood. That does not make it any easier to overcome.
The techniques to manage and overcome this particular challenge are often the subject of just one or two coaching sessions focused on issues such as identifying the internal saboteur and how to adjust your thinking to a more positive way of making decisions on matters that matter.
Imagination
J.K. Rowling refers to imagination as the unique human ability to put yourself in the place of another and get a sense of what that person has felt and experienced without ever having been in the same situation.
Much has been written over the past ten or so years on the topic of Emotional Intelligence. EQ as it is known is seen as a better predictor of leadership skill and success than IQ and many of the psychomatic tests often carried out when recruiting leaders or future leaders within major organisations.
Understanding that the way we communicate with those around us reflects our personality. This may create barriers of understanding and social comfort with others whose personality type is of a very different kind. Even before anything is said we will often make a judgement as to whether we are likely to get on with someone or not.
Our ability to imagine what others are thinking, to understand that they have a different style of communication and place ourselves in an emotional and imagined state that more closely resembles that of the person to whom we want to communicate effectively, is key to a host of better management practices. Improved sales, team motivation, individual performance, negotiation and leadership are just a few of the benefits that come about by using your imagination and emotional intelligence as touched on in this clip.
Next steps
If you would like to discuss any of the issues raised here please
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