New
President Interview -- Part 39
Preliminary remarks
It has been
nine months since we heard from the College President. The last installment concerned use of
power. The very last comment from the
interviewer said, “This is obviously an emotionally charged issue.” This article deals with emotional
intelligence in the organization.
Q> What
part does emotion play in the running of the College? I thought that emotions
are love, hate, respect, etc.
A> Daniel Goleman in his books
from 1995[1] and 1998[2] introduced
a new approach to how we deal with
interpersonal relationships. The concept is not easy to define or explain.
Emotion is a multi-faceted phenomenon that involves the psychological,
behavioral, and sociological parts of the human experience. Internal feelings
can be manifested by behavior, facial expressions or another physical expression. That is why hand moments, hugging, kissing, or
violence are viewed as emotional reactions. One who is perceived to “control
his emotions” is someone who recognizes feelings and how to express them in the
appropriate physical movements. Events
trigger reactions. The people with the
most emotional intelligence have self-awareness, self-control, and know how to
read the feelings of others. Connecting these feelings to actions is a skill
that is important to the running of the organization.
Training,
expertise, and academic preparation are only part of what we bring to the
job. While academic learning is the main
focus of higher education, we must also teach the soft skills needed for
success. How we understand ourselves and
the people around us plays a role in how we get hired, retained, and promoted.
When I taught graduate school, I initiated conversations concerning what it is
like to be an educator and leader. Students had to observe mentor teachers in
action.
Q> What
are the competencies that are needed for the organization? What do the administrative people need to make the
management of the College better?
A> People need to be able to read
the feelings of others including both the staff they work with and the students
we serve. We need to recognize our
fellow staff members at any given moment could be our customer or
supplier. The local goal is to serve the
students’ education needs, but the bigger goal is to send educated individuals
to the larger community. Empathy, which
involves the reading of the emotional needs of others and social skills, which
enable us to act artfully and professionally are skills that can be taught. Everyone needs to practice the behavior
explained in words.
We have
students who are used to getting their way with everything. Their parents shielded them from the real
world and told them how “great” they are.
They cheered their children and didn’t let them fail. They only wanted
“safe spaces” for their children.[3] On the other end of the spectrum we have
“street wise” students who have seen the worse society offers. These students
balance a difficult home and community life with the college classes to make a
better life. We have students who do
not understand delayed gratification.
They want instant answers to complex questions. Social skills (the way we act toward others)
need to be taught and practiced because that is how we gain their respect,
recognition, and honor.
Q> On May
21, 2017 Vice-president Mike Pence gave the commencement address and received
an honorary degree from Notre Dame University in South Bend, IN. About 150 students quietly rose from their
seats and exited as a protest.[4] They
had announced their intentions in advance as a protest to the Trump
administration’s policies and Pence’s own record as governor of the state. The
students claimed Pence did not represent their understanding of the Roman Catholic
social teaching tradition that Notre Dame University emphasizes.
Was this an
example of students behaving like “snowflakes?”
A> Mike Pence did not have a
great record with the educators of Indiana when he was governor.[5] The Notre Dame protest was over policy, not
free speech. The walkout was quiet; no
one shouted disrespectful words. As
governor, Pence was at odds with Glenda Ritz, a veteran educator, who was
Indiana’s superintendent of public instruction.
She won more votes in the state-wide election than Pence in the 2012
election. See Valerie Strauss’ July 15,
2016 article in the Washington Post[6] for
more information.
Some of
those students must have read and understood Pence’s Indiana record as
governor. However, the university has
the right to invite him or anyone of their choice for receiving an honorary
degree or giving an address.
The
emotionally intelligent thing to do is realize that no one can agree with you
100% of the time. Common ground (also
called “big tent” issues) must be found to make the community a better
place. They should agree on the major
goals even when they can’t figure out which road is the best to follow.
Q> What
does Daniel Goleman say about framework for emotional intelligence? How does the College encourage the required
competencies?
A> There are two parts to this
framework – personal and communal. Just as the College’s goals have the
personal and communal components; emotional intelligence has the personal and
social-communal components. The road to
excellence includes:
1) Independent, unique contributions of the
individuals. This included the unique
skill sets of the individuals.
2) The interdependent and teamwork aspect of working with
others for a common goal. No one knows
everything. The organization has tacit
knowledge that is not written down or recorded. Knowing who knows what is part
of teamwork.
3) The hierarchical capabilities build on each
other. The experience of today is the
basis for tomorrow. This manifests itself in the classroom as what you learn
today prepares you for tomorrow. The lessons learned in Course 101 are needed to
understand the material of Course 102.
This is also part of being self-aware.
We need to be self-aware of our skills, limitations, and psyche before
we can regulate our behavior and understand motivation.
4) Understanding the situational challenges – Having an
ability, skill, or experience does not guarantee success. Not everyone will develop or display the
competencies they learn about. The
climate of an organization or the egos of the players may limit the success of
the individual.
5) There are generic skills that apply to all
organizations and jobs. Learning how to
transfer these skills to new situations and understanding how to deal with
competing demands is part of the journey to succeed.
Goleman has
a table explaining the two parts of competence –the personal and the social.[7] The
personal involves understanding one’s internal messages such as skills, psyche,
resources, health, and intuitions.
Self-awareness combines academic learning with the internal messages no
one else can hear. While Goleman does
not talk about understanding one’s body messages, I think this is very
important. As we get older health issues
consume more of our resources and “worry time.”
Assessing our strengths and limits includes mental and physical
abilities. It does no good to want
to lift the weight when the body refuses to move. Once you are self-aware you understand your
self-worth, position in the community, and you develop self-confidence to
accomplish your goals.
We all have
animal instincts that includes hunger, lust, and self-preservation. Instincts
keep us alive, but without regulating them with self-control we are not human.
Keeping disruptive emotional responses in check is what makes us part of the
group and team. Learning self-control
keeps us likeable. Having self-control
leads to trustworthiness. That means we
are honest, ethical and have integrity. Part of ethical behavior is recognizing
a higher authority that is governing group behaviors. This authority may be
laws or regulations that put limits on the individual so that the group can
flourish.
Building on
self-awareness to taking responsibility for personal performance. Academic and experiential learning teach both
the way to do something right and how to adapt to new situations. Adaptability
leads to being comfortable with innovation and new ideas. Because situations change “the usual” does
not always work. Understanding what
works today leads us to find new information to make innovations.
Once we
learn to innovate or the possibility that innovation can occur, we need to have
a motivation to achieve the goals. Once
we know what excellence is, we can work toward creating the goals to achieve
excellence. Commitment is aligning the
personal and group goals to complete the task or the combination of all the
tasks for the project. If you want to complete the task, you must believe in
yourself and the organization with optimism. The emotional component is how you
carry yourself in public. One should put
on a happy face when working toward the goals.
The personal
competencies are how we manage ourselves, internalize academic learning, work
with a team, and self-improve.
Q> What
is the communal or social component that helps the organization “click?”
A> The two most important aspects
are empathy and social skills. You cannot control others. You have to understand their needs, feelings
and perspectives. It takes a team to
approach the impossibility of perfection. In a previous article, I talked about
getting to yes[8]. It is better to come to a consensus than to
say, “No!” To make the make work, I do not need to know everything. I do need to understand how to develop and
use the competencies of the members. I need to give them the tools they need to
flourish. In the service areas of the College
we need to anticipate and recognize the needs students and internal customers.
We need the structure to meet those needs today and in the foreseeable future.
Political
awareness is the understanding of the power structure and how to read the
group’s leadership and power needs.
This leads
us to leadership. Leadership is the way
we inspire and guide individual and create a team from a group of
individuals. All social skills are based
on communication skills. That is why
teaching English, world languages, and the interpretations texts[9], is
an important part of the curriculum. A computer
programmer was asked what is the most important computer language, “English or the
language of your users. If you can’t
tell your users about the usage of the program, the most innovative or skilled
programming is useless.”
Communication
is the way I send my thoughts to you and anyone who can hear me or read my
recorded thoughts. Good communications
and organizational systems are what builds the bonds between team members,
refines the organizational goals and creates the synergy for future projects.
Q> That’s
a lot to comprehend. What is the goal of
emotional intelligence in the organization?
A> To summarize, the goal is to
understand oneself, become self-aware and project that self-awareness to reach personal
and organizational excellence. The skills needed for excellence are both
academic and situational. The goals and
mission statements serve an emotional function.
They create a sense of shared “goodness.” That is the organization exists for a greater
good. Those people who fight the
creation of mission statements are probably the ones who don’t know how to read
the needs of others. Success is not just
the economic bottom line. We need
constant awareness of the higher cause as a morale and energy booster. The organization needs a self-awareness
strengths and weaknesses just as the individual has those needs. While the College does lots of assessment on
academic progress, I have to keep reminding the staff and faculty of the other
ultimate goals and to think about the jobs we do in public service. Some faculty need reminders to understand
learning for the test is not enough.
Students need to learn how to be good citizens and members of the larger
community.
If we have a
better organization, we can attract more students and do a better job for the
community. Both the big picture and the small pictures are important to success.
Q> How
does the College implement improvements in emotional intelligence?
A> I don’t go around using the
words “emotional intelligence.” I do keep the concepts in mind when policies
are made. In meetings, I try to make
participants more self-aware. When
creating committees or other groups, I am aware of the need for diversity. I try to emphasize are shared goals. I
encourage people to set good examples with their words and actions. I encourage
people to see the good in the organization.
When something does not work or people do not perform, rather than
getting mad, I am just “amused.” When I
see idiocy or stupidity outside of the organization, I try learn from it what
not to do. I use humor to lighten the
moment. Learning and improving oneself in
a search for excellence is a never-ending process.
Q> We are
out of time for this interview. Thank
you very much.
[1] Goleman,
Daniel. Emotional intelligence :
why it can matter more than I.Q. New York; Bantam Books, c1995, 1997.
[2] Goleman,
Daniel. Working with emotional intelligence. New York; Bantam
Books, 1998.
[3] Some
of these students are “snowflakes” that is a student who is afraid they will
melt if they hear or see someone or something they do not agree with. Academia is supposed to be a place for the
exchange of learned ideas. Not everyone
will agree to you, but that does not mean one has a right to act disrespectfully. This morning a colleague told me about a
student who questioned the reasoning for a religious ritual. The student was quick to condemn a practice
they didn’t believe in. The colleague
told the student that he is welcome to discuss the idea after an intense period
of study to learn what are the issues. The academy is the place for learned
debate, not a safe space shielded from reality.
Once a student in a children’s literature class felt offended by some of the assigned books. I told her that she didn’t have to like everything. As a parent, she could withhold these books from her children, but as a teacher, some parent or child is going to read that book. The teacher or librarian will need to know how to address students, parents, and faculty about controversial materials with wisdom and confidence.
Once a student in a children’s literature class felt offended by some of the assigned books. I told her that she didn’t have to like everything. As a parent, she could withhold these books from her children, but as a teacher, some parent or child is going to read that book. The teacher or librarian will need to know how to address students, parents, and faculty about controversial materials with wisdom and confidence.
[4] Stack,
Liam. “Notre Dame Students Walk Out of
Mike Pence Commencement Address” New York Times, May 21, 2017. Retrieved May 29, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/21/us/mike-pence-notre-dame-commencement-address.html?_r=0
[5]
Weddle, Eric and Claire McInerny , “What Did Mike Pence Do For Indiana Schools
As Governor? Here's A Look” NprEd.
July 20, 2016. http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/07/20/486654015/what-did-pence-do-for-schools-as-governor-heres-a-look Retrieved May 29, 2017.
[6]
Strauss, Valerie. “How Gov. Mike Pence
worked to undermine the will of Indiana’s voters.”
Washington Post, July
15, 2016. Retrieved May 29, 2017. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/07/15/how-mike-pence-tried-to-undermine-the-will-of-indianas-voters/
[8] Kol
Safran Nov. 21, 2010, http://kol-safran.blogspot.com/2010/11/getting-to-yes.html
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