Archive for Emotional intelligence

Leaders: What Avatar Reveals about Respecting Differences and Organizational TanglesTM

There’s a buzz in the air about the movie Avatar. My husband and I trekked over to our local IMAX theater (www.imax.com) this past weekend and were not disappointed. The movie truly sets a new standard for moviemakers and moviegoers alike. I was transported to Pandora, a totally different world, light years away. My senses [...]

Warning Signs that you have a Jangle TangleTM—Compliments of Brothers and Sisters

Thank goodness for TiVo. My husband and I love it to catch up our favorite television shows. One, Brothers and Sisters is an ABC drama about an exceptionally close, yet dysfunctional family. Sally Fields plays Norah Walker, the matriarch. Norah has five adult children, each with their own lives and own dramas. As I watched [...]

Beware: The Shadow of the Leader Can Become the Shadow of the Gang

I once had a boss who used to tell our national sales force, “The speed of the leader is the speed of the gang.” In my work as an executive consultant, coach, and “detangler,” I have met some incredibly brilliant and talented leaders. All of them were exceptional in some way, and all had areas [...]

5 Reasons it’s So Hard to Give Tough Performance Feedback

There are no two ways about it. It is tough to give good constructive feedback. Not providing clear tough feedback to peers, direct reports, and staff exacerbates performance problem and contributes to situations that tangle forward progress. For example, I’ve had clients whose direct reports continued to come up short in developing product roll-out strategies. [...]

Generosity and Organizational Tangles

A colleague of mine  just sent me this video clip–Gesto de Amor. This was a first place winner for commercial short films at a Cannes Film Festival. This film illustrates a large and personal act of generosity. I have found that small acts of generosity–listening deeply to others, giving others the benefit of the doubt, [...]

Raise Your Emotional Intelligence (EQ), Boost Your Profits

A couple of days ago, I wrote a post on Emotional Intelligence (EQ). This is a follow -up. Many years ago, I worked at Wilson Learning , which was then a global provider of human resource development products and services. One of our flagship products was a course called Managing Interpersonal Relationships (MIR). The goal [...]

Are Your Emotional Intelligence Habits Saving or Sinking You?

According to recent studies, executive leaders who possess emotional intelligence are more likely to outperform their peers than those with high intellectual horsepower. In other words, it is not enough to just be smart. A leader needs to be intellectually smart and people smart.
I have worked with a number of executive leaders who have risen [...]

Return the AIG Bonuses–No Pay for Non-Performance

photo credit: Ryan Forsythe
This past Sunday, I was so upset about the AIGbonuses that I wrote a letter to the editors of the San Francisco  Chronicle and New York Times. I received a call from the Chronicle’s editorial section on Monday, saying that they planned to run my letter. I am happy to [...]

Are Negative Emotions Fueling Your Leadership Tangles?

Like many, we had a group of friends over to watch the Superbowl last night. Some of us rooted for the Pittsburgh Steelers, while others were backing the Arizona Cardinals. That was good old-fashioned sports rivalry. However, we were all taken aback by the negative energy that emanated from some of the commercials. As [...]


Marcia Ruben, Ph.D., CMC

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