» Buckets and spades

… from emotional intelligence at work

Newsletter 53 : 8 august 2011

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Greetings
Welcome to our newsletter. You’ve received it because either you requested it (extra thanks!) or Kay or Jeremy have met you on our travels. Should you not wish to receive it, please accept our apologies for troubling you and simply respond to this email with the word ‘unsubscribe’ in the subject line.
We offer a change from other newsletters which do demand an awful lot of reading, and hope you will find it diverting.
We aim to publish every two weeks, but sometimes the flesh is weak even as the spirit is willing.

Quotation of the week

Pick a flower on Earth and you move the farthest star

Paul Dirac, physicist, born 8 August 1902

New! Funding for Leadership and management coaching programmes

We’ve tailored our programmes in leadership and management to take advantage of this year’s Leadership and Management Advisory Service scheme. The programmes consist of nine 90 minute sessions which will enable you to take great strides in your business. Qualifying businesses get £1000 matched funding from the government towards one of our programmes.

Clock of the week

You could watch this Leogeo clock for… too long

Music video of the week

The American Boychoir sings four African songs. The confidence of these boys, none over 14, who definitely do not just stand there and sing it, is extraordinary. I recently interviewed the conductor of the American Boychoir for Fanfare magazine. – Jeremy (dur 6:04)

Emotional intelligence problem of the week

“From time to time my boss speaks to a particular member of the team in a very aggressive, sarcastic, nasty way in front of us. The colleague quietly defends herself but is visibly upset and has tears in her eyes. I find this very upsetting, feel my heart pounding in rage, have a lump in my throat, and usually I make an excuse to leave the office. I’ve never discussed with my colleague how she feels about being spoken to (shouted at) in this way, and at other times she is the first to defend any criticism of my boss by others. I do not have recourse to a personnel/HR department because my boss is the personnel director and we are the personnel department. What should I do?”

Before you read the answers of Jeremy Bullmore and his readers, ask yourself what would you do? What’s going on for the boss? What’s going on for the team member? What’s going on for the person who asked the question?

Extra quotation of the week

Indecision and delays are the parents of failure.

George Canning, British prime minister, died 8 August 1827

Video of the week

In our louder and louder world, says sound expert Julian Treasure, “we are losing our listening”. In this short, fascinating talk, Treasure shares five ways to re-tune your ears for conscious listening, to other people and the world around you – and identifies the dangers of not listening (dur 7:50).

All contributions welcome.

If you have been, thank you for reading.
Kay and Jeremy