Here’s What You Missed…

April Luncheon: "Emotional Intelligence: Your Leading Edge"

Karen A. Vernal, Vernal Management Consultants, led a dynamic session titled “Emotional Intelligence (EI): Your Leading Edge” with the goals of demonstrating EI’s impact on both our personal and professional lives, appreciating the difference between intentions and impact, and learning strategies for managing emotions – all key insights for building more productive relationships with donors, volunteers and colleagues.

Whereas IQ and Technical Skills were professional priorities of the past, new research shows Emotional Quotient (EQ) is twice as significant as a predictor of success compared to IQ and Tech skills combined.

Karen walked us through the three components of EI—self-awareness, emotional management, and emotional connection. Brain science can now explain “emotional highjacking” when the amygdala fires into the neo cortex and stunts IQ and problem solving. It takes 18 minutes to recover, and 3 hours to get the toxins out of the bloodstream.

Karen stressed the importance of knowing your personal physical symptoms to manage the situation. One strategy is Stop, Oxygenate, and Seek Information (SOS), and another is to seek contribution and not blame. Finally, Karen noted that it’s important to remember that emotions drive behavior, not logic. For further reading, she suggested Primal Leadership by Daniel Goldman. 

--Submitted by Dawn Hutchison-Weiss, Senior Program Officer, LISC Milwaukee