For my followers interested in the ways multiple concepts can show the same thing about #leadershipsuccess and #teamcohesion (like #emotionalwellbeing, #mindfulness, #organizationalmindfulness, #empathy, etc…), I’ve found this idea a fascinating place to tie things together. Isn’t this the way it happens, though? Every once in a while you find an idea that just seems to bridge a bunch of other ideas. I’ve been feeling and thinking my way towards understanding why Emotional Intelligence development and Organizational Mindfulness are aligned in the actual *practice* of what I do with individuals and teams (especially in coaching). Well, here’s a piece of the puzzle that links the two areas.
The quiet ego
The “quiet ego”, which “constructs a self-identity that is neither excessively self-focused nor excessively other-focused—an identity that incorporates others without losing the self.” (Wayment&Bauer, who proposed the concept in 2015) This quiet ego is what we strive for in organizational mindfulness: the perspective-taking, self-aware, connecting and empathetic leader who is expansively innovative and (with neural training) hard-wired to be calm, collaborative, and decisive. Would you follow her?
Some very cool connections with #nonviolentcommunication also, since the counterpart is the “noisy ego” which aims at dominance, (self-)validation, and self-centeredness. That would make the noisy ego Rosenberg’s “jackal” and the “quiet ego” Rosenberg’s giraffe! The connections with happiness, well-being, empathy, and effective leadership might seem obvious to some of you. But you also know from your own experience that it is NOT obvious to all managers and leaders. Instead of criticizing leadership skills or presenting the individuals as “problems to be solved”, can we change the narrative? Can we see our colleagues as “egos to be quieted”? As people who, for one reason or another, have come to rely on the “noisy ego” because they’ve not seen the quiet one as useful? I’d love to know how much compassion we can bring into the leadership development space.
Call to quiet action
Check it out in the short article from Forbes! And as always, if you want to chat about Emotional Intelligence and #mindfulnessatwork solutions to leadership problems (or the #happylife), let’s talk!
