 Management Best Practices
Succeeding In Business with ESP
by
Richard F. Gerson, Ph.D., CPT,
CMC
We all know what ESP stands
for: Extra Sensory Perception. It is the ability to read
minds or even predict the future. Yet, most of us do not
possess anything close to that type of ability. So, we
created another meaning for ESP, one that will help you
succeed in whatever business you are in, help your
employees elevate their performances, and make customers
love you. ESP, as we define it, refers to three types of
intelligences: Emotional, Social and Practical.
You’ve probably heard more
about Emotional Intelligence (EI or EQ) than either of
the other two. Emotional Intelligence, in a nutshell, is
your ability to be aware of and manage your own emotions
as well as the emotions of others; manage your
relationships with other people; and show empathy
towards other people. People high in emotional
intelligence tend to be more successful in business,
make better leaders and managers, and accomplish more
than those who are simply IQ smart. Being IQ smart helps
to some degree, but it does not explain how people who
are geniuses tend to fail, nor does it explain how
people who drop out of school at a young age become
wildly successful at whatever they do. The difference in
results is due to emotional intelligence.
Closely related to EI is Social Intelligence. Social
Intelligence refers to your ability to get along well
with people, to communicate effectively with them, and
to function as part of a team, class or group. Social
intelligence is closely linked to the EI skill of
relationship management and the ability to exhibit what
some researchers call interpersonal intelligence.
Because most of our interactions with people occur in a
social setting, and because we all impact society with
our behaviors and the results and consequences we
produce, social intelligence now takes on more
importance than ever before. It also helps us make it
through our daily lives.
Practical Intelligence is the ability to find the best
fit between yourself and the environment. What that
means is simply that you figure out how you will
perform, achieve and survive. You develop your own way
of “turning theory into practice” so that you are
capable of handling any situation in any environment.
You know that you know certain things even if you can’t
explain those things or how you know them to other
people. Plus, practical intelligence allows you to
filter or weed out things that are unimportant to you,
so you pay more attention to those things that have more
meaning for you.
By now, you’re probably wondering how this ESP triad
relates to your business success. Here are a few ways.
First, realize that you should never separate the three
ESP types of intelligence. Each one depends on,
supports, and is interdependent with, the others. Having
a strength in one or two of them at the expense of the
third can hurt you in both your business and personal
life. So, you must work to develop your capabilities in
all three areas.
People with high levels of ESP become great networkers
and leaders. Networking- meeting people and establishing
relationships- is critical to success in business today.
More business is conducted because people know, like and
feel comfortable with someone than for any other reason.
This is ESP at its finest. Also, top leaders know that
to get their followers to perform at a high level, they
can’t beat performance into them. They have to help the
people get committed and engaged with each and every
project. Leaders have to use their ESP to “read their
team members’ minds” so that they are all on the same
page.
Another instance in which ESP helps you win in business
is when you have to negotiate with someone for
something. Instead of negotiating assuming someone has
to lose in order for you to win, you can negotiate with
ESP, strength and compassion. You will end up with a
better than win-win situation and everyone will be happy
with the results.
Finally, you can use ESP to help all your employees
become top performers. ESP helps you listen well and
communicate effectively. It helps you better understand
where your people are coming from and where they want to
go. This type of ESP makes you appear very smart to them
because you pay attention to them, appreciate them and
recognize their contributions. When you do this and show
this type of positive behavior towards your people, they
actually believe you are reading their minds because you
seem to know exactly what turns them on.
To be a great manager or leader in business today, you
must know your business. You must also know how to get
the most out of yourself and your people. The way to do
that is with ESP: Emotional, Social and Practical
Intelligences.
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Richard Gerson, Ph.D., CMC,
is President of Gerson Goodson, Inc., a coaching,
consulting and training firm specializing in the
psychobehavioral aspects of individual and
organizational performance improvement. He is the author
of 22 books and can be reached at
www.richgerson.com,
Richard.gerson@richgerson.com, or 727-726-7619. |
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Published September 2007,
Bay
Area Business Magazine
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