DRIVEN Blog
Cracking The Kindness Code: The Quest To Define Self-Compassion
In our exploration of emotional intelligence, the big questions lately have been, “How do we develop compassion?”, and more specifically, “What is the magical ‘fourth step’ that bridges us from empathy to the mutually beneficial state of compassion?”. In a past article I offered you some insight into the first three…
Evolution or Revolution?: A Darwinian Take On Compassion
In our quest to understand empathy as a pure and fundamental component of emotional intelligence, it’s necessary to make the comparison between empathy and compassion. In my recent article Reconsidering Empathy: The Neuroscience of Compassion, I clinically differentiated between the two words as…
Reconsidering Empathy: A Look At The Neuroscience of Compassion
In our methodical exploration of empathy, which is one of the key components of emotional intelligence, we’ve distinguished empathy from sympathy, and we’ve considered ways to zoom out from our own life perspective in order to contemplate the countless other points of view in this big world. In my latest…
“You’re Not Alone.”: Why Practicing Empathy Requires Going Inward
Understanding the components of empathy and how they connect us emotionally and intellectually is a distinguished exercise in emotional intelligence. Putting empathy into practice is a whole different ballgame and is a true accomplishment for those of us who can pull it off and sustain these skills throughout…
“If I Understand You Correctly,….”: How The Pros Put Empathy Into Practice
All summer long, we’ve been examining empathy as part of a greater overall study of emotional intelligence in the workplace. We’ve distinguished empathy from sympathy, we’ve demonstrated how empathy applies to your career, and we’ve shown the undisputed connection between one’s bias and their personal…
Gauging Your Personal Microclimate: How Bias Can Be Elusive
Men are from Mars and women are from Venus. It’s been said a million times and was written about extensively by John Gray in his 1992 book of a similar title. And if you read my recent article What Planet Are You From: Dissecting Gender-Derived Bias At Work, you’ll have a clearer understanding of how…
What Planet Are You From? Dissecting Gender-Derived Bias At Work
Personal bias is a tough topic to approach. Even those of us who can acknowledge that we see the world through the filter of our own life experiences are still often unable to reckon with our partiality. We sometimes see bias exclusively as a shortcoming, when in actuality, it’s an inevitable part of the equation that…
Gauging Personal Bias: How We’re Blinded By Experience
Many of us consider bias to be an ugly trait, even when we’re referring to our own biases. But rather than suppressing our individual biases, it’s a wise idea to investigate them and learn to be aware of how these unique ways of seeing the world influence our mind and actions. If you read my recent article…
Expanding On Empathy: Why Bias Is Part of Your “Terroir”
Practicing Empathy is difficult because each of us experiences our own reality. This often reduces empathy to a nice-to-have, when in actuality, for a sustainable workplace where inclusion is built into the culture, empathy is a need-to-have. In my recent article I Feel Your Pain: An Empathetic How-To For…
I Feel Your Pain: An Empathetic How-To For Today’s Professionals
Workplace harmony depends upon some specific EQ tenets, not the least of which is the ability of colleagues to Empathize with one another. Such Empathy is the root of inclusion and is essential for creating trust— without which there is low productivity and substandard office functionality. In my recent article…
The Crux of Connection: Why Empathy Is All You Need
Our exploration of Emotional Intelligence is taking its next turn, and I’m excited to invite you along for the ride! After having a detailed look at Self-Regulation, which culminated in my recent article High Stakes Perspective: How To Stay Self-Regulated When It Counts, I demonstrated for you how techniques…
High-Stakes Perspective: How To Stay Self-Regulated When It Counts
In European art during the Renaissance, the concept of “perspective” was finally established, and was perfected by some of the master painters of the period. This was a breakthrough and meant that creating the illusion of depth and space on a flat canvas now had a formula (those of you who took a junior-high art…
Practicing Perspective: Life’s Curveballs vs Your Self-Regulation
If you’ve been taking on the challenges proposed through this written journey toward enhancing your emotional intelligence, I’m betting you’re already beginning to feel more capable in your life and career. My two recent articles hopefully pushed you over the self-regulation threshold by demonstrating how to…
Beyond Fear: Taking Self-Regulation Out For A Spin
Looking fear straight in the eye— it’s not something most of us are comfortable with, but it’s a challenge that you can realistically become comfortable with. My recent article, Escaping Gravity: The Importance of Confronting Workplace Fears And Soaring Beyond Your Comfort Zone, demonstrates that by engaging…
Escape Gravity: On Confronting Workplace Fears And Soaring Beyond Your Comfort Zone
Keeping your cool under high-stakes career situations can be challenging, but only if you let it be. Many of us professionals sometimes feel like we’re having an outburst on the inside, but kindly let it go unnoticed by our colleagues (which can be doubly frustrating for us). Worse still, when we do spin out, it can have the…
Your Saving Grace: Self-Examination And The Science Of Redirecting Your Emotions
Sometimes, a little brainwashing is just what the doctor ordered. Of course, I would never endorse the surrendering of your better judgments to a person or a cause that attempts to keep you under a spell. Instead, I’m referring to a constructive type of brainwashing— an intentional carving out of your brain’s…
Rewiring The Brain: How To Use Habit To Regulate Your Emotions
It’s undeniable that your Response Flexibility, which results from strengthening the homeostasis of your nervous systems, is your ticket to Self-Regulation. As I laid out in my recent article Let’s Get Flexible…
Let’s Get Flexible: How To Self-Regulate by Building Your Response Flexibility
The science is out there, and to our advantage, it’s becoming more refined with each passing year. I’m referring to brain science— particularly the type that explains Emotional Intelligence and illustrates why Self-Regulation works. If you’ve read my recent article Don’t Flip Your Lid, you earned yourself a little…
Don’t Flip Your Lid! The Simple Brain Science Behind The Workplace Spinout
Self-Regulation, an essential tenet of EQ and the secret ingredient of executive presence, is your intentional ability to stay cool under social fire. In any workplace, Self-Regulation can be a challenge if you’re…
Cool Under Fire: Sketching Out The Basics of Self-Regulation
I hope you’ve been tagging along on our EQ journey through Self-Awareness this year. With just a little attention, you may have afforded yourself some valuable attributes for pulling ahead in your…