Blog

Which Emotional Intelligence Skills Drive High Performance?

A guide to the 5 emotional intelligence skills that consistently show up in effective leaders.   When we rate effective leaders, five emotional intelligence skills show up consistently. Together, these skills create the ability to respond in the moment to others in a way that will result in better outcomes. Self-regard and emotional self-awareness, seen here at the bottom, are foundational. Studies show that if you have these two skills, you naturally develop most of the other emotional intelligence skills…

Read More

Why High Trust Cultures Create High Performing Companies

If you want to build a high performing company, start by building a high trust culture through emotional intelligence. Some people think employees are inherently untrustworthy, lazy and self-serving. Others believe employees are inherently trustworthy and motivated by a sense of pride in their work. Who is right? Research says: they are both right. As it turns out, the assumptions that managers make about employees determines the outcome. If you start with an emotional intelligence approach and build trust, you…

Read More
trust is flying

The Advantage of Trust for High Performance

Trust is the glue that sticks teams together. Without the advantage of trust, the smartest, most experienced team will become distracted by conflict and division. You need it to inspire your team, find consensus, and bring out everyone’s best efforts. Trust helps teams overcome the divisions, egos, and disagreements that splinter teams and distract from performance. Trust is a Virtuous Cycle The advantage of trust is that it allows people to calm down and focus on common goals. That’s the…

Read More
Delegate responsibility

Delegate Responsibility, Not Tasks

My new blog in Forbes offers two great tips to help you delegate responsibility for better results. When people don’t know how to delegate effectively, a lot of problems can happen. Often, managers who aren’t sure how to do it just take on the work themselves. That can lead to burn out. Others try to micro-manage and show direct reports exactly the steps to get things done. This can leave direct reports feeling powerless and frustrated. When things don’t go…

Read More

Build Better Relationships with Emotional Intelligence

Building better relationships is a skill we all need for success at work and in life. Some people are simply better at building better relationships than others. If your team lacks cohesion and members tend to remain siloed or in conflict, good news! We can all learn to become better at building mutually satisfying and fulfilling relationships. Naturally, due to childhood experiences and inclination, different people have different styles of relating to others. Psychologists call this your attachment style. Some…

Read More
Independent businesswoman

Dialing Emotional Independence in Just Right

Emotional independence works best when you’re not too high or too low in independence, but find a mid-point that’s just right. To maintain good relationships–important for happiness at work and in life–it’s best not to be too aggressive or too weak. The best relationships are built on being able to keep communication lines open respectfully and non-judgmentally, especially during difficult situations. Your ability to manage your independence is closely related to how well you establish relationships with others. Too little…

Read More

My Gratitude Project 2023

Every year in November, I dedicate myself to 30 days of gratitude. Read all my posts here. Nov. 1: Honestly, I need gratitude more than ever this year. I can hardly express the unspeakable sadness I have experienced recently. I see fear and anxiety from conflict and violence writ large across the globe. Every day I experience conflicts, disrespect, and a lack of empathy writ small in my own life and in the lives of my clients and friends. Gratitude…

Read More

Lisa D. Foster, Ph.D. ACC  is an independent coach. As an Associate Certified Coach by the International Coaching Federation, Lisa honors and abides by the ICF Code of Ethics.  All coaching sessions and consultations are confidential.

Privacy Policy

Subscribe to learn more