Using emotional data to make optimal decisions
About
Tech on the Tyne was held on 7th March 2024 at One Strawberry Lane in Newcastle upon Tyne with Paul Cheetham.
More than a feeling - Using emotional data to make optimal decisions - Paul Cheetham
Paul Cheetham used to work in HR including a technology business and did some training to do some Emotional Intelligence and did a week long training course, there was a lot of learning and sitting around a campfire telling sad stories. That was the first time they had a conscious awareness of how their emotions were shaping their work - being more emotionally intelligent at work and standing up for themselves when they would withdraw, need to know when you need to stand your ground. They started to look into why people weren't successful in their roles wasn't to do with their technical capability, but their problem was how to regulate emotions and how to overcome obstacles. Lack of optimism also could have an impact on the things you are doing, and they wanted to take the message they had learned and share that with others and give that awareness to live a more productive and successful life.
Imagine if you collected the emotional data from a meeting at work and then take in the data and energise the room where needed and see if people are more interested or anxiety about being picked on but should feel more easeful to make any contributions. Start to become more aware of where your mind goes first. Neutral is a bit ambivalent but is really important so aren't bothered but aren't that positive either.
What is emotional intelligence? Came from researchers and were talking about people who were very smart but acted so dumb and coined the term emotional intelligence and a book was written from this and from the back of this came a whole industry and is over thirty years old. It is blending thinking and feeling to make optimal decisions, we tend to deify IQ, emotions have led humanity for the most time and intellect has only been a major impact recently. It is about being more intelligent with your emotions.
Emotions drive people and people drive performance, smash those together and you take out the common factor and emotions are driving performance, so why aren't we spending time investing in this. Emotions are driving performance not just in work but at home and outside relationships and making a difference in society or the place where you live. EQ or emotional quotient correlates with success factors, living purposefully and meeting your overall needs and leaving your legacy in the life you want to lead. Success factor is the capacity to generate results, build and maintain networks, maintain optimal energy and functioning and maintaining balance and satisfaction. If you practice emotional intelligence, you will get better at it and will build better and more stable relationships, have more energy and have a life that is more clear and aligned to what you want.
The How, emotional intelligence in action. Know yourself - how to you make decisions if you don't have all the data, be more aware noticing what you feel and do, notice what is going on. Choose Yourself - in order to make a more purposeful choice and use the data to consciously choose and do what you mean and intend to do and be more intentional. Give Yourself be a more empathetic person, are you doing the things you want to be remembered for and being more purposeful and doing it for a reason.
Enhance your emotional literacy to help know yourself such as recognising patterns, ask people how they feel and be able to sense those emotional words, how do my emotions impact your choices, this is the starting point of your journey. Identifying your emotions and for you to start you can examine the Plutchik Model.
The basic message of emotions such as Anger which is to fight against problems, need that energy to overcome a problem but the Joy is to remind what is important and Anticipation is about looking forward and Sadness allows us to connect with those we live and Disgust is to reject what is unhealthy and Surprise is to focus on new situations and Fear is to protect us from danger and Trust it to connect with people who can help. Think about the situations where you felt a certain way. With anger what is the whisper are you ignoring what are the subtle things what is it and see if you can change things based upon those. With surprise taking a step back is to reorient when surprised and to see the bigger picture - what are you missing and didn't realise so make a choice to gather more information. Trust is about being more open to new things and find out what that feels like and overcome things to be able to make connections, there is a vulnerability there as there is a possibility to be hurt. Anticipation is something you can use to help you do something in the right mood and the right frame of mind.
Stop making the same mistakes with emotions with brain science, emotions and patterns. Being smarter with feelings - recognising patterns is a routine in your brain that it uses over and over again, our brains crave efficiency and in order to have more energy is to automate processes and go through our day and do things automatically and don't have to think so much and increase efficiency. Think about how a stream forms and how it makes a pattern on the hill when it rains and each time gets deeper and deeper, and as we form patterns the same thing is happening in our brain, you learn, and things get easier and easier. If practise a lot of self-doubt it gets better at that but if do things more positively it gets better at that but what is difficult is getting off autopilot. We are in a world that is changing, and our brains are good at doing things that we used to do, need to notice you are on autopilot and notice your own reoccurring reactions and this is the first step to changing. Have you an awareness of yourself outside of the patterns, where does the self live? If you can stop and recognise things and noticing things and be aware of negative things and make a more positive choice, was something that happened when you were younger still shaping you as an adult?
Between stimulus and response there is a space, in that space is our power to choose our response in our response lies our growth and freedom - Viktor E Frankl.
Recognising patterns - acknowledging frequently reoccurring actions and behaviours, sometimes people assess new situations and respond thoughtfully and carefully but frequently people can be on autopilot and this can inhibit performance. Need feel, think and act accordingly and recognise that pattern and see how this limits you or what it makes you do other than you want to do, be consciously aware in the face of stimulus you respond in a certain way. This is what something makes me think, feel and do, but can think about a choice rather than being on autopilot.