Leading with Emotional Intelligence: Hands-On ... - always yours

COMMUNICATION AND EMPATHY TOOLS AND STRATEGIES 279
Cyclic and Natural Phenomena theme—“The best way for us to
be prepared for this storm of new interest in our products is to be
prepared. What will we need in our fi rst-aid kits to get through this
next month?”
STORIES
A story is the development and elaboration of a metaphor into
more of a discourse. It is also rich with visual pictures and innuendo
that asks the listener to engage by fi lling in the blanks with his or
her imagination. The individual must search through a number of
stored or imagined experiences in order to fi nd personal meaning.
The searching stimulates mental associations, which make the communication
more memorable and meaningful. The creative process
involved in searching through and reorganizing new experiences
helps individuals become active collaborators in processing and
generalizing their learning. 12
In 1974 I was working on my Master’s thesis. It involved creating
a curriculum of facilitative activities to do with Outward Bound
courses to enhance awareness and personal relevance that could
transfer back easily to home and work environments. The curriculum
involved applying Emotional Intelligence competencies to the Outward
Bound experience some 16 years before the term Emotional
Intelligence was coined.
The research design involved four experimental groups and four
control groups. I was anxious and apprehensive about my ability to
do the courses, implement the curriculum, and gather the research.
A few days before I left for the summer project, I bumped into my
faculty advisor, Dr. George Brown, the founder and program chair of
the Confluent Education program. I bombarded him with my worries
and fears for about 10 minutes. When I fi nally took a breath he said,
“Let me see your hand.” I stretched out my hand, and he put his fist
on top and declared, “You have my seal of approval. I know you will