Today, inside my bubble ...
>> Friday, July 31, 2009
What the heck's taking so much of my time nowadays? I really can't phanthom why but 24 hours a day just seemed too short. I'm not bitching about any life grievances coz there isn't any in the first place. Life is so beautiful to me, much more nowadays that I can't have enough. That's why I want more time in a day!
Of late, I have not been reading the newspapers regularly as I used to. If I do find a chance, I'll do a quick run through on the most current goings-on. However, since I've taken a day off yesterday to run some personal errand, I actually had some time to kill amid the rush for time. T'was then I chanced upon this article in The Star Metro "Is Your Heart In The Right Place?" by Seow Bee Leng from Continuum Learning. It talks about the importance of Emotional Intelligence (EQ) in our career, both as the employee and the employer.
EQ is a set of skills that allows us to control our emotions through self-awareness, self-discipline and empathy. A quality relationship, whether between kins, acquaintances or co-workers, requires this primary skills. According to the author of "Emotional Intelligence", Daniel Goleman; 90% of the difference between a 'good leader' and an 'excellent leader' is attributed to EQ. The primary reason people leave a job is relationship-based which boils down to the quality of the relationship between the employee and the employer. 
What triggered my interest to read on was the fact that there is a high employee turnover in my current organisation. Having spent almost 10 years here and particularly in human resource, I dare conclude that it is due to the serious lack of awareness of EQ in the leadership of the organisation. The panacea for good leadership, "to lead by example" needs to go both ways, down-up and likewise, up-down. But to only achieve one direction means nothing to the success of an organisation, what more to retain a workforce that are emotionally engaged for the betterment of the organisation. As the leadership guru Richard Leider had to say, "People don't leave companies, they leave leaders" only points so precisely to this crisis that has been hampering the company's ability to sustain employee loyalty and retention as well as productivity.
My personal plan was to extend my services to this organisation until my retirement beckons. However, with so many failed attempts to build an awareness in the leadership of the company to deploy an EQ-positive climate, it appears that I too have come to the end of the road. I have been incapacitated to remain emotionally engaged for the organisation. My only concern now is to maintain as a role model to my subordinates while I seek for a fresh start elsewhere.
