10 Ways for Uniting Workers in the New Diverse Workplace

Never has it been more important in your organization to have a common language, and never has it been more elusive.

Today's office typically contains individuals from many different cultures, not just within the US, but from all over the world. People with different customs, beliefs, ways of thinking and different first-languages come together to work together, and the result can be confusion and misunderstanding.

'We need a common language,' a manager from a state education agency told me the other day on the phone. She was inquiring about an Emotional Intelligence program, correctly thinking it might be the 'new common language' for their agency. The old one, she said, something about 'Steps' had worn itself out. It is not easy understanding people from different cultures. It's not easy understand even on person! In the case of different cultures, we bring with us assumptions, stereotypes and generalizations which can get in the way of commonality.

Most of the time the technical vocabulary is understood, but other parts of communication are missed. Up to 90% of any communication is nonverbal, and gestures, postures, and expressions vary widely from one culture to another, as does intonation and phrasing.

It's easy to misunderstand another cultures expression of respect or warmth. When you meet someone new, the other person may be expecting a slight nod of the head, a quick handshake, a bow or a hug with a kiss on both cheeks. How are you to know?

I was working with a manager the other day who had a problem within the ranks. One of the employees was harassing some women, not all of them, or so the women were reporting, and it wasn't clear what was going on. When the manager called the employee in and got to the root of the problem, it turned out he assumed that women in marketing would not 'mind,' while the women in the other fields would. Where he got that idea wasn't clear, but people have their ideas.

We could substitute '

·Men don't mind ·Asian Americans don't mind ·Short people don't mind ·Presbyterians don't mind ·People who haven't finished college don't mind ·Southerners don't mind ·Rich people don't mind ·Irish people don't mind ·Hearing-impaired people don't mind

Generalities like this simply don't work.

In 'Beyond Race and Gender,' author R. Roosevelt Thomas defines managing diversity as 'a comprehensive managerial process for developing an environment that works for all employees.'

And 'all' employees are individuals, so there you have it.

There remains the need for a common language, and given the extreme diversity these days, Emotional Intelligence is an excellent tool. I have trained coaches from all over the world in EQ, and the concepts are understood by all. In fact there's interest in EQ all over the world.

Emotional Intelligence competencies include flexibility, intuition (good for reading nonverbal communication), resilience, interpersonal skills, communication and empathy. They are based on understanding one's own emotions and those of others, and managing your own and those of others for the best outcome. People from all cultures have the same emotions and want to be treated with respect. Emotional Intelligence can bring the common language and culture that is missing.

About the author: ©Susan Dunn, MA, Emotional Intelligence Coach, http://www.susandunn.cc . I coach individuals in emotional intelligence, and offer EQ programs and cultures for businesses. Internet courses and ebooks available ( http://www.webstrategies.cc/ebooklibrary.html ) for a total program of personal and professional development. Mailto:sdunn@susandunn.cc for FREE ezine.

Coaches - Why Get EQ Certification?

Susan Dunn's EQ Alive! Coach Certification Program is THE best one.

QUICK POINTS:

1. MADONNA said, performing in Boston after the announcement of her divorce from Guy Ritchie: "This song is for the emotionally retarded. You might know a few people who fall into that category. God knows I do."
   
2. Think a minute of how it would look on your business card for the year 2009: Tim Watkins, Certified Financial Analyst, Certification in Emotional Intelligence or Morgan Garrett, LLD, certified EQ Coach, specializing in business law, mergers and acquisitions, CEO compensation packages ...
   
3. How would you like to have a profession where you (1) get better with age; (2) have complete portability; (3) can't get fired; (4) have low overhead; and, (5) influence the lives of others in an exponentially spirally manner. The life you touch in coaching may touch thousands of others in their lifetime. THAT is MAKING A DIFFERENCE.
   
4. Join a field that understands that the enriched and meaningful life combines the mental, the emotional, the mental and the physical.
   
5. Impact people in the most important areas of their lives - wellness, and meaning and purpose.

I am a Master EQ (Emotional Intelligence) Coach who has worked with thousands of clients, and trained and certified coaches internationally.

There's one thing I've noticed that all the coaches I've trained and certified in EQ (Emotional Intelligence) have in common, whether they were in San Antonio, Texas, Mumbai, India, the Phillipines, Boston, Mass., the UK, Russia, or anywhere else: they have chosen to go in to the profession of coaching because it is almost a calling to them. They are driven to use their personal skills, experience, education and passion to make a difference in the world - one person at a time. They know and believe in the difference coaching can make, and the crucial life advantage people who are not "emotionally retarded" have.

The excellent coaches who have been certified through Susan Dunn's EQ Alive! Certification Program also:

• Show a profound enthusiasm for what emotional intelligence has to offer both the coach and the client,
• Are "whole-brained" thinkers, able to access both their mind and their heart, their intellect and their emotions, their left and their right brains, for success
• Understand and use the emotional intelligence competencies themselves
• Are excited about coaching others to increase their connection with others and with life, for enrichment, for understanding the mind/body interface, and the roles and proper use of emotions in our lives
• Are hard-core realists and at the same time philosophers, interested in guiding clients to behaviors that work, while at the same time grappling with the bigger issues in life - its meaning and purpose to the individual
• Can answer the EQ Checkin(TM), part of the EQ Alive! Certification Program: "How are you feeling emotionally, mentally, spiritually and physically?"
• Know that the bottom line in emotional intelligence, the most crucial thing of all, is not a bigger office, better leadership ability, charisma, stronger negotiation skills, promotions at work, a better marriage, or being a better "team player" -- is is WELLNESS.
• It is also about meaning and purpose in life, and living your life to the fullest. We do lie awake at night when we are old thinking of the fleeting victories in the workplace, we dream of memories of connections with others. (I know, because a fair proportion of my clients are over the age of 50.) Walk around a cemetery and there the "business" world ends. We do not see on tombstones "good leadership skills," "IQ of 150," or "tennis pro." We see "loving mother," and "beloved son."
• And the funeral orations? Yes my father was a great lawyer, and a profound thinker, a keen investor and a great teacher, but what do I remember of him? The time he taught me what a flying buttress was, his passion for Beethoven, the way his smile lit up the room, how safe I felt in his arms ...
• Understand that our emotions effect our immune system and that our immune system is our health. Studies show that 5 minutes of anger can suppress the immune system for up to 6 hours. Grief? Did you know that there is an ER presentation that is actually called "Broken Heart Syndrome" because it mimics a heart attack? And depression? Studies show that happiness is "50% genetic" - and the rest is up to you. This is the kind of data you will get in Susan Dunn's EQ Alive! Coach Certification program.
• Understand at the deepest level that happiness and success can be learned.
• KNOW that the most important questions in life cannot be answered by the intellect alone.

If you are already certified as a coach, why would you want to add emotional intelligence certification or specialization to your mix?

Why would you not? While I am not into designer-fads, emotional intelligence is just about the hottest thing around, and there is a reason why: because the field was needed.

EQ Alive! explains motivation, human nature and behavior in ways that will finally make sense to you. This coach certification program is UNIQUE in that it is individualized. Like you, in regards to your clients, I am not interested in numbers, buzz words, and superficiality. You won't find a lot of "ABCD" and "450 turnpoint" talk in my course. It is basic English. As Einstein said, "If you can't explain it to your grandmother, you don't understand it." And I understand emotional intelligence.

Like the coaches I have certified, I am interested in quality, and what lasts. I would rather train 50 coaches well, and know that their lives and those of their clients are better, than to train 500 in a fast, sloppy and functionalized manner. Those 50 coaches I train in the most excellent manner out there, might one day influence the lives of 5000 people. It is worth doing it well.

Susan Dunn is a Master EQ Coach, who has worked in the field for many years. In addition she has an M. A. in Clinical Psychology from a prestigious university, and during her earlier career worked for many years in marketing and public relations. It's a dynamic combination no other certification program founder has ... because of the marketing. I know you don't want "a practice," you want a SUCCESSFUL practice.

Why would you want certification as an EQ (Emotional Intelligence) Coach through the EQ Alive! Program, and what would it offer your clients?

My EQ Alive! Certification Program is the most comprehensive and effective program available, and it is empirically-based. This means there is scientific data backing up every point.

If you want to:

• Save time, money and frustation
• Participate in in a self-paced program for mature adults
• Leave your credentials at the door at get to the core of coaching
• Avoid groups that slow you down and force repetition of concepts you 'got' 10 years ago
• Eliminate costly plane fare and accommodations
• Ride the wave of "emotional intelligence" as it becomes increasingly recognized in the work place
• Learn from the founder of The EQ Alive! Coach Certification Program herself

This is the program for you. Weekend intensive training also available in the Dallas Metroplex area.

You can become certified through this program in Emotional Intelligence, EQ, most Life Coach and Business Fields, or "with specialty in."

If this peaks your interest - lets connect. Choose your preferred mode of communication:

• email me at sdunn@susandunn.cc
• Call me at 817-734-1471
• email to set up a time to talk

Lets talk about why this program is the best one for you. About what your clients are really after, and how to deliver it. How to deal with the FACT that "motivation" is crucial to all coaching and mentoring, and IT IS A FEELING WORD. "Emotion" and "motivation" come from the same root word.

Allow some time. I know you love to talk about your field, and so do I! Take a look at my massive and informative website, http://www.susandunn.cc/ for a taste!