EQ-i

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For a variety of reasons (and no judgments about them), getting the website for Parente HRG has taken much longer than I anticipated.

It became clear about a month ago that my hopes to have the site completed by an outside vendor had pretty much ground to a halt. Again, no judgments here. That's not what this post is about.

So, where am I taking you on this journey? It's about how I reclaimed skills I had let slip away over the past 5+ years.

Over time, we add and remove certain tools from our skills toolbelts as a matter of practicality. There is just so much time in the day, just so much opportunity to continue our expertise in certain areas. In my case, I've continued to grow my knowledge and add certifications, the most recent being Intentional Leadership Coaching and certification to administer and interpret the EQ-i 2.0. What did I remove from my toolbelt? I stopped staying current on what some call "that computer stuff."

Armed with a couple of new books from my local Barnes and Noble (picture me singing, "Where have all the bookstores gone?"), I jumped back into the web design pool yesterday. My skills? They're more in line with how retired Yankees must feel taking the field for the Old Timers' Day game each summer. Still, it feels great to be a techie once more ... the keyboard jockey rides again. 🙂

The website is nothing fancy, but it does what it needs to. Finally, at long last, parentehrgroup.com is up and running!

screenshot_website_banner 2014-0602

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For those of you who know me, it's probably not surprising that my blogging would stray onto the baseball field.  With Spring Training games underway, it seems as good a time as any.

Today's focus?  Looking at baseball through the lens of emotional intelligence in the face of concrete data.

Statistics are a method to quantify what happens during the 9 innings of play (more or less) each game.  The history of those statistics takes on special meaning, as it did during the Summer of '61 - the year of the M&M Boys.

Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris, both players for the New York Yankees that summer, were each having incredible offensive seasons.  As Mickey hit a home run, Roger matched or exceeded the total.  Great times, exciting times, except people started to take sides - and not in nice ways.  Newspapers (especially the NY Daily News) and local radio / television stations fanned the flames to encourage fans to support one player over the other.

Given my age at the time, I easily was swayed to love what Mickey was doing, and to despise Roger's attempt to break the season home run record.  My decision-making was all emotion-based:  How could someone who wasn't a "true" Yankee (Maris had played with the Kansas City Athletics before joining the Yankees the year before) become the heir apparent for a record set by another beloved Yankee (Babe Ruth)?

The lack of empathy (OK, I'm being polite - the hatred) from baseball fans for Roger Maris that season is well-documented.  The pressure caused him to suffer both physically and emotionally, right up to hitting his 61st, record-breaking home run as the season came to a close.

These days, I have a much better appreciation of what happened back then, and how easily I and so many others were swayed to be less than objective during the home run race.  It was all about failed reality testing, impulse control, and empathy among other components of emotional intelligence.

Roger, I'm sorry.

The stats?  Yeah, they're important, but they've gotten so complicated in this Information Age they're mostly beyond my waning math abilities.  Being able to still enjoy the efforts of each player on the field?  It's why I'll always be a fan of the game.

Roger Maris's Retired Uniform Number Plaque, Legends Field / Steinbrenner Stadium, Tampa FL

Interested in learning more about emotional intelligence and its usefulness?
Contact me at parentehrg AT gmail.com.

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With the Sochi Winter Olympics coming to a close, I’m noticing that a particular piece of information shared about many of the athletes is stuck in my head:  “S/he is now coached by …”.  

Why would an elite athlete change things up in the face of prior success?  For the same reason we change – to achieve a different and / or better result.  

In my case, I needed to make some adjustments to how and where I spend my time.  I needed to re-capture making myself a priority, to find a better balance for better outcomes.  

To that end, I made the crazy decision to travel to Minnesota in December (who does that?) to spend time with Jane Kise and Ann Holm as they shared their wisdom with those of us participating in the inaugural Intentional Leadership Coaching Certification session.  That small (and significant) change in how I spent my time led to two others, one of which was an entirely unexpected outcome.  

First, I finally made it a priority to complete my certification to administer and interpret the EQ-i® (Emotional Intelligence) instrument.  It’s been on my personal development list for some time, and my use of the Intentional Leadership Audit™ helped me to achieve that goal.  

The other?  Spending time in the sub-zero, snow-packed Minneapolis-St Paul area forced me to buy new snow boots upon arrival in Minnesota.  With the bizarre winter we’ve had here in New Jersey, I’ve been more than prepared.  

Go figure!

Outside our conference room at the Minikahda Club.
Post-conference gathering before heading homeward.

I was able to capture this image in my back yard while traipsing about in my Minnesota snow boots.

Interested in how my coaching and consulting services can help you
focus on change?  Contact me at parentehrg AT gmail.com.
EQ-i / EQ-i 2.0 are registered trademarks of Multi-Health Systems, Inc., Toronto, Ontario CN.
Intentional Leadership Audit is a trademark of Differentiated Coaching Associates, LLC.,
Minneapolis, Minnesota US.