EQ

An MEA alum was trying to apply my two types of mentorship theory to a young, high-po (“potential”) leader, but was frustrated. The alum said to me, “Can you really teach emotional intelligence to someone who doesn’t care about EQ?”

Attain: “to achieve through effort” Attune: “to adjust as to be harmonious” Atone: “to make reparations for a sin, crime, or error” At one: “in a state of harmony or accord”

We measure our days by what we do. We measure our lives by who we are. Our daily “to-do” list is stuffed full of urgency. I feel such a rush when I’ve crossed off the last item on my list (i.e, picking up my dry cleaning). At the end of the day, though, it’s just a sugar rush.

If I had one piece of advice to offer any leader, it’s this simple, but profound question you would pose to each of your direct reports, “How can I support you to do the best work of your life?” We live in worlds our questions create. This thoughtfully-conceived question can illuminate someone’s life path.

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.” American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr crafted this well-known and loved invocation during the Great Depression, and it’s become a touchstone of the global twelve-step community.

EQ vs. AI. Is it a battle or a partnership? Is emotional intelligence valuable in a world that is increasingly reliant on machine learning? Those were the questions we faced at our AARP #DisruptAging Salon three nights ago in San Francisco. We had 20 MEA alums and several faculty members to help us find the answers.

Wisdom is about pattern recognition. It’s time for investors to recognize a pattern that is destroying value and making a mess of companies. The start-up game isn’t the same as the keep-it-up game. Start-ups are full of idealism and chutzpah, charisma and hubris. But, these blitzkrieg tactics wear thin when the keep-it-up game requires diplomacy with regulators, humility with competitors and clients, empathy with employees, and stamina to run further than a start-up sprint.