Developing Contributory Skills – II

Reading Material
Compiled by Sham Sachinwala

Q) What is Emotional Intelligence?

Emotional intelligence is a set of emotional and social skills that collectively establish how
well we perceive and express ourselves, develop and maintain social relationships, cope with
challenges and use emotional information in an effective and meaningful way. Basically, it is
a predictor of success in life and work.

Q) Which are the components of Emotional Intelligence?

1) Self-awareness
 This is considered the foundation for all the other components of emotional intelligence.
 Self-awareness means being aware of what you are feeling; being conscious of the
emotions within yourself.
 People who are in touch with their emotions are better able to guide their own lives.
 Team members need to be in touch with their emotions to interact effectively and
appreciate emotions in others.
2) Self-management
 This is the second key component of emotional intelligence in managing emotions.
 Self-management is your ability to control your emotions.
 Operationally it means that team members need to be able to balance their own moods
so that worry, anxiety, fear or anger do not get in the way of what needs to be done.
 Those who can manage their emotions perform better because they are able to think
clearly.
3) Social awareness
 Being socially aware means that you understand how to react to different social
situations, and effectively modify your interactions with other people so that you can
achieve the best results.
 It also means being aware of the world around you and how different environments
influence people.
 Increasing social awareness means improving your skills to connect with others
verbally, nonverbally and in the community.
4) Relationship management
 The final component of emotional intelligence is the ability to connect with others,
build positive relationships, respond to the emotions of others and influence others on
the team.
  Relationship management includes the identification, analysis and management of
relationships with people inside and outside of your team as well as their development.
 It is also vital in negotiating successfully, resolving conflicts and working with others
toward a shared goal.
Q) What is time management?
 “Time management” is the process of organizing and planning how to divide your time
between specific activities.
 Good time management enables you to work smarter – not harder.
 Get more done in less time, even when time is tight and pressures are high.
 Failing to manage your time damages your effectiveness and causes stress.
Q) What is Action – Priority Matrix?
The Action Priority Matrix is a time management tool that enables you to make the most of
your time by helping you choose the right tasks and opportunities to pursue.
The four quadrants are defined as follows:
1. Quick Wins
These are tasks requiring little effort but which have a high impact. As such, they are very
attractive because they have high returns for a small outlay of energy.
Completing quick wins should be your highest priority, and you should concentrate on these
tasks as much as you can.
2. Major Projects
These are tasks that can give you significant results (impact), but unlike quick wins, they
require you to invest a lot of time into them.
These types of tasks should be your next priority after quick wins. You’ll need to invest a lot
of time into these projects to get them done but be careful not to let these tasks consume all of
your time.
3. Fill-Ins
These are tasks that require a low effort for you to perform, but they also have little impact on
your results.
You use these tasks to fill in your time. You should only perform these tasks if you have the
time available after working on your quick wins and major projects.
Consider delegating these tasks if you have that as an option. Alternatively, consider dropping
these tasks altogether if possible.
4. Thankless Tasks
These are tasks which have a low impact but which still require a high effort.
You should aim to completely eliminate these tasks, as they are not worth your time to
complete.
Q) How you will use Action – Priority Matrix?
To use the model, follow these four steps:
1. Make a complete list of all of your tasks.
2. Score your tasks for effort and impact. You can use any scale you like to do this, but a
simple 1-10 scale works well, where one is very low, and ten is very high.
3. Place each activity in the matrix according to its effort and impact scores.
4. Prioritize your activities:
a. Give quick wins the highest priority.
b. Spend the remaining time on your major projects. You should spend the
majority of your time on these tasks.
c. If you have any remaining time, do your fill-in activities. Otherwise, delegate
or drop these tasks.
d. Eliminate thankless tasks. Spend absolutely zero time performing these tasks.
Q) Give example of Action – Priority Matrix.
1. Quick Win Examples
 Attend the lectures.
 Practice practical’s learnt in class daily.
 Stay at Home during Corona Pandemic.
2. Major Project Examples
 Reading completely Business Analytics Class Notes.
 Finish Summer Internship Project documentation.
 Preparing a detailed assignment.
3. Fill-In Examples
 Book train tickets to attend a conference.
 Pay electricity or telephone bills.
 Deal with low-priority emails.
4. Thankless Task Examples
 Gossiping with friends.
 Spend most of the time on Facebook.
Q) What are the benefits of Time Management?
1. Stress relief
Making and following a task schedule reduces anxiety. As you check off items on your “to-
do” list, you can see that you are making tangible progress. This helps you avoid feeling
stressed out with worry about whether you’re getting things done.
2. More time
Good time management gives you extra time to spend in your daily life. People who can time-
manage effectively enjoy having more time to spend on hobbies or other personal pursuits.
3. More opportunities
Managing time well leads to more opportunities and less time wasted on trivial activities.
4. Ability to realize goals
Individuals who practice good time management are able to better achieve goals and objectives,
and do so in a shorter length of time.
Q) List points for effective time management.
1. Set goals correctly
Set goals that are achievable and measurable. Use the SMART method when setting goals. In
essence, make sure the goals you set are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and
Timely.
2. Prioritize wisely
Prioritize tasks based on importance and urgency. For example, look at your daily tasks and
determine which are:
 Important and urgent: Do these tasks right away.
 Important but not urgent: Decide when to do these tasks.
 Urgent but not important: Delegate these tasks if possible.
 Not urgent and not important: Set these aside to do later.
3. Set a time limit to complete a task
Setting time constraints for completing tasks helps you be more focused and efficient. Making
the small extra effort to decide on how much time you need to allot for each task can also help
you recognize potential problems before they arise. That way you can make plans for dealing
with them.
4. Take a break between tasks
When doing a lot of tasks without a break, it is harder to stay focused and motivated. Allow
some downtime between tasks to clear your head and refresh yourself. Consider grabbing a
brief nap, going for a short walk, or meditating.
5. Organize yourself
Utilize your calendar for more long-term time management. Write down the deadlines for
projects, or for tasks that are part of completing the overall project. Think about which days
might be best to dedicate to specific tasks. For example, you might need to plan a meeting to
discuss cash flow on a day when you know the company CFO is available.
6. Remove non-essential tasks/activities
It is important to remove excess activities or tasks. Determine what is significant and what
deserves your time. Removing non-essential tasks/activities frees up more of your time to be
spent on genuinely important things.
7. Plan ahead
Make sure you start every day with a clear idea of what you need to do – what needs to get
done THAT DAY. Consider making it a habit to, at the end of each workday, go ahead and
write out your “to-do” list for the next workday. That way you can hit the ground running the
next morning.
Q) What is Lateral Thinking?
Lateral thinking means taking a creative approach to a problem or challenge.
It essentially means being able to think creatively or "outside the box" in order to solve a
problem.
Usually, logical thinking is used to solve problems in a direct, straightforward way (also known
as vertical thinking). Lateral thinking however, looks at things from a sideways perspective
(also known as horizontal thinking), in order to find answers that aren't immediately apparent.
The term was first coined by psychologist Edward de Bono.
Q) Explain what is 6 thinking hats method of decision making?
Six Thinking Hats or Edward de Bono’s Six Hats is a good decision making technique and
method for group discussions and individual thinking. It is a means to organize thinking
processes in a detailed and cohesive manner. "Six Thinking Hats" can help you to look at
problems from different perspectives, but one at a time, to avoid confusion from too many
angles crowding your thinking.
Each "Thinking Hat" is a different style of thinking. These are explained below:
White Hat: with this thinking hat, you focus on the available data. Look at the information
that you have, analyze past trends, and see what you can learn from it. Look for gaps in your
knowledge, and try to either fill them or take account of them.
Red Hat: "wearing" the Red Hat, you look at problems using your intuition, gut reaction, and
emotion. Also, think how others could react emotionally. Try to understand the responses of
people who do not fully know your reasoning.
Black Hat: using Black Hat thinking, look at a decision's potentially negative outcomes. Look
at it cautiously and defensively. Try to see why it might not work. This is important because it
highlights the weak points in a plan. It allows you to eliminate them, alter them, or prepare
contingency plans to counter them.
Yellow Hat: this hat helps you to think positively. It is the optimistic viewpoint that helps you
to see all the benefits of the decision and the value in it. Yellow Hat thinking helps you to keep
going when everything looks gloomy and difficult.
Green Hat: the Green Hat represents creativity. This is where you develop creative solutions
to a problem. It is a freewheeling way of thinking, in which there is little criticism of ideas.
(You can explore a range of creativity tools to help you.)
Blue Hat: this hat represents process control. It's the hat worn by people chairing meetings,
for example. When facing difficulties because ideas are running dry, they may direct activity
into Green Hat thinking. When contingency plans are needed, they will ask for Black Hat
thinking.
 The White Hat calls for information known or needed. "The facts, just the
facts."

The Yellow Hat symbolizes brightness and optimism. Under this hat you
explore the positives and probe for value and benefit.

The Black Hat is judgment - the devil's advocate or why something may
not work. Spot the difficulties and dangers; where things might go wrong.
Probably the most powerful and useful of the Hats but a problem if
overused.

The Red Hat signifies feelings, hunches and intuition. When using this hat
you can express emotions and feelings and share fears, likes, dislikes,
loves, and hates.

The Green Hat focuses on creativity; the possibilities, alternatives, and

new ideas. It's an opportunity to express new concepts and new
perceptions.

The Blue Hat is used to manage the thinking process. It's the control
mechanism that ensures the Six Thinking Hats guidelines are observed.

Q) What is Level 5 Leadership?

Jim Collins s conducted a research project to discover what distinguished so-called “good”
companies from “great” ones. Collins’s discovery was based on a hierarchy of capabilities and
traits discovered during his study. He classified the leaders into 5 levels hierarchy.
Level 1: Highly Capable Individuals
Highly capable individuals are regular workers who are talented, knowledgeable, and skilled.
They are effective in the workplace.
Level 2: The Contributing Team member
Contributing team members are good at working with others and are notably proficient at
helping their groups reach objectives.
Level 3: The Competent manager
Competent managers can effectively oversee people and resources, helping to achieve
predetermined goals.
Level 4: The Effective Leader
Effective leaders can steer their companies toward well-defined, compelling goals. They also
keep their organizations functioning at high levels of performance.
Level 5: The Executive
Executives have the unique capability to develop a company’s greatness through what Collins
identifies as “a paradoxical combination of personal humility plus professional will.”

Q) How to achieve Level 5 Leadership?

1. Level 5 leaders understand the importance of putting people first and strategy second. This
means finding the right people for the organization, getting rid of the wrong ones, and
putting employees in the appropriate positions, all before addressing business tactics.
2. Accepting difficult realities of a business’s current condition, while believing that the
organization will one day rise above them.
3. Truly great organizations gradually build up momentum like a flywheel until a
“breakthrough” moment where overwhelming success clicks into place. This element is
defined by a company’s commitment to a slow and steady build.
4. Understanding three things:
a. What a company is capable of being best at
b. How its economics can work most effectively
c. What best makes its people passionate
Focusing on these three factors, Collins explains, eliminates unnecessary and
unprofitable efforts elsewhere.
5. Great companies have a particular relationship with technology. On the one hand, they
refrain from using technology simply because it’s trendy or cutting edge. However, they
do make investments in technologies that help contribute to its mission. These decisions
are made with a careful and discerning eye.
6. Collins believes great companies exhibit remarkable discipline in three areas: people,
thought and action.
a. Disciplined people, he explains, eliminate the need for hierarchy.
b. Disciplined thought removes bureaucracy.
c. And disciplined action eliminates the need for excessive control.
Together, all three result in extraordinary business performance.
Q) What is Career Planning?
Career planning is the self-evaluation & planning done by a person to have a strong career path.
Career planning process in the continuous reiterative process of understanding oneself, setting
career goals, revising skills and searching for the right career options. It is a step-wise process
which enables an individual to focus on where to want to be in life professionally.
Q) Explain Career Planning Process?
Career planning process is an important aspect for an individual’s career development. Some
of the basic steps in a career planning process are:
1. Self-Assessment: The first step in the career planning process is self-assessment to be done
by the individual to understand his or her skills, areas of interest etc.
2. Research on Careers: The second step in the career planning process is to understand the
career options, companies available, growth options in career etc.
3. Set Career Objectives: The next step in the career planning is to set short-term as well as
long-term career goals for oneself, and to have a clear career path.
4. Learn & Improve Skills: The fourth step in the career planning process is to keep acquiring
new skills and knowledge to be in line with career objectives and with industry requirements.
5. Preparation of CV: The next step in the career planning is to be fully prepared in terms of
CV, cover letter, recommendations etc.
6. Job Search: The sixth step in the career planning process is to short-list the companies where
an individual is seeking a job & start applying.
7. Revise Career Goals: The last step in the career planning process is to continuously evaluate
the career goals and again do a self-assessment to build a strong career path.