Influence & Emotional Intelligence

This post was adapted from a recent presentation given titled Sustainability Professionals: Build Your Influence with Emotional Intelligence.

When you think of leadership, do you ever think of the intersections it has with emotional intelligence and influence? Honestly, leadership is something that can be present in anything you do. When thinking about the qualities that make someone a good leader, you may think of the usual things: good communication, flexibility, willingness, clear focus, a plan, for example. Anyone can be a leader and demonstrate these skills, which all relate to emotional intelligence even if they are not always explicitly referred to as such! Do you ever consider how a leader may influence others? Have you ever considered some skills that may be helpful in expanding your influence in your work? Whether that be in a practice, program, or task that you are working on. Influence refers to the ability to work together with others towards a common goal or vision. By definition, emotional intelligence is “a set of emotional and social skills that are used in effective and meaningful ways.” This is taking into account your own feelings, emotions, and changing mindset, as well as those from other people. Emotional intelligence is the common denominator to good leadership and influence! Keeping in mind the circle in the image included above, it is important to note that emotional intelligence also relates to well-being. Although we aren’t focusing on it in greater detail here, it is important to note that well-being is key for sustainability leaders to maintain the momentum for the work that they do. 

You may be thinking, how would I determine my emotional intelligence? There are tools for that! You can check out some online resources to get a better understanding of how this works for you. Of course, these are soft skills that you can always build upon by yourself and based on the feedback that other people give you. Feedback is a good thing to seek out from people who you trust and who will provide you honest feedback. When trying to better yourself, you are not necessarily looking for the nicest friend, boss, or coworker. You want someone that will suggest things you need to work on rather than telling you that your leadership and emotional skills are great and do not need work. Look for someone that will respond to you in a kind and respectable manner, of course.

Knowing who you are emotionally brings about a level of self awareness, which is also referred to as the building block of emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is very important when considering how to bring about long term, positive change in whatever you are doing. A good leader can learn, grow, and  be influenced by others, in addition to influencing people's actions, thoughts, and ideas! Trust is required and must be maintained in order for influence to work as it should. INFLUENCE STARTS WITH YOU!

Keeping emotional intelligence in mind allows for:

• self- awareness (all about YOU—being aware of your feelings, your values, your purpose, what motivates you)

• empathy (recognizing, caring about, and understanding the views of others—their why, thought processes, reasons)

• self-expression— (sharing how you feel without taking away from the thoughts/feelings of another person, how you communicate with others in a way that allows them to gain trust in you)

Collaborating, adapting, and connecting.  These three things are important aspects of sustainability leadership, as highlighted in Leadership for Sustainability by R. Bruce Hull, David Robertson, and Michael Mortimer. For each of these, emotional intelligence is particularly useful. 

• Collaboration is important because you are often working with other people. This can be seen in the work you are doing like developing new programs, policies, protocols, for example. Emotional intelligence, particularly empathy, self-awareness, and self-expression, is important for collaboration. They all help a person determine how they interact with other people which is very useful in collaborating.

• Being open and resilient to change creates an understanding that not all things will go according to plan, and that is okay. Adaptability is a skill that some may not think about often. Take a moment to think about the past year and a half. Although not easy, the world as a collective had to adapt to ongoing changes and I am sure that this also happened in your personal life as well! What we all knew to be normal was disrupted and our routine was shaken up a bit. Having a mindset of adaptability is extremely important, yet tough because we are creatures of habit and order and expect things to go as planned. Emotional intelligence supports resilience particularly stress tolerance, flexibility, and optimism. Without knowing these things about your own emotional intelligence, change and being adaptable may be a little more challenging.

• Making and forming connections is key to building relationships with others. Having a good relationship with the people, groups, or organizations you are working with creates a healthy working environment. This connection piece can be seen in one of two ways—connecting people together or with resources. Both have value and can be helpful regardless of what you are working on. The emotional intelligence skill of interpersonal relationships is especially relevant here.  Interpersonal relationships and skills are very important when establishing and maintaining trust with the people you are connecting with.

In sustainability work, everything is interconnected--there are always many moving parts. In order to be effective in whatever you are doing, it is good to understand the emotions, talents, and needs of everyone to make sure that everyone is in the place they need to be to work toward the common goal. Ensuring that everyone’s strengths are being leveraged creates an environment that is productive. 

How can you enhance your emotional intelligence, influence and leadership this week?

1. For self awareness, write down the strongest emotion you experienced this week and some thoughts about how you felt. What did you feel? What brought about this feeling? Create a space for yourself to reflect and really give this a try. This will bring you closer to your emotions and a step closer to strengthening your emotional intelligence.

2. Self expression is pretty similar to self awareness but they have their distinctions. To practice self expression, consider being transparent and outwardly sharing how you feel rather than just keeping it to yourself. Do you have an opinion on something that other people do not share? Of course you do. Having different viewpoints and opinions on topics makes people unique and can bring about great conversation. You can learn and grow from people as long as everyone’s feelings and emotions are respected. Self expression allows you to stick up for yourself and your opinions without taking away from the feelings of others. Have you ever scrolled on social media and saw a post or comment thread about something you were passionate about? Were you nervous to respond to the post out of fear that you will be judged for your thinking or anything? The next time this happens I challenge you to express your thoughts on the post. This can be difficult, but will get you into the mindset to start expressing how you feel about certain things. It is also important to note that in order for this to be the most effective, you have to know how and when it is a good time to express your emotions. 

3. For empathy, talk to a friend about something you know they have a different opinion on.  Listen and understand their “why”.  This could be something as simple as what’s better, the beach or the mountains! Oftentimes, we hear what people are saying but are not actively listening to what is being said. Really think about the other person's feelings, thought processes, and emotions. This will be a good tool to always go back to.

4. Another exercise to do to practice empathy is to try not to be too judgemental or critical. Everyone has their own biases, but when practicing empathy it is important to recognize them and set them aside the best you can. Doing this really will allow for you to understand where the other person is coming from. This can be practiced in everyday life such as during conversations, in the workplace, or with family, for example.

Blog written by guest blogger Tyrah Cobb-Davis, a current master’s student at University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) pursuing a degree in Geography and Environmental Systems. She is a trainee in the Interdisciplinary Consortium for Applied Research in the Environment (ICARE) program, a program that strives to engage the local community in environmental research and bring more diversity to the environmental field. More information about her can be found on LinkedIn. 

Sustainability books for your career search

As a coach specializing in the sustainability field, I often talk to people who are looking for advice on find a meaningful career where they can make a difference for the future of our planet. Many of these conversations are with the graduate students at the Virginia Tech Center for Leadership in Global Sustainability (CLiGS), where I consult, and where I earned my Executive Master’s and developed a deeper understanding of sustainability issues and careers. 

There are lots of books related to green careers and sustainability—how to get a job in a sustainability field, applying sustainability principles to business, etc. And there are books dedicated to a particular sustainability subject (e.g., plastics, climate, food). This post is about career books. Below are recommendations of four books, with summaries to help you decide which one you want to read first.

Profession and Purpose: A resource guide for MBA careers in sustainability, by Katie Kross (2009; 2017 update)

Profession and Purpose, while geared toward MBA students and graduates, can be useful to non-MBAs as well. It includes information and tips on different career paths in fields such as corporate social responsibility, consulting, energy, real estate, NGOs, and investing. For each of these fields, Ms. Kross includes keywords that you can use in your job searches, a list of potential employers, skills needed, examples of actual roles at specific companies, and key resources. She then explains what the career paths might entail and includes tips on how to go about the job search. For each career path she includes a profile of an MBA alum who has acquired a job in that particular career, or multiple profiles. An entire section of the book is focused on job search resources, including advice on how to identify sustainable companies, news and blog websites, job posting websites, books, and events. 

The book includes two frameworks to narrow your job search: 

1. By functional discipline: Whether you are interested in strategy, finance and accounting, marketing, operations, supply chain, or general management, this book includes a chart outlining disciplines and the potential sustainability careers within each. It also includes a table of actual positions at organizations in each discipline, which can serve as a helpful guide to navigating organizational structures. 

2) By organization and role: Once you identify the functional discipline(s) that interest you the most, think about the role and type of organization where you’d apply those skills. Ms. Kross provides a useful matrix with four quadrants: traditional roles in traditional companies/organizations; sustainability roles in traditional companies/organizations; traditional roles in sustainability-focused companies/organizations; and sustainability roles in sustainability-focused companies/organizations. 

Tailoring the Green Suit: Empowering yourself for an executive career in the new green economy, by Dan Smolen (2011)

Even if you’re not at the executive level, it offers information you may find useful, such as the history of the green economy and how to incorporate environmentally preferable practices in your personal life.

As with other sustainability careers books, Tailoring the Green Suit starts by defining what a green job is. For the purposes of this book, it is a job at a company that has a positive impact on the triple bottom line, that has good corporate governance practices, and that encourages green business training and education, among other qualities. The author breaks these jobs into “obvious green business executive jobs” (those with direct impact on the environment or a company’s environmental policy, such as sustainability officers, environmental engineers, environmental attorneys, climatologists, renewable energy managers, environmental scientists, or urban planners, to name a few) and “not-so-obvious green business executive jobs” (jobs at companies that at first glance may not seem to be green, but that have sustainability practices in place that positively impact the triple bottom line).

Mr. Smolen sets out steps for moving into a new career, including getting an advanced degree, updating your resume, and working with an executive recruiter. He also touches on personal branding and expertise, including speaking and writing about green business topics, mentoring others, and taking steps in your personal life to be more green. He provides ideas for executives to establish their green cred within their current businesses, such as by developing sustainability programs and encouraging environmentally-friendly commuting options. The book finishes with a chapter on starting your own green business with a handful of suggestions to get you thinking.

Sustainability at Work: Careers that make a difference, by Marilyn Waite (2017)

This book provides in-depth information on important aspects of sustainability and sustainable development. It also helps those who want to know how they can incorporate sustainability considerations into their current (or future) role. Ms. Waite’s book is organized by sector (e.g., health care, law, economics, education). She describes each sector, the different roles within each sector, and how to incorporate sustainability considerations into those roles. Ms. Waite evaluates careers in each sector using her SURF framework: considerations related to supply chain, users, internal and external relationships, and future generations. 

Ms. Waite clearly has done significant research. She has traveled to distant parts of the globe to meet with and interview people in sustainability careers, whose stories she includes in the book. She shows her research at the end of each chapter with a thorough list of resources and references. She also includes practical tips for professionals in each sector, including reference guides to be familiar with, professional networks to join, conferences to attend, and publications to read and contribute to. She also educates the reader on sustainability terminology, frameworks, standards, and guidelines.

Sustainability Jobs: The complete guide to landing your dream job, by Kevin Wilhelm (2016)

This is a very practical how-to-get-a-career-in-sustainability book. It has six sections, some with accompanying worksheets. 

Who are you and what you want. This chapter covers your inventory of needs and wants, your networks, and identifying your next step. It helps you think through ways of getting experience, in your current position or through volunteering, that will make you more competitive in the job market.

Exploring your options. This covers how to create your own position and how to make the business case for sustainability. Mr. Whilhelm’s approach is to inventory your skills and then layer sustainability on top of that. For instance, if you are in finance: What relevant skills do you have? Then, consider how to bring your expertise to the sustainability realm. Businesses need finance, legal, marketing, etc. specialists, and if you understand sustainability you can differentiate yourself.

Target your job search. Narrow the job search by eliminating possibilities and really focusing your search. This section also covers setting a schedule and timeline for your search. It includes developing a list of companies and positions that are right for you, by creating keywords for job searching, finding companies that interest you and following them, and finding contacts at those companies. Finally, it advises figuring out what skills you may lack and developing a plan to get them.

Tailor your resume. This section provides tips, and examples of a good resume, a bad resume, and a bad cover letter. Some tips worth mentioning: List only up to six skills, and make sure those are your best ones. Put relevant experience at the top, even if it’s not the most recent. The top third of your resume is most important. Three or four bullets for each position on your resume is enough.

Execution. Networking is how to get it done. This section is the longest of the book, which makes sense given that most jobs are not posted publicly and instead come from someone in your network.

Interviewing and informational interviews. This section includes a checklist for preparing for an interview, and how to address tough questions such as explaining your weaknesses or non-paid work experience.

Finally, the book includes resources, including a list of books to read and advice from individuals in sustainability careers.

Whether you read one or all of these books, each provides useful insights into the variety of careers related to sustainability, and considerations for getting one of those positions.