In Linkedin Human Resources Malaysia group discussion, “A monthly Gathering and Networking Event for Human Resource Practitioners of Malaysia” was proposed and the first get-together was held on 15th Sept. 2011 at Mid-Valley, Gardens, KL.

This write up is my personal experience and observations of the event.

First of all, gratitude to the organizers for making the event a great happening.

“Open Space” conversation approach was used, whereby different participants generated their own topics for conversation, thereby attracting those interested. Several conversations took place simultaneously.

The following is my experience with one of the conversation groups.

Initiator put up a conversation topic : “What is the meaning of work?”

The person concerned is a recruitment specialist, witnesses a lot of people keep changing jobs for higher salary and/or not happy with the current work.

The conversation led to a more fundamental question : “What is the purpose of life?” “Do I know my True Self?”, not just what is the meaning of work.

Being an EP coach, I facilitated a role-play to enhance group learning, and I role-played a typical staff wanting to join another company:

“I am an IT professional, making significant contribution to my company. My effort and commitment is certainly more than RM 3000 a month I get for donkey years. My self-worth should be RM 5000 a month. I am not greedy for more money, I am talking about my self-esteem, my self-pride, the need to be appreciated and recognised. I am totally frustrated and angry ….”

“….…”

I deliberately acted with a lot of emotional charges which I often encountered from clients in my EP coaching.

As the group members are not familiar with coaching, and less so on handling EQ, I shared with them the importance of emotional intelligence. What appears obvious on the surface are mere symptoms, e.g. changing jobs, lack of commitment of staff, or managerial behaviours, or business performance, the important focus is the underlying drivers : the belief system, the emotions, the psychology.

I also shared some of my coaching cases.

Then the role-play was reversed, another member played the role as the staff wanting to change job.

“I want to seek higher paying job.”

“What happen when you get higher pay?”

“I am happier. The more money I honestly earn, the more happy I will be.”

“Where did you learn this life-formula : ‘More money means more happiness?’”

I explained again that behaviour can be driven by a belief system, which can be limiting or incomplete. If such behaviour is compulsive, habitual or excessive, it is wise to explore the underlying emotions and psychology at play.

Similarly in an organization, issues of business performance, productivity, customer satisfaction, product or service quality, staff commitment …. are mere symptoms : tips of the iceberg. To counter various issues in the organization or business with more consultancy, training (which imply more logic, intellect, principle, theories, system and process), may not bring closer to the intended visions, until the underlying drivers are brought into consciousness.

On the subject of “What is the purpose of life?” , “Do I know my True Self?”, I commented on the possible hidden potentials of a member, using that person’s name, which has stored energies. The person was surprised that I hit on the right nail, echoing the current challenges faced.

I further shared that Number Psychology can be a more powerful, effective and fast tool to help another to understand his or her personality, motivations, life path, hidden potentials etc. as compared with other profiling instrument like Myers-Briggs, DICS etc.

Indeed, this “A monthly Gathering and Networking Event for Human Resource Practitioners of Malaysia” is a good learning event for me: namely ..

• From the initial intellectual discussion, members are open to share their personal values and belief systems, with some emotional charges triggered.

As an organizational observer for near 30 years, corporation or business stands a better change for profound transformation when focus is not just on intellect, mental activities with logic, rationale, theories, principles, system and process, but also to engage the emotional energies, the EQ.

When individuals have blurred clarity of “What is the purpose of life?” “Do I know my True Self?”,.. collectively in an organization, little alignment can be achieved, thereby unable to mobilize the collective mental and emotional intelligences to manifest the enormous hidden organizational potentials.

End.

Note: Another coaching article on “IQ Vs EQ of an organizational leader” (Please click)

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