Coaching with Computers?

1. Achieving work life balance with Australian executives

Carla, a senior corporate executive from Adelaide, Australia, had success in her professional life. Her company hit all its goals, the business grew, and her staff seemed happy. Yet she felt something missing, and she couldn’t put her finger on why she felt so stressed and unhappy. She decided to seek the expertise of her coach, Angela Giacoumis of Careerlink. Using the SEI assessment, Angela provided Carla with objective feedback and a framework for understanding her strengths and competencies under the Six Seconds Model of Emotional Intelligence. The Neural Network, Angela says, turned out to be the “icing on the cake” that helped give Carla practical actions to help turn her life around.

Angela says of her client:

“She was very driven, highly effective, built relationships, and had high drive, optimism, motivation, empathy and purpose scores. At the same time, she had a low score on wellbeing and quality of life. She was working extremely long hours, and so when we initially looked at the SEI data, we explored the implications of high drive and empathy, especially if the empathy is all about giving to others. She was giving so much to others and forsaking her own health and wellness.” After this conversation, Carla went home and thought about some strategies for shifting her situation so that she could practice empathy for herself and her family. Angela then showed her the Neural Net report.

2. Improving customer service at Middle Eastern airline 

These are tough times in the airline industry, with stresses between customers and employees showing up in dramatic ways. But at Qatar Airways, a company that has embraced EQ as a way of inspiring its employees to provide great customer service, the Neural Net has been a boost to an already successful program of EQ training. Kevin Herft is Manager Cabin Services Training at Qatar Airways. He writes,

“EQ has enabled us to change the way we view our vision for the training department and the organization. The focal point of the business is now not just customer service but also the customer experiences and emotional connections that are created. People make choices based on emotions. As such, it is important that our staff feel good and that they deliver that positive energy to our customers. The positive reputation of the EQ workshops has spread to other business units and departments. As a result, I have received requests from the IT, Finance and Engineering teams to attend the EQ classes.”

Once Kevin started using the Neural Net, along with the SEI assessment report, he found another way to help employees give better service and be happier in their jobs. He says it’s easy to understand for clients and coaches.

“The Neural Net is structured in a methodical manner, and the questions posed, specifically under the Success Factors section provides clarity for both parties. Feedback from learners is that the questions were a great tool for helping them to reflect and to think of action plans. The nature of the questions triggered curiosity amongst the learners: they wanted to learn more and there were some who asked if they could implement their action plans and retake the questionnaire after 3 months. There were many learners who were surprised with the accuracy of the report.”

Kevin says that for coaches, it adds a level of depth and meaning and practical language that they previously have not had.

“The coaches on the other hand commented that the previous report showed an average score of the Success Factors, whereas, the Neural Net provides a report that is personalized and which guides the end-user to focus on areas of strength as well as developmental strengths. Overall, it’s insightful data for dialogue.”