209: Why Paying Attention Is the Start Point of Emotional Intelligence

What’s required for a person with technical expertise to develop Emotional Intelligence (EI)? Susan Schwartz provides excellent insights and examples in this interview. As a high tech professional and leader, Susan learned the importance of developing EI in order to work effectively with her team. And now she coaches professionals in technical fields on how to become more effective as leaders of people.

Susan Schwartz is a leadership and management coach. For more than 20 years prior to that, she led teams herself and coached professionals to their next career level. Her Expert To Excellence® programs are designed to help knowledge experts in technical fields make sense of intangible leadership concepts and equip them to create amazing, collaborative teams. She uses the EQ-I 2.0 assessment to help them identify

Susan is the author of Creating a Greater Whole: A Project Manager’s Guide to Becoming a Leader. In this excellent book she unlocks the not-so-secret secrets of how aspiring managers can become strong leaders.

She also serves on the Executive Committee of the weekly group, Inclusive Leadership in a Virtual World (ILVW), where she and Meredith first met. If you’re committed to growing as a leader, this is an outstanding group to be a part of.

You’ll discover:

The one skill that’s at the core of all other leadership skills
What technical professionals struggle with most when they transition from individual contributor to leader
Why Susan emphasizes the importance of Reflective Exercises to learn from your experiences
Success stories of clients who’ve raised their emotional intelligence as a result of Susan’s coaching