A common required attribute on job postings is self motivation.  Chatting with some  colleagues today it occurred to me just how key a high level of self motivation is to being happy with what you do.

Don’t tell me what to do!

If you are one of those types that doesn’t take direction well, and there are a few of us out there, being self motivated can really help.  When someone tells you what to do they often find it’s already done.

One of the key reasons self motivation is a desired skill for job applicants is because those employees typically require less direction or supervision.

More importantly though continually looking for things to do and keeping active both fosters and is a sign of happiness.

Although We don’t always consciously recognize it, numerous psychology studies have proven being active and contentedness and overall  feeling of well being are linked.

This positive effect from being active is lost to some extent if your activity is primarily directed by others rather than self directed.

Get Going

So take charge, find your own way.  Don’t let yourself be dictated to by the problems around you.  Break out, find a way, get it done.

Bullying behavior is generally aggressive and hurtful.

For those that practice this techique it is a way to reinforce superiority and can certainly be an effective way to get things done, but care is advised.

Caution does need to be applied particularly if your behaviour is too aggressive and too frequent , you can get a bad reputation or even experience negative consequences.

On occassion, the results you reap can come back to bite you.  Consider the example of Martin Winterkorn , former CEO of Volkswagen who has been accused of openly berating employees.  This behavior has been linked to the recent scandal the company  has experienced, as one of the contributing factors.

Working effectively with Aggressive Behavior

As hard as it is to do, poking the bully, in the nicest possible way, is often the best approach.  That is, standing up for yourself.  Typically this is hard to do in the short term but over the long term its an effective technique to waylay bully’s in the workplace.

The best and most effective alternate to this approach is to leave.  Basically a polite statement about not appreciating the abuse and just leaving.

The biggest problem with these approaches of course is the organizational power structure.  When you are lower in an organizational heirarchy there is a tendency to just accept the aggressive feedback as if there is no choice.

Of course potential consequences contribute to this acceptance as well.

Easy Advice to Give

When you are not the target,  it is easy to suggest fighting back (in a gentle and non violent way) but if in the long run this recommendation can   not resolve an issue,  the only other good alternative is to exit.  The road most often chosen.

The European Union, Denmark, Switzerland and Japan all have negative central bank interest rates.  This means you are charged for deposits held by the central banks in these area/countries.

Chartered/Commercial Banks

The economies of these places with negative central bank rates are based on the fractional reserve system.  This means commercial banks operating there need to maintain a specified minimum reserve deposit with the central bank.

The commercial banks earn interest revenue on the money that has been deposited with them for safekeeping.   To obtain deposits they pay the depositor a fee (interest on the amount deposited).  The bank charges a higher fee (interest) on the money they lend and the difference is their profit.

In the past funds lodged with the central banks as reserves also earned the commercial bank interest, this could be added to loan revenue and less what they paid depositors equaled profit.

In the areas with negative central bank rates the formula is reversed – it is now loan revenue less reserve holding cost less deposit costs.

On the surface, one would expect the commercial banks reserve holding costs to be factored into their deposit rates (i.e. lower deposit rates) so profit remained at least static.  This has not happened yet, explicitly anyway, although I won’t be holding my breath.

Why do I Care?

Both Canada and the US central banks have been publicly  exploring the potential use of negative interest rates to increase spending in the economy.  It is a very real possibility.

What else happens?

Government bonds start to be issued with negative rates (this is already occurring in Switzerland, Denmark and the EU).    If low risk government bonds is a preferred investment vehicle you may rethink that approach and spend the money, invest in economic activity (the equity market) or put cash under your mattress (this being the lowest risk way of protecting your capital).

Hows this working out?

Japan just implemented negative rates last week but the other areas have been trying it out for more than a year with so far little positive change in their economies.

What do proponents like about this idea?

Simply put, negative interest rates discourage saving.  If you are not saving you are spending.  Spending causes the economy to grow.  Of course this is not absolute logical as you might not save with a bank but you might hold bank notes (cash) which won’t help the economy.

Or you might spend on things that fail – a start-up investment for example.  This does not help the economy and will make you sad.

In Summary

You may soon be punished for saving (whether for retirement or other purposes) or forced to higher risk investments.  All for an idea that has not worked, and in my humble opinion – won’t.

Earlier this week I posted about IQ and EQ.  Today I want to explore a specific model for EQ behaviors including some thoughts around actions you can take to improve your EQ.

The Model

Think of your emotional intelligence behaviors as falling into three groups:

• Constructive actions
  –  Achievement Focused
  –  Self-actualizing
  –  Humanistic/Encouraging
• Passive/Defensive Actions
  –   Avoidance
  –  Dependent
  –  Conventional
  –   Seeking approval
• Aggressive/Attack Actions
  –  Perfectionism
  –  Competative
  –  Power
  –  Oppositional

In this model it is recognized that on average we all exhibit these behavior types.  The question is how are they exercised (effectively/appropriately) and when (how often and mapped to situation)

Through studies, it have been shown, based on this model those with a high level of EQ overall are rated high for Constructive behaviors, Medium for Aggressive/Attack behavior and low for Passive/Defensive ones.

The ratings of high, medium and low are subjectively applied through anonymous survey questions by those that regularly interact with you.  These survey questions are structured so the high, medium, low scores include assessment of how effectively the behaviors are used.

How does this help?

If you can obtain an independent assessment of these behaviors (both from those who know you and yourself) it can help highlight the areas you wish to continue or change your behavior.

However, even without a formal assessment and anonymous feedback just self assessing yourself can be helpful.

Most of us can recognize when we are employing a specific group of behaviors. For example if we are acting competitively,  exercising our granted power just because can or being contrary (opposing) just because we want to we are in the aggressive space.

The aggressive practices have their place but ask yourself – am I pushing too hard, do I spend a lot of time, even most of my time acting this way?

If yes, maybe you want to try self-actualizing more often (a constructive behavior) that is all about internal analysis and understanding of your actions and how effective they are.  That is to say what are others seeing might not be getting the best results.

Practical Application

I have been fortunate to have participated in this type of assessment twice over the course of ten years.

On both occasions my own view of my behavior profile and that of peers, subordinates and managers mapped completely, and generally conformed to the model in terms of which behaviors should be high, medium and low.

This does not happen by accident.  Continually reviewing how I behave (both by thinking about it and questioning others) has been the cornerstone of my self awareness which results in behaving appropriately for the optimal effect.

The point is, if you know how you are trying to behave, you are more likely to both do it and sustain it ongoing.

You might not agree with this model and the way you mix, match and practice these behaviors is definitely individual.  The key though is being aware of how you are acting and checking that it is working as intended.

Four provinces in Canada have an official statutory holiday called family day.   The Province of Alberta was the first.  In Alberta the inagural Family day holiday was the third Monday of February in 1990.

It was not until17 years later that Saskatchewan signed on, followed by British Columbia and Ontario.  This year Albertans celebrate the 26th time the holiday has occurred.

Unlike National holidays like Canada day, Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter it is refreshing to have a holiday that is not driven by commercialism.  There are no special gifts or foods associated with the day.

There is no standard practices or customs associated with this day.   If you just want to take a day off work and spend some qaulity time with your family,even if just a family of one, that is okay.

Read a book, Dance a Jig, Chat with your Children

I very much appreciate a regulated day off work.  I could work and be paid extra, if my employer offered, or rather I can  just use my imagination.  Free time at my doorstep, the possibilities are endless.

Most importantly for me though is the opportunity to reach out to my family, spread across the country almost from coast to coast and just say hello.