Beyond Workplace Politics: Using Social and Emotional Competencies

COURSE SUMMARY

Workplace politics encompasses the power and authority processes and behaviours that are at work in a particular workplace. It is how the links between people in the workplace work. There are workplace politics at play in every organisation!

In 1990, two American psychologists (Dr. Jack Mayer and Dr. Peter Salovey) purported that if there was a cognitive intelligence or IQ then there must be an emotional intelligence (sometimes known as EQ). Daniel Goleman, the co-founder of the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) theorised the social aspect of behaviour as a complement to the emotional. His definition expanded to: “Social and emotional intelligence involves understanding your feelings and behaviours, as well as those of others, and applying this knowledge to your interactions and relationships.” In his work with CASEL he developed five interrelated sets of Social and Emotional Competencies: Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, Good Relationship Skills, and Responsible Decision Making. This one-day course will explore the social and emotional competencies and their role in working beyond workplace politics!

WHAT STUDENTS LEARN

• Understand what Workplace Politics is and why it is not always bad
• Distinguish between formal and informal workplace hierarchies
• Use practical steps to negate the influence of rumours
• Define Social and Emotional Intelligence and understand their importance in navigating workplace politics
• Understand the importance of Self-Awareness in dealing with workplace politics and think about your own strengths and abilities
• Understand the role of Self-Management in the workplace and learn to improve self-management through reflection
• Understand the roles of Empathy, Organisational and Service Awareness in the workplace and social awareness skill development
• Identify good relationship skills
• See the importance of responsible decision making and identify decision traps that should be avoided
• See the importance of responsible decision making and identify decision traps that should be avoided

WHAT TOPICS ARE COVERED

• What is Workplace Politics?
• Lesson from Social and Emotional Intelligence
• Self-Awareness
• Self-Management
• Social Awareness
• Good Relationship Skills
• Responsible Decision Making
• Creating Your Workplace Philosophy

COURSE OUTLINE

This course  will help you teach participants:

• Understand what Workplace Politics is and why it is not always bad.
• Distinguish between formal and informal workplace hierarchies.
• Use practical steps to negate the influence of rumours.
• Define Social and Emotional Intelligence and understand their importance in navigating workplace politics.
• Understand the importance of Self-Awareness in dealing with workplace politics and think about your own strengths and abilities.
• Understand the role of Self-Management in the workplace and learn to improve self-management through reflection
• Understand the roles of Empathy, Organisational and Service Awareness in the workplace and social awareness skill development.
• Identify good relationship skills.
• See the importance of responsible decision making and identify decision traps that should be avoided.
• Create your own Workplace Philosophy Statement.

What is Workplace Politics?

This session gives students a look at formal and informal workplace hierarchies and they will get a chance to brainstorm workplace political characteristics. Also covered in this session is how to deal with rumours.

Lesson from Social and Emotional Intelligence

This session takes a look at the history of social and emotional theory. Students will be introduced to the five social and emotional competencies and will have a chance to reflect on personal examples of good social and emotional intelligence.

Self-Awareness

Here, students will use personal reflection plus assessments from others to consider their own strengths and abilities.

Self-Management

Students will be shown in this session how Critical Reflection can help to improve Self-Management. Using a Reflection Journal they will participate in self-reflection and pair up with someone for critical reflection.

Social Awareness

A role play exercise will allow students to examine the three areas that represent social awareness.

Good Relationship Skills

This session presents a number of tips to build good workplace relationships and also features an exercise that highlights these behaviours.

Responsible Decision Making

A number of tips to make better decisions and some of the common decision traps are focused upon in this session. Examples from student experience will highlight good decision making. Students are also introduced to the Decision Wheel as a tool in good decision making.

Creating Your Workplace Philosophy

This final session allows students to reflect on what they have learned and gives them a chance to create a Philosophy Statement using a template provided.

Workshop Wrap-Up

n.