Coaching Blog
The Coaching Group Of Switzerland

By Marcel Schwantes
In 2016, the World Economic Forum released its fascinating Future of Jobs Report, where they asked chief human resources officers from global companies what they saw as the top 10 job skills required for workers to thrive by 2020.

One skill projected for success in 2020 that didn’t even crack the top 10 list in 2015 was — you guessed it — emotional intelligence.

According to many experts in the field, emotional intelligence has become an important predictor of job success for nearly two decades, even surpassing technical ability.

In one noteworthy CareerBuilder survey of more than 2,600 U.S. hiring managers and human resources professionals, it was found that “fifty-nine percent of employers would not hire someone who has a high IQ but low [emotional intelligence].”

In fact, 75 percent of survey respondents said they’re more likely to promote someone with high emotional intelligence over someone with high IQ.
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Companies are placing a high value on workers with emotional intelligence for several reasons. In my own studies and observations over the years as a leadership coach, here are six that really stand out....

By Marc Chernoff
​As the Dalai Lama once said, “If a problem is fixable, if a situation is such that you can do something about it, then there is no need to worry. If it’s not fixable, then there is no help in worrying. There is no benefit in worrying whatsoever.“

In other words, worry will not strip tomorrow of its burdens, it will strip today of its possibilities.

How would your life be different if you stopped worrying and started truly doing what you are capable of doing? Let today be the day you free yourself from worthless worry, seize the possibilities and take effective action on things you can change.

Make a stand. Be proactive. Stop simply worrying about:

By Alison Doyle
Looking for a job can be a bit like dating. It can be easy to go online and find a match for a first date, but what happens after that is what matters the most. Will that first date (or first interview) turn into a long-term relationship? Or is it going to be a bust?

Job searching can be hard work. It’s not just a question of finding a job – any job. It’s important to find the right job, a job that is an excellent fit for you now and for the future, either as a stepping stone for your career or as an opportunity you’ll be comfortable with for the long haul. If it's the wrong job, you'll end up having to start a job search all over again if the position doesn't work out. Besides it being stressful, you'll need to avoid being considered a job hopper when writing your resume.

By Bryan Robinson, Ph.D., Psychotherapist in Private Practice and Author of 40 books.
It’s human nature for our minds to wander from time to time. In fact, yours could be wandering right now. You could be thinking about what you ate for lunch and what you “should” have eaten. You could be worrying about unpaid bills, an unfinished writing project, or a promised deadline to your publisher.

Take a minute and give your mind full permission to wander. Notice where it goes without trying to change anything. This counterintuitive strategy is much like leaning into a curve when riding a motorcycle — even though your thoughts might try to get you to lean the opposite way. This practice can actually relax the mind because we’re leaning in by noticing, not struggling to make something happen.

Like Grand Central Station, wandering minds have so many thoughts coming and going they prevent us from being fully present during our writing moments and from pausing and catching our breath. Studies show when we stray, we pay — we’re more stressed-out and unhappy when our minds wander than when we stay in the here and now. We’re happier no matter what we’re doing — even working overtime, vacuuming, or stuck in traffic — if we’re focused on the activity instead of thinking about something else.

Today’s Takeaway
Pay attention and fully engage in each moment to keep your mind relaxed and alert at the same time; your writing will take on a fresh glow plus well-being and productivity will soar.

Excerpt from Daily Writing Resilience by Bryan E. Robinson, PhD, with permission from the author and publisher.

By Madeline Mann
There is a nasty rumor going around that recruiters and hiring managers do not read cover letters. The truth is, many large companies use software to scan resumes for keywords and then forward those candidates deemed qualified to the HR team. In this case, your stunning cover letter would not help you get to the first round.

I get it, this is frustrating because job seekers spend a lot of time applying without much signal or feedback throughout the process. Which leads to LinkedIn posts that encourage job seekers to stop writing cover letters all together.

But for us little guys—the companies who hire dozens instead of hundreds; the start ups looking to change the world with team members who are equal parts talented and passionate; the tribes where each new person immediately sends ripples through the culture—we read every cover letter, and make our interview decisions based on them.

By Jessica Hicks, Associate Multimedia Editor at Thrive Global
Managing people is tough — but managing people as they work from home during a global pandemic, well, that’s another story. Whether you’re a first-time manager or have been leading people for years, the coronavirus crisis has likely pushed you into uncharted territory. On top of overseeing day-to-day workflow, problem-solving, and paying attention to the bottom line and deliverables, there’s another big task on your plate: helping to take care of the human capital on your team when you don’t see them every day. 

“It is difficult to know what demands each individual is facing — whether it be navigating health issues, a partner that is a frontline responder, children in need of care, extended family members that are isolated,” Ashley Hardin, Ph.D., a professor of organizational behavior at Washington University in St. Louis, tells Thrive. “Many employees are balancing many roles and enacting those roles simultaneously for the first time.”

By Mallory Stratton, Associate Editor at Thrive Global
“I couldn’t have done this without you.” Those words, when they come out of a manager’s mouth, may be music to our eager-to-please ears. But a desire to be seen as indispensable at work can come with a downside: In our attempt to go the extra mile (or 10), we may be sacrificing our own well-being. 

It turns out, conscientious, highly dedicated employees are at greater risk of emotional exhaustion and conflict between their work and family responsibilities, according to a 2016 study from King’s College London and the University of Bath in the U.K. And other research has found that our drive to impress our boss and colleagues at every turn, borne out of hustle culture, comes at the high cost of burnout.
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So how can you make your mark and add tremendous value without compromising your sanity and well-being? These tips can help:

Positive thinking isn't just a soft and fluffy feel-good term. Yes, it's great to simply "be happy," but those moments of happiness are also critical for opening your mind to explore and build the skills that become so valuable in other areas of your life.
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By James Clear I write about behavioral psychology, habit formation, and performance improvement.

Positive thinking sounds useful on the surface. (Most of us would prefer to be positive rather than negative.) But "positive thinking" is also a soft and fluffy term that is easy to dismiss. In the real world, it rarely carries the same weight as words like "work ethic" or "persistence."

But those views may be changing.

Research is beginning to reveal that positive thinking is about much more than just being happy or displaying an upbeat attitude. Positive thoughts can actually create real value in your life and help you build skills that last much longer than a smile.
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The impact of positive thinking on your work, your health, and your life is being studied by people who are much smarter than me. One of these people is Barbara Fredrickson.

By Laura Berman Fortgang on April 10, 2020
It is said that the true state of a marriage is laid bare in the face of a crisis. If it was strong, the relationship will grow stronger with the crisis. If it was already breaking, the crisis will deepen the fissures to breaking. It is the same for each of us as individuals. We are being shown what we are made of.

The current state of affairs among the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic is laying bare our own essence. The novelty of our new “normal” is wearing off and reality is setting in. We are seeing the virus hit closer to home as beloved celebrities and people you know are being affected or passing away. Generally, we are scared and what is revealed is the state of our ability to deal with the unknown and our ability to be alone with that state.

There are so many questions and things that don’t have a clear solution right now. However, I offer you a few things to think about, journal about or discuss.

 By: Jory MacKay 
With the coronavirus pandemic causing millions to work from home for the first time, work from home (WFH) productivity is on everyone’s mind. But what’s more important than making sure you get enough done when you work from home is knowing when to stop. 

The lines between work and non-work were already blurred before the current situation. But they’re almost non-existent when your office is your bedroom, kitchen, living room (or even just adjacent to these spaces). 

Work from home burnout is a serious issue. And it’s only getting more serious with the uncertainty, stress, and additional home responsibilities of our current situation.  
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It’s probably safe to say that how we handle this crisis will set the tone for how we work for years to come. So how can you make sure you leave work at work even if you never leave the house?