Bestselling authors such as Daniel Pink, Daniel Goleman, and Stephen Covey have brought attention to the importance of social intelligence in leadership.  What is social intelligence?  Goleman, in his Harvard Business Review article from September 2008, defines social intelligence as “a set of interpersonal competencies built on specific neural circuits that inspire others to be effective.”  These circuits include mirror neurons – neural wi-fi in the brain whose primary purpose is to emotionally connect with other human beings.  Social intelligence is hard-wired in the brain.  Goleman’s research on leadership and social intelligence has shown that the best leaders are those whose behavior powerfully leverages this system of brain interconnectedness.

Leading effectively is less about mastering social skills sets than it is about developing a genuine interest in, and talent for, fostering positive feelings in the people whose cooperation and support you need, says Goleman.  The term “resonance” has often been used to describe the positive alignment of leaders and those they lead.  Resonance refers to being on the same wavelength or channel, much like walkie-talkies “connect” when tuned in to the same frequency.  Resonance increases commitment, loyalty, productivity, and morale.  Dissonance, on the other hand, produces fear, mistrust, resistance, and inefficiency.

The Process Communication Model® (PCM), developed by Dr. Taibi Kahler in the 1970’s, has been helping leaders develop social intelligence for over 30 years.  PCM is a model for how different personality types connect with the world and are motivated, and offers specific skills and formulas for inspiring others to be effective through resonance.

Long before the term resonance was coined, Dr. Kahler discovered key kernels of effective communication which formed the basic building blocks of resonance.  Through exhaustive analysis of second-by-second interactions between people, he identified six distinct and predictable patterns of productive interactions (communication, or resonance) and unproductive interactions (miscommunication, or dissonance). During the 1970’s Dr. Kahler’s model was expanded to include descriptions of how people change over time, how they are motivated and sabotage themselves with negative attention, and how personality type relates to leadership and learning.  Since then, thousands of people have applied PCM to their work, including a past U.S. President, (a current U.S. Secretary of State), NASA, Fortune 500 executives, and educators across the globe.

PCM identifies six personality types, each with distinct and predictable characteristics.  Every one of us has all six types within us, although there is variation in how each of these types is developed, and which one is primary for each person.  The good news is that all personality types have within them the potential to improve their individual, unique social intelligence skill set.

PCM uses the following building blocks to develop social intelligence:

• Contact Perceptions: Perceptions are the filters through which people take in and process their world.  There are six distinct contact perceptions that can be identified through language, and these form the basis of the six Kahler Personality Types. Leaders who develop their skill in recognizing and matching perceptions encourage resonance and engagement.  In other words, they increase the chance that people will feel “heard” and will receive and be open to their leadership messages.

• Parts/Faces: Dr. Kahler identified distinct constellations of behavioral cues that go together to enhance the authenticity of communication.  Much like a character in a play, these parts are the words, tones, postures, gestures, and facial expressions that work in unison to invite others to feel connected, safe, and valued.  PCM training teaches leaders how to mobilize each of these parts within them so they can authentically deliver their message in a way that is heard by other personality types.  Research on mirror neurons shows that they are much more receptive to the delivery of the message than the message itself.  Mastering PCM parts and faces helps leaders leverage the reality that it’s not what you say, but how you say it that makes all the difference.

• Channels: PCM outlines five essential channels of communication by which all six personality types connect, or resonate with each other.  Channels are like the frequency on a CB radio.  The Rule of Communication in PCM helps leaders know exactly when communication is happening, or not happening, and provides proven steps for regaining resonance.

• Motivational Needs: Dr. Kahler discovered that each of the six personality types has unique psychological needs and motivators, inborn psychological needs that we must receive on a daily basis to function at our peak.  When people are getting their needs met in healthy ways, they are inspired to perform.  Otherwise, negative attention occurs and can sabotage individual and team performance.  PCM teaches the specific motivational needs of each personality type so that leaders can powerfully leverage their peoples’ gifts toward the goals of the organization.

Developing social intelligence is hard work, and it pays off.  In our experience, PCM is the most comprehensive and effective framework for developing social intelligence that we have seen.  Amazingly, over 95% of our clients who have completed our PCM training say it is significantly more useful than any other model of personality and communication they have used.  The increased self-awareness, confidence, and effectiveness that people can achieve through PCM can last a lifetime.

Next Element Consulting offers a complete range of PCM seminars, training and coaching to help people effectively inspire all personality types.  We have three certified PCM trainers on staff.

This topic is also available as a Keynote Presentation.

To learn more about our services please visit our website at next-element.com, call us at 316-283-4200, or e-mail michele@next-element.com.

To learn more about Dr. Regier, go to http://next-element.com/about/nate-regier/

Posted on July 24, 2009 by Nate

This entry was posted in Blog, White Papers and tagged Emotional Intelligence, Leadership, Social Intelligence. Bookmark the permalink.