“He reads to his daughter. My father read to me. My father read me that
story!” And all of a sudden, I became recould connect to. al to them in a way that theyThe storytelling experience raised a theme that R8 wove throughout all
experiences: the vital ability to connect with people. Compassion and empathy were
underlying tenets. What R8 also raised was that his actions, although unintentional,
emphasized his EI learning and proficiency.
Did anybody teach me how to do that? No! I didn’t know I was doing it.
But when I did it, I recognized it.
He came and presented me with a photograph of Don Quixote photograph! I said “that’s really nice, but why’d you do that?” He said – a
“Because you were nice to me when no one else was.” And I didn’t even
know I was being nice. And so I think that’s part of it – there is an
intuitive aspect to all of this.
(^) I thought I cared about them before (chuckle). In a way, that was a
surprise to me. But what I realized was here I was caring about them as
individuals, not as workers who were supposed to get something done.
And so I guess part of the learning, part of the progression or whatever is,
again, people want to know that their leaders care about them.^
Participant R9. Participant was a retired male who worked in the science
community. His original entry into Federal government service was for a singular
purpose, but over time he appreciated the freedom and exemplar research laboratory
opportunities that were afforded. R9 likened EI to personal development. He was
availed numerous training opportunities as well as, mentors and supervisors who
encouraged and influenced him. A strong marriage benefitted his EI, according to R9.
Building interpersonal skills within the context of managing an older workforce
was an EI attribute to which R9 assigned meaning.