Greetings from the UK. Currently, I'm visiting Bristol as a guest speaker for the Referral Institute Great Britian and Ireland Conference.
Today, I heard a fascinating presentation from Jeremy & Kay (can't remember their last names right now) on Emotional Intelligence and its connection to relationship development. I found it significant enough that I wanted to share it here.
The relationship model that was discussed had five stages. The belief is that every relationship (personal and business) will at some point go through the stages of this model if given the opportunity. Some relationships may get STUCK in a stage if one party doesn't take a leadership role to move beyond the barrier. Here are the five stages ... think of your relationships and determine where you are and what, if anything, you can do to move forward.
1. Honeymoon stage - everything is good; nothing could be wrong
2. Power stage - pushing buttons; need to be right; polar opposites
3. Dead zone - hurt feelings; "Is it worth it?"
4. Partnership - share the load; cooperate; do what's best for the pair
5. Leadership - consistently put the needs of the other person first
Key points:
* you can't expect the other person to change; YOU must change FIRST
* accept that you'll never have the honeymoon stage again; move forward and lead the relationship into maturity
* giving up the need to be right can help get you past the power stage
Of course, this is just the tip of this information. Hopefully, I've given you enough to think on for a few minutes.
