Some people are born with a naturally high Emotional Intelligence (EQ), and some have a naturally high IQ. While you cannot improve a person’s IQ, fortunately you can learn the skills to improve your EQ.

Research has shown that Emotional Intelligence is the strongest predictor of performance, explaining 58% of success in all job types. It also has a direct correlation with salary. Those with a HIGH degree of EQ have been shown to earn $40,000 per year more than those with low EQ.

So how do you improve Emotional Intelligence?

The Key is Changing Your Mindset

The first step is that you must want to increase your EQ. You need to have the desire to change the way you behave under pressure, or with difficult people.

You must believe that, with the right techniques and hard work, you will be able to change.

Too often as adults we say that we’re ‘hardwired’, that ‘we can’t change’. Science doesn’t support this.

Neurologists use the term ‘plasticity’ to describe your brain’s ability to change. Research shows that your brain grows new connections as you learn new skills. Increasing the connections between rational and emotional centres of the brain enables improved EQ.

Emotional Intelligence Skills

The second part is skillset. According to Dr Travis Burberry, co-author of ‘Emotional Intelligence 2.0’, high EQ requires four key skills:

1. Self-Awareness:

Your ability to perceive your emotions

2. Self-Management:

Your ability to manage your emotions appropriately, to direct your behaviour positively

3. Social Awareness:

Your ability to accurately pick up on the emotions in other people, to understand what’s really going on, to read between the lines

4. Relationship Management:

Your ability to use the awareness to of your emotions and of others’ emotions to communicate successfully

The Challenge of Managing Emotions

Managing emotions and behaving ‘appropriately’ is challenging for us. When we behave ‘appropriately’ in difficult situations or with difficult people, we work to gain outcomes that are good for ALL stakeholders.

Unfortunately, for most of us it is much easier to ‘vent’ and excuse our behaviour or blame the other person.

The internationally successful GREENLINE program that teaches Emotional Intelligence, labels these difficult situations “5% moments”. These are moments where we react with high emotion and afterwards wish we could play them again with better control. They are the moments when we can easily ‘lose our marbles’!

They are also the moments we get judged on the most. While we may behave appropriately 95% of the time, it is the “5% moments” when the stakes are high that people remember most clearly. How well do you perform in your “5% moments”?

Understanding the neuroscience, what’s really happening in our brains, means that we can make smarter choices. It allows us to respond rather than merely react to difficult situations. As a result, positive outcomes are gained, trust is enhanced, and relationships grow stronger.

New WSBC Member Benefit

We are excited to present a new WSBC membership benefit of a FULLY FUNDED, nationally accredited, 1-day GREENLINE Training Program. Click here to LEARN MORE.

GREENLINE is the internationally successful conversations training program used by companies such as Pepsi, Rheem and Redkite to drive emotionally intelligent conversations, boost productivity and create a high-performance culture.

Get a snap shot of the GREENLINE program and discover practical emotional intelligence boosting tools you can start to implement in your business straight away, by attending our upcoming workshop in Parramatta.

DATE: Thursday 4th April, 2019

TIME: 7.30am - 9.30am (includes breakfast)

BOOK: Click here to register

COST: 2 complimentary tickets for all WSBC members (additional tickets available for $50).

Non-members $75.

To learn more about how your business could benefit from GREENLINE, and take advantage of this WSBC member exclusive, please call Ramsina McCully on 1800 085 248 or email ramsina@worldclassteams.com.au

Contract an event at The William Inglis Hotel and step out of your next meeting into the adventure of a lifetime. Choose one of the hotel's many function rooms to host your next conference and get yourself in the draw to win an AccorHotels gift card valued at $1,000 each month, or the grand prize of a $10,000 travel card to use throughout Asia Pacific. Earn 5,000 Le Club AccorHotels bonus rewards points with every event booked at The William Inglis Hotel.

Featuring 23 different function rooms, the hotel can cater up to 1,000 guests cocktail style in The Sales Arena. Enjoy the benefits of state of the art Audio Visual equipment in each function room including TV screens, natural lighting, complimentary high speed Wi-Fi and complimentary open-air car parking.

Together let’s see where your heart leads you in 2019.

Click here for further information on conferences and events at The William Inglis Hotel.   

You hear it all the time – storytelling is the best way to market your business.

Storytelling can help you reach your target market. Storytelling helps your business and brand grow.

But your business is engineering, accountancy or manufacturing … can storytelling work to grow a business in any industry?

Absolutely it can.

From boats to banking

Storytelling is about making an emotional connection with your audience, telling how a customer benefited from using your product or service and giving your prospects the opportunity to relate to you, your business and your product.

These things are industry agnostic.

Let’s look at the evidence

At Brilliant Digital, we’ve helped businesses in a broad range of industries grow and expand their reach through powerful digital storytelling.

But there are a few tricks to getting it right. And that’s where our team of expert digital storytellers comes in.

We’re results driven here at Brilliant Digital – so let’s hear from some of our clients in their own words…

Show your benefits

For Craig Hannam at Water Filters Australia, storytelling is unsurpassed in its effectiveness –

“The blogs are an integral part of how we display our business to the community.

For existing customers, finding out about our products, their benefits and how to use them, works well... and for a person who doesn’t know anything about us and goes onto our website, there’s a significant amount of information there to assist them too.”

Put your aims into context

Through digital storytelling, we have transformed Romar Engineering so it can compete on a global stage. We have defined who they are and what they do – and are sending qualified leads from across the globe. CEO Alan Lipman says,

“Stories create connection, build trust and memorable brands and ultimately deliver sales.”

Create web appeal

When we write content for your website, we get inside your prospects’ heads so we know what will appeal to them.

And it’s emotionally engaging content that is key for Chris White at First Financial.

“Our website gives a sense that we are large enough to look after our clients, but not too large to ignore the client relationship – that’s the most important thing that we can do.”

Keep it simple

Our storytellers use simple, clear language. There’s little point in using complex technical jargon if your target market can’t understand it.

We simplify. We demystify.

Denis Zilic, co-founder of OSA says, “When you’re relying on technical people to write stories, people who aren’t technical can’t read it, it goes over their head and you lose the message.”

An enviable lifestyle

The best story will entice your prospect to see themselves in your customer’s shoes – someone who already enjoys your product or service.

Graham Raspass from Flagstaff Marine is a great example of how wonderful storytelling is at making a dream lifestyle purchase a reality.

“If you have an array of different stories, people will pick the one that relates most to their circumstance or their dream. If they can see that other people have already experienced that and shared that experience, it enforces their commitment and belief in what they want to do.”

Time to join the revolution

Storytelling is the most effective and proven method to make a connection and grow your business.

It’s a straightforward way to show rather than tell how you solve your customers’ problems.

Without storytelling, you are a bullet-point product list. Good luck with that.

But tell a great story, and you can conquer the world.

Read the full article here.

Campbelltown is set to get a major new attraction with the Campbelltown Billabong Parklands Project receiving funding as part of the Western Sydney City Deal Liveability Program funding. The $18.75 million state-of-the-art project will see the construction of a water recreation space and water play facilities across a four hectare site located at the Apex Park in Bradbury.

The Billabong Parklands will include a series of rock pools leading into a 1700sqm lagoon, and will have a wide range of interactive water elements enjoyable for all ages.

The project will include community consultation to ensure that all residents in Campbelltown have a voice in the final design of the billabong. The project is expected to be completed and open to the general public in 2021.

According to a government press release issued recently, all three levels of government will be co-funding the Western Sydney Liveability Program, which is an initiative aimed at rejuvenating and developing new public spaces and facilities in Western Sydney. Local councils will be contributing $50 million whilst the Federal and NSW governments will be both providing $60 million.

As part of the first stage of the program, funding will be provided to eight councils in support of projects that will improve key local infrastructure. Apparently, round two of the program will commence towards the second half of 2019.

Alan Tudge, the Federal Minister for Cities, Urban Infrastructure and Population commented that the “Funding will support new and redeveloped parks, sport and recreation facilities, rejuvenating town centres and creating spaces for arts and cultural events.”

Stuart Ayres, the NSW Minister for Western Sydney, remarked that the implementation of the Western Sydney Liveability Program was a vital milestone for the progression of the Western Sydney City Deal in creating sustainable communities.

The latest reports indicate that the Western City Deal will be an agreement that will run for 20 years between the eight councils of the Western Parkland City and the Australian and NSW government. The Deal hopes to capitalize on the new Western Sydney Airport and to stimulate opportunities for growth and development within Western Sydney.

Matthews Folbigg Lawyers are specialists in all aspects of Local Government and we look forward to assisting local councils grow and develop with all the dynamic changes underway for Western Sydney.

Sign up for the inaugural RunWest fun run, Western Sydney's largest community festival. This new event is family-friendly, packed with sports stars, and as you tackle the 4km or 12km course you can also fundraise for Ronald McDonald House Charities Greater Western Sydney in support of families with a seriously ill child.

When: Sunday 31 March, 2019

Where: Your finish line will be at the massive finish line festival at WestHQ in Rooty Hill

How long: Choose between the 4km or 12km courses

Registrations: Click here for further details and how to register

Staff, families and supporters from RMHC Greater Western Sydney will be taking on the 4km course as part of the Ronald McDonald House Family wave ... including a few celebrity ambassadors! So why not sign up and walk, run or roll alongside us? Our "wave" is both pram and wheelchair friendly and everyone is welcome.

How to register to run with us

• Click here and register for RunWest today
• Registrations are available now from just $25 so get in quick!
• Then you can create an online fundraising page to raise vital funds to keep the doors to Ronald McDonald House open! runthewest.com.au/fundraise/
• As you fundraise for the race, you’ll also receive special incentives and surprises from us on your journey!
• Lastly … get training!

The Business of Racing Lunch, hosted by the Australian Turf Club in partnership with the Western Sydney Business Chamber, brings together leaders in Australian Racing, Western Sydney & NSW business in an event not to be missed.

Held on Friday 15 March 2019 at Rosehill Gardens Racecourse, the ATC invites guests to enjoy pre-lunch drinks and a three course sit down lunch and beverage package.

The MC will lead a celebrity panel and interviews with insights into the economic benefits to Western Sydney of racing’s $3.5 billion industry. Guests will have a photo opportunity with the Longines Slipper trophy and enter a business card draw.

Click here for further information or to book. 

Children’s Medical Research Institute (CMRI) scientists from Westmead have just returned from the launch of an international collaboration with nine European countries and the US to create personalised treatment plans for children with cancer.

The project known as individualisedPaediatricCure (iPC) will be led by IBM in Switzerland and private research company Technikon in Austria. It was kicked off at a meeting with the members held in Zurich in January.

ProCan’s Co-Director Professor Phil Robinson attended the meeting to discuss CMRI’s role in the partnership.

In this € 15 million, four-year project funded by a European Commission grant, 21 partners will work together with the goal of giving clinicians the tools and knowledge to create individualised treatment plans to children with cancer.

CMRI Director Professor Roger Reddel, who is also Co-Director of ProCan explained the importance of the collaboration. “Although great advances have been made in the treatment of childhood cancers, too many children still die from these diseases,’’ Professor Reddel said.

“Of those that are cured, a substantial proportion suffer long-term serious health consequences from the intensive treatments that are currently required. A major reason for cancer being so difficult to treat effectively is that cancer cells undergo many random changes, which means that each cancer has an essentially unique combination of molecular characteristics.

“To address this problem, it is important to develop ways of specifically tailoring treatment combinations for the molecular profile of each individual cancer, to maximize cures and to minimize short- and long-term treatment side-effects."

The project team will focus on identifying effective personalised medicine for paediatric cancers and will address a multitude of challenges. The goal of the iPC project is to collect and standardise existing clinical knowledge and medical data and, with the help of artificial intelligence, create treatment models for each patient.

A comprehensive computational effort to combine knowledge-base, machine-learning, and mechanistic models to predict optimal standard and experimental therapies for each child will be proposed.

Armed with these treatment models, scientists will then test them on virtual patients to evaluate treatment efficacy and toxicity, thus improving both patient survival and their quality of life.

ProCan was established in 2016 thanks to a grant from the Australian Cancer Research Foundation. It aims to analyse thousands of cancer samples from around the world to develop a database of information to advance scientific discovery and enhance clinical treatment.

Want to support one of the Western Sydney’s oldest and most trusted charities and experience the thrill and beauty of country Australia?

Northcott is a dynamic and innovative not-for-profit organisation that provides support and services to more than 14,000 people with disability, their families and carers across NSW and the ACT. This year marks Northcott’s 90th year supporting children and adults with disability to realise their potential and achieve their goals.

For over 10 years Drive 4 Life, a non-profit fundraising organisation, has supported Northcott through its scenic “tag-along” 4 wheel drive event, which has raised over $800,000. Now, we want you to come and join the adventure.

Participate in the "tag-along" four wheel drive tour and see parts of Australia that are off the beaten track and not on the "shopping list" of many peoples four wheel drive itineraries.

Tours are open to both novice and experienced 4WD enthusiasts and are tailored to those who have either not had the opportunity to be expertly guided when driving off-road, or who do not have the experience to navigate the areas that Drive 4 Life visits.

In 2019 there are two tours that you can join:

Victorian High Country – April 28 to May 3 2019

This tour is open to 4WD vehicles. Please click here for full requirements.

There will be two groups of up to ten vehicles. Each group will have experienced four wheel drivers in lead and tail-end support vehicles.

The tour will start and finish in Harrietville, Victoria. The tour will commence with registration, introductions and pre-trip briefing at 3.30 pm on Sunday 28 April 2019 and end on the afternoon of Friday 3 May 2019. Drive 4 Life will host a dinner for all participants at the Snowline Hotel in Harrietville on the Friday evening.

We will be touring in an area bordered by the Dargo High Plains Road to the east, Licola to the south, Mt Buffalo to the west and the Great Alpine Road to the north.

Broken Hill to Broken Hill, via Flinders Ranges, Corner Country and Tibooburra –September 1 to September 8 2019

This tour is open to both 4WD and AWD vehicles. Please click here for full requirements.

The tour will start and finish in Broken Hill. The tour will commence with registration, introductions and pre-trip briefing at 3.30 pm on Sunday 1 September 2019 and end on the afternoon of Sunday 8 September 2019. Drive 4 Life will host a dinner for all participants in Broken Hill on the Sunday evening.

We will be touring in the Flinders Ranges area, doing “Skytrek”, Blinman, Arkaroola, Leigh Creek, “Talc Alf”, Lyndhurst, Maree, Strezlecki Track, Cameron’s Corner and Tibooburra, before returning back to Broken Hill.

Please visit the Drive 4 Life website: www.drive4life.com.au for full tour information and booking forms, or contact Annette Sneyd, Community Fundraising and Projects Co-ordinator:

E: fund@northcott.com.au

P: 1300 378 243

Click here for more information about Northcott.

Following the huge success of the Sydney 7s 2019 at Spotless Stadium 1-3 February, Rugby Australia are taking the tournament back to Western Sydney in 2020.

Hospitality packages will be the first to go on sale, with General Admission to be released later in year.

To get on the waiting list to secure the best hospitality packages on the moment they are released email hospitality@rugby.com.au