Emotional intelligence (EQ) the way we lead and influence ourselves and the way we lead and influence others is often perceived as ‘soft stuff’ or that it is easy…
But in fact, EQ affects everything we do—it is often the hard stuff.
There’s nothing soft about:
- having difficult conversations
- overcoming challenges
- inspiring teams when they are demotivated
- listening to what’s meaningful to people when you are snowed under with deadlines
- taking on board feedback and having to adapt or change your approach
- pushing yourself out of your comfort zone
- being authentic and building trust to your team want to work for you
- overcoming mistakes and failures with a positive way forward and letting go of blame and negativity
None of that is easy—and if it was, we’d all be doing it amazingly, wouldn’t we!
The 4 ways you can improve your EQ are
1) improving your self awareness
2) developing your ability to manage your emotions in a positive way
3) noticing what’s going on with others and how they are feeling
4) developing your ability to influence and respond to emotions in others effectively
EQ underpins every single relationship and people related experience at work and it is vital for leaders because it impacts:
- how we influence each other
- every conversation and thought, from social interactions with clients and colleagues to our own mindset and behaviours, and how others are impacted
- the journeys we take in life (and our level of success within them)
What aspects of EQ have you developed in yourself and why was that important? Let me know in the comments!