Social Intelligence And The Biology Of Leadership

I have always been fascinated by the function of the brain, so when I came across this article in the Harvard Business Review, I just had to share it with all of you.

The information and research presented is especially useful to any of you who doubt the power of the “gut” in decision making, or the role of positive mood and play in superior job performance.

The bad news:
Social intelligence is a critical leadership skill, and you won’t succeed without it.

The good news:
Social intelligence can be improved (if you’re committed to improving it.)

The authors have devised a 360 degree tool for measuring social intelligence and to help in creating a plan for changing it (the Emotional and Social Competency Inventory)

Here are the seven social qualities they test for:

• Empathy
  Do you understand what motivates other people, even those from different backgrounds?
  Are you sensitive to others’ needs?
• Attunement
  Do you listen attentively and think about how others feel?
  Are you attuned to others’ moods?
• Organizational Awareness
  Do you appreciate the culture and values of the group or organization?
  Do you understand social networks and know their unspoken norms?
• Influence
  Do you persuade others by engaging them in discussion and appealing to their self-interests?
  Do you get support from key people?
• Developing Others
  Do you coach and mentor others with compassion and personally invest time and energy in mentoring?
  Do you provide feedback that people find helpful for their professional development?
• Inspiration
  Do you articulate a compelling vision, build group pride, and foster a positive emotional tone?
  Do you lead by bringing out the best in people?
• Teamwork
  Do you solicit input from everyone on the team?
  Do you support all team members and encourage cooperation?

Investing the time and money in developing so called “soft-skills” is critical to the successful performance of the hard bottom line. Ignore at your team’s peril!