“Fostering professional and personal relationships can be quite a challenge to some. However, there are people who seem to just breeze right through the process. The task of socialising and connecting seems so effortless to them. Have you ever wondered what makes these people different? The answer to that is social intelligence.” – John Ward
Relationships are complex affairs owing to diverse interests and temperaments. However, in the world we live in one has to learn how to navigate through relationship complexities to excel in one’s career and business.
Indeed, we need an intellectual quotient to improve in a consistent manner, be highly innovative and creative, have logical thinking, evidence-driven, solve emerging problems, acquire new pieces of knowledge and deal with situational disruptions.
First, have you found a highly intelligent person who is socially inept or obnoxious? The mental quotient is one side of success. There is the other side of the coin which has been called social intelligence.
So what is social intelligence? Some exponents of social awareness call it “street smarts”. It is the capacity to know oneself and to know others.
Karl Albrecht an American Psychologist has defined it “as the characteristic of employees and supervisors to be able to interact well with others and achieve full cooperation”.
This definition is skewed towards the workplace and therefore ideal for our discourse.
How then do we cultivate and internalise it? The interest in other people is one of the surest bets in acquiring social intelligence.
As Stephen Covey said in his book The Habits of Highly Effective People seek to understand than to be understood. This will draw people to you like a magnet.
Those who develop primal empathy will grow more because they understand what animates the human spirit.
Some people don’t think before they speak. This is a danger to the growth of social awareness. Many opportunities will go down the drain if there are no breaks to what is being said.
There are tactless people who speak without breaks. Speaking without breaks is the surest way to dilute one’s power.
To be outstanding in tactfulness one has to learn to actively listen to others. There are great benefits to practising this skill.
Active listening also called attunement can also play an integral part in planting the seeds of remarkable relationships.
One of the commonest complaints in relationships is the lack of listening. “When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.”–Ernest Hemingway.
Tactfulness in understanding our roles can catapult one’s social power. Who in the office has certain powers and influence?
Efficacy can give one immense power to determine the cause of events. Diplomacy means understanding the rules.
Every social setting has ways of doing things. There are group customs to be adhered to. This is where the powers of observation help in driving one’s personal currency.
Impressions management is another way to elevate one’s power. We have only a few seconds to create a positive or negative permanent impression. So we have to dress and speak well for the occasion every day.
In the office, it is advised to build one’s competencies. Quality skills create certain magnetism. Make your dexterities more pronounced. Be active.
Be a person of action to increase your standing. In the office, it is important to develop mastery. Being a doer is one of the passports to profitable social awareness.
Spreading positive news can be a builder of a social quotient. Having great things to say in a consistent manner can help one’s brand.
Advanced social intelligence has countless goodies for those people and organisations that invest in its development.
One of the most prevalent observations or complaints is that organisations have certain amount of toxicity which is quite detrimental to performance.
Well-grounded social awareness skills help in cutting down sources of toxicity. Social intelligence creates a positive and supportive climate for collaboration.
Organisations are products of continuous relationship building. When teams are in good terms there is appreciable development.
There is a whole flourishing industry of team building. Team building is actually a form of social intelligence activation.
So before people go for team building they should be trained on the entire concept of social intelligence.
The ultimate aim of social intelligence is high performance and achieving the desired results.
Being highly motivated is one of the secrets to success.
There is a particular way that social intelligence becomes one of the building blocks of optimism and enthusiasm.
Emotional control is quite a superpower. Anyone who is adept at controlling their emotions without losing them to rage proves their desirability.
Social diplomacy can lead to career progression. Social brilliance helps in mining other people’s thoughts and feelings which is necessary for moving forward. Cultivate social intelligence and become powerful.
