Sharing: 10 tips to enhance your leadership EQ

Being in the Human Resources profession certainly gives you opportunities to be able to work with people from all walks of life -- from the messengers to the higher-up executives.  And each has their own special needs and require a certain way of dealing with them through everyday interactions and transactions.

As such, I've always believed that the development of one's Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is actually important and necessary for every worker.  My good friend, Yvonne, shared this very interesting article from Ms. Jasbindar Singh which details 10 tips to enhance one's leadership EQ.

1. Develop and deepen your self-awareness.  Emotions play an important role in our decision-making processes and as such, one should always take this into consideration before making a final decision.

2. Become more emotionally aware of others.  Be considerate and always remember that people require different things.  A motivator for one, might not be as enticing to another.

3. Deepen your listening.  We might think that we are good listeners, but if we truly do not understand or just let words just flow through our minds, then that's not really listening.  Try to really be involved and listen whole-heartedly.

4. Be open to feedback.  Yes, this is easier said than done, but try to remember that we are not perfect individuals as much as we would like to think we are. 

5. Show empathy.  Show the person that you "get" where they're coming from and sincerely mean it.  Don't show false appreciation.

6. Take ownership and responsibility.  Saying sorry and admiting to your mistakes saves everyone a huge headache in the long run.  Making errors is a sign of being human and does not make you less of it.

7. Leverage diversity.  Believe it or not, there are other ideas that might seem to make better sense than yours.  So open your mind and accept other opinions.  Wouldn't life be so boring if everyone thought like you?

8. Use a coaching style.  Coach people to come up with possible solutions.  Telling them outright won't do anyone any good.  Plus people accept change better when they know that the idea came from them.

9. Time for self-reflection.  To determine what still needs to be done and what you need to focus on more.

10. Do an EQ audit.  To determine if you're still on the right path.

The article's really good and I thought I'd share it with you guys.  One tip I've never thought of doing is #10; "Do an EQ audit."  Definitely gonna try that out soon.

You can view the full article here.  Enjoy!  =)

photo © 2011 Alan Levine | more info (via: Wylio)