The contemporary world is a VUCA world. It is ferociously Volatile, certainly Uncertain, simply Complex, and utterly Ambiguous. And it is constantly moving, what was thought of as permanent is now impermanence itself. In the near future, we will see about a quarter of the workforce transition to jobs requiring additional skills in the wake of accelerating automation, fueled by the rapid development of Artificial Intelligence. This is likely to create wider gaps within and between communities and create vulnerabilities across all echelons of the socio-economic spectrum. In these rapidly evolving circumstances, adapting to the speed of change requires a fundamental commitment to holistic and mutually beneficial decision making. In this context, the most lucrative skill-base that can be harnessed by leaders is the development of their emotional and social intelligence. So, how do the leaders of today deal with the fast paced dynamic, changing work environment that we are experiencing? How can they become more equipped to deal with the changes and the challenges? How can they evolve and adapt?

The answer isn’t rocket science, but maybe it is so obvious that it’s often missed! It is the ability for managers/leaders to slow down amidst the speed. It is acknowledging the fact that human resource data is not enough, and that human resource awareness is the real need of the hour. It is realising that IQ is not an absolute indicator of performance, Emotional Intelligence, or EQ, is equally, if not more important. It is addressing that a bit of self-discipline and developing a set of skills around EQ can make a leader more efficient, and ultimately more effective in their role, increasing the overall contribution towards key business goals. At the end of the day, high performance is directly rooted in leading with emotional and social intelligence.

What is Emotional Intelligence?

• The famous American psychologist and author, Daniel Goleman, defines ‘emotional intelligence as the capacity to recognise intrapersonal and interpersonal feelings’
• Emotional intelligence is being calm, wise about emotions and intelligent about relationships.

What is Social Intelligence?

• According to the famous American psychologist Edward Thorndike of Columbia University, social intelligence is a ‘keen awareness of the value of social connections, the ability to take another’s perspective, and the capacity to engage in satisfying relationships.’
• It underscores how we as human beings are inextricably connected with each other owing to the interactions and relationships we build with others.
• Social awareness is about being aware, sensitive and responsive to other people’s feelings, emotions, thoughts and actions.

Why are emotional and social intelligence important?

• Research suggests that the demand for emotional and social intelligence will actually increase up to six times by the year 2024, and that 60 percent of hiring managers won’t even hire someone without a demonstration of these skills.
• World Economic Forum has identified emotional and social intelligence as a top 10 skill needed in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
• According to the multinational consulting company Capgemini, emotional and social intelligence skills are correlated with increases in traditional metrics, such as productivity, employee satisfaction, engagement, client service, revenue, and the like.

Goleman’s Four Dimensions of Emotional and Social Intelligence

David Goleman has pioneered emotional intelligence, social intelligence and other facets of behavioural science. His works provide an effective insight into understanding the importance of such concepts and their applicability in the day to day workplace. Goleman’s ideas widen our understanding of what he terms proto-conversations i.e., conversations that are happening ‘beneath’ the actual conversation. For example, sounds, gestures and body language, that attempt to convey meaning without necessarily articulating them into words. These emanate from being self and socially aware and capable of managing the self and relationships.

Encouraging greater emotional and social intelligence in our workforce

How do we encourage  greater emotional and social intelligence in our workforce?  What skills should we nurture to become a more aware and accomplished member and leader of the team?

According to the famous author on mindfulness Belinda Chiu, the answer is in the development of a central element of emotional intelligence – Compassion.

What is Compassion?

• The Tibetan word for strategy loosely translates into ‘wisdom through the method of compassion’.
• Its meaning provides insight into understanding that success in forming an effective strategy requires wisdom and compassion more than the hard skills of forecasting and analysis. It implies prioritising response over reaction.
• Wake Forest University has researched that our actual physiology changes when we receive compassion from someone else.
• It has been established using the 30 seconds thumb rule- 30 seconds of compassion were all that were needed for people to note a meaningful difference in their relationships. This meaningful difference leads to an improved quality of staff engagement and interaction reducing the potential for conflict, misunderstanding and reducing stress and anxiety in the workplace.

How to operationalise Compassi

According to Belinda Chiu, the 3Cs of Compassion are the tools to manifest emotional and social intelligence in leadership.

Centeredness

• According to the Scottish philosopher Alexander Bain, ‘centeredness is a a state of greater mindfulness achieved by engaging all parts of the mind to be fully present’.
• It expands our awareness to focus on detail and from a vantage, rather than romanticising and catastrophising.

Courage

• Compassionate leaders have the courage to show their authentic selves.
• The American businessman and educationist Bill George calls it the ‘True North’. Effective leaders discover their ‘True North’ (who they really are) and then find their ‘North Star’ (their leadership purpose). This journey requires immense moral courage.
• Compassionate leaders are courageous as they know when they will say yes and when they will say no.
• Compassion also requires the courage to engage in healthy conflict. Research shows that the highest performing leaders are willing and able to handle conflict effectively, focusing on empathy and emotional awareness, rather than only outcomes.
• Courage requires not delaying or getting into the ‘avoidant kindness space’ where conflict is delayed for the sake of short term harmony. Real courage requires dealing with problems quickly, morally, stoically and holistically.
• Compassion requires the courage to be honest, even when that honesty is difficult to hear, whether it is from the giving side or the receiving end.

Curiosity

• Leaders have to shift from judgment to curiosity- holding themselves and their team members accountable without shaming, understand each other without condoning, and acknowledging the importance of ‘agreeing to disagree’.
• This embracing of differences creates shared connections, which enables leaders to make wiser decisions and to lead with compassion.
• Curiosity is rooted in having confidence as well as humility, urgency as well as patience, optimism as well as realism and freedom as well as structure.

Why should there be a commitment to increasing Compassion in the workplace?

• Compassion allows managers and leaders to be more aware of their own inner world and how it projects onto the effectiveness of their outer management, the interaction with the work environment, and the teams that they look after. How can managers better attune to what’s going on with the teams that they manage? And how do they manage relationships with others with greater ease?
• Leading with compassion enables managers to lead from a place of calm rather than from a place of fear. And from that calm emanates order, stability, growth and choice.

Therefore, commitment to compassion is a fundamental step in manifesting emotional and social intelligence. It is beneficial in intrapersonal and interpersonal spheres, professional and personal lives and tangible and intangible dimensions of the individual and collective existence.