Can you learn how to be more emotionally sensitive even if you’re not naturally that way? Carol believes that you can, and shares some suggestions in a recent post on the Nextiva blog, “A Quick Course on Emotions Quotient (EQ) Development.” Carol begins:
“More small business owners are aware of the importance of using a management style that incorporates emotional sensitivity with brainpower and developing your emotions quotient (EQ). However, some small business owners are naturally more about numbers than feelings, so it’s easier said than done.
The good news is that increasing your EQ is a learnable skill if you’re willing to practice. If you want to be less like Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada and a bit more like Willy Wonka (well, except with the bad kids…), the following 5 tips can send you on the road toward sensitivity.
#1. Get to know yourself
You may have lived with yourself for more years than you care to mention, but did you ever stop to really examine what makes you tick? What motivates you to work harder? What helps you resolve conflicts or solve any type of problem? And, what things do you do or say that seem to regularly alienate other people? If you don’t know the answers to questions like these, how can you expect to work most effectively with others?
Self-reflection provides the practice you need to understand what motivates disparate employees and customers. Just as important, it helps you to control your own reactions when you interact with others.
#2. Reflect before you speak
We may have been raised to think before we speak countless times in our lives, but, for whatever reason, we commonly speak first and regret later.
In the most extreme situations, a manager might berate employees for sloppy work, only to later learn that the employee just lost a close friend to cancer. More commonly, an aggressive reprimand might damage an already-fragile ego, sending a potentially-valuable worker down the path to eventual termination.”
You can read the rest of the post here.
