EQ & Leadership in 2019
LinkedIn Influencer and CEO of VaynerMedia, Gary Vaynerchuk, wrote a recent LinkedIn article on 7 Essential Tips For First Time Managers in 2019.
The exciting part about the article for me was how many times he talked about EQ factors. Let’s take a look..
“When you go from being someone who “executes” to someone who’s managing a team, you go from trading on IQ to trading on EQ. You go from doing the actual work to listening to employees, catering to what they want, taking blame, and being the bigger person. The best managers are actually the best mentors.”
What this means to me is the difference between being “task-oriented” vs. “people-oriented.” In task-oriented, I’m focused on what’s required step by step to get the job done…more technical or mechanical. In people-oriented, while getting the job done is still a priority, its coupled with the human elements required to execute…the relationships, the people, the EQ.
“Empathy and kindness are two massively underrated qualities when it comes to leading a team. They’re not qualities that most people would think makes a good leader, but I believe in them so much. I genuinely believe that the best leadership qualities are maternal, not paternal. It’s a lot more appropriate and helpful to have a caring, empathetic, understanding personality when you’re a leader than something stern, paternal, or aggressive. A lot of people overlook the idea that showing emotion is important.”
As a leader, when was the last time you communicated to your teams that “showing emotion is important?” If the answer is not, “recently,” then you’re missing an opportunity to foster the type of leadership required in today’s environment, as Gary goes on to say, “Empathy and EQ are about to become dramatically more important in the coming years.”
“When I hire, I do look for certain qualities. For example… emotional intelligence matters above everything else. Then, I care about the actual tangible skills candidates have.“
How actively is EQ part of your hiring process? Is it part of the day to day language of your corporate culture? As a leader, are you setting a strong example of that?
“I want to create a conversation around the practicality of positivity, kindness, and empathy within my organization. I’m not just saying it to be ideological — instilling those characteristics and traits as part of your culture has significant long term impact for your business. At VaynerMedia, Claude Silver, our “Chief Heart Officer”, is number two in the org chart at our company.”
How intentional is your organization’s efforts around cultivating greater empathy authentically, vs. following it as a trend? And as your company scales and grows, is the message of EQ getting drowned out and lost in the shuffle of more “task-oriented” needs? Leadership has a responsibility to set the tone for what matters in an organization, and maintaining EQ as part of those priorities is a necessity.
ENGAGE: Do you need to strengthen the language of EQ in your organization? Click here to contact me and let’s take a look.
GO FURTHER: I’d love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to comment below or send me a message.
EMOTION DRIVES ACTION!
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