Social Intelligence in the Workplace
The ability to bring people together, manage conflict, and connect on an individual level to the people on your team is perhaps the very key to success in the workplace. So how?
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Aside kindness and love, one more essential value that you would need to develop your interpersonal skill and lead your work and life in the way more human being is social intelligence, you might have already known.
What is social intelligence in psychology1?
In the VIA, social intelligence is explained by this way. When a person knows what makes other people tick, he or she is displaying social intelligence. They’re aware of the motives and feelings of themselves and others, and how to fit into different social situations. Social intelligence involves two general components:
Social awareness: what we sense about others
Social facility: what we do with our awareness
While emotional intelligence is more inward ability, social intelligence is the ability to understand other people, how they work, what motivate them, and how to work cooperatively with them.
Why it matters at work
Having a socially intelligent workforce may be more important than you think. At work, we need to co-exist and cooperate with others with whom we may or may not typically socialize with. For those in management or leadership positions, the ability to connect with and motivate a team can be key to the success of a business or institution.
How to foster social intelligence in the workplace
In terms of psychology, effective leadership relies on these two abilities:
The ability to inspire others through meaningful connection;
The ability to foster positive feelings in the people whose cooperation they need.
Specifically you would think about the way to foster two main components of social intelligence as mentioned above to develop these abilities, here are some suggestions for each component2:
1] Social awareness
Being able to sense others’ feelings through nonverbal signals;
Listening with full receptivity; ‘tuning in’ with a person;
Understanding another person’s thoughts, feelings, and intentions;
Understanding how the social world works;
2] Social facility
Easily interacting with others at the nonverbal level;
Presenting ourselves well;
Shaping the outcome of social interactions;
Caring about others’ needs and acting accordingly;
The ability to bring people together, manage conflict, and connect on an individual level to the people on your team is perhaps the very key to success in the workplace.
So, start by paying full attention during your interactions with others, reflect on your conversations, and try to understand how you could have responded better. Through the gradual development of socially intelligent skills, you will be well on the way to a more connected and fulfilling life, not just only at work.
Next: Recap Strengths of Humanity
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VIA Institute On Character. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.viacharacter.org/character-strengths/social-intelligence
Goleman, D. (2006). Social intelligence: The new science of human relationships. Bantam Dell Pub Group.