
Emotional intelligence has always been important in leadership. But these days, it may be more important than ever. This has been pretty crazy year for everyone, but everyone’s crazy year has been crazy in its own ways. Meaning you may have no idea what your colleagues are struggling with, just as they may not know your struggles.
With that in mind, Brenda Ellington Booth has a word of advice.
“Anytime you face a crowd, it could be your staff, it could be a group of people that you’re on Zoom with, it’s helpful to get a pulse check in terms of where you are,” she says. “That actually is one of the key tenants of emotional intelligence, is understanding what you’re facing. And not to make the assumption if you’re feeling one way that your audience is feeling something the same way. And they could be at very different places.”
In this episode of The Insightful Leader, Booth, a clinical professor of leadership at Kellogg and a certified executive coach, explains what emotional intelligence (or EQ) is and shares practical tips for how you can boost your own “EQ.”
Note: The Insightful Leader is produced for the ear and not meant to be read as a transcript. We encourage you to listen to the audio version above. However, a transcript of this episode is available here.
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