10 Things High EQ Leaders Do Not Do
Have you experienced coming out of an executive meeting and felt sapped? You felt like you were going to be totally useless for the day but you realized your emotions, swung around, and shifted to action mode. Being aware of your feelings and knowing how to manage them demonstrate your emotional intelligence.
C-level executives are expected to be highly skilled and extensively experienced. But would you know if they are emotionally intelligent? Here’s how to tell.
10 Things Leaders with High EQ do not do:
- They do not talk down to people.
They do not lash out at people with opposing ideas or fly off the handle when someone admits to a mistake. They do not have a reactive mindset. Situations, language, environment, people do not control them.
- They do not reject new ideas.
They welcome new concepts with excitement. This attitude exhibits humility because it is an admission that they do not know everything. They do not have any insecurities and know their place.
- They do not avoid difficult conversations.
These leaders instead use these conversations as opportunities to build trust and understanding among their team. They choose their words well, have a facility in expressing themselves, and are conscious of how their words will affect other people.
- They do not hire based solely on technical expertise.
Leaders with high emotional intelligence can discern the emotional qualities of hirees and have a peculiar ability to sense if a person is a good fit for the company. They look past the credentials and focus on the person beneath the credentials.
- They do not throw a fit.
They know how to manage their emotions and how their feelings will affect the people around them. In highly emotional situations, they push the pause button to collect their thoughts, and they detach from the situation for an objective perspective.
- They do not dwell on failure.
They know that it is not a perfect world and mistakes happen but they do not allow themselves to dwell in negative emotions. They search for the cause of failure and implement changes to avoid recurrence.
- They do not cower to stand their ground.
They are not people pleasers. They will give you the time of the day but will not agree to please. However, they will be first to admit if they are mistaken.
- They do not interrupt.
They focus when someone speaks, they listen intently and know when it is time to speak. Leaders with high EQ listen more than they speak. They are respectful.
- They do not take someone’s glory.
These leaders give credit where credit is due, appropriately acknowledge good work and celebrate with the team.
- They do not disregard people.
They do not relate on a transactional level but have a natural interest in people. They nurture long relationships, not short-term transactions for economic reasons.
Conclusion:
Observe your leaders based on the above checklist. Who among your company executives exhibits the above behavior? One thing is for sure, high EQ leaders are not energy-draining.
