“Social Awareness is your ability to accurately pick up on emotions in other people and understand what is really going on with them. This often means perceiving what other people are thinking and feeling even if you do not feel the same way.”
~Bradberry & Greaves
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This was hard for me in my first supervisor job. I remember scratching my head, wondering why I couldn’t understand the behavior of certain people on my team. Their reactions often seemed irrational and emotionally driven. My lack of understanding led to frustration for me, and for them.
I knew I had to figure this out if I was going to be effective as a leader. The question was how?
Without knowing the answer, I started watching leaders around me that I respected. I developed a curiosity around what influenced our reactions. I started observing behavior and thinking about the root causes. I became fascinated by the backstory of each person on the team. I began to value their perspective, and that shift transformed me as a person and as a leader.
I began to grow social awareness.
In the many years since that time, I have continued to learn from observing others. I have worked to be an adaptive leader, and to do my best to serve my team. That pursuit has demanded that I seek to understand the perspective of others. It also requires that I commit to hearing them, even when I don’t fully understand or agree. In hearing the team, I work to listen to the language they use and listen for what they are saying, as well as what they are not saying.
This is a journey, and I’m certainly still on the path with a long way to go.
Tell me this…How do you grow social awareness?
