Leaders who fail to engage with their team members on a regular basis can put them in difficult, unfortunate situations. Leaders who only engage with team members when there is a deadline may find themselves in difficult conversations. The leader who does not take the time to regularly engage with their people to get to know them is taking a risk. Leaders may know their strengths and weaknesses, but do they know what brings them to work each day? Do they know which tasks they enjoy most? Do they have tasks in mind that would offer them new job challenges? Do they know where their people want to be personally and professionally next week, next month, or next year? How do leaders improve this situation? By using EI or Empathy, or both. EI, or Emotional Intelligence, offers chances to find quality in interpersonal behaviors when one evaluates, controls, and perceives emotions. Empathy is making a conscious effort to put yourself in another person’s position, try to see things from their perspective, and try to grasp the emotions they may be feeling. Both concepts require accepting and offering feedback, getting in touch with our own emotions and those of others, and taking the necessary steps to adjust to those emotions. I assure you, there are more great conversations ahead. Get involved!
