Soft Skills Anyone Can Practice

Over the years, traditional leaders have been described as decisive, confident, and autocratic. With today’s focus on employee engagement, softer skills are being emphasized in leadership development programs. Although a manager may advance because of subject matter expertise or technical skills, once they take on accountability for a team, emotional intelligence becomes more important. The emotional intelligence quotient or EIQ measures the ability to use your emotions and those of the people around you to guide thinking. Understanding human behavior is the key to relationships, and leaders who extend themselves without pretense and make a personal connection, are more likely to enlist cooperation. To boost your leadership IQ, add these five behaviors to your professional toolbox.

Starting Today

1. Practice self-compassion by admitting you don’t have all the answers and accepting feedback.
2. Employ empathy to engage diverse perspectives and support rather than impose judgment.
3. Embrace your vulnerability to show the courage and strength it takes for true growth.
4. Listen more than you speak to learn from those around you.
5. Insist on respect and candor with straight talk instead of posturing.

In addition to improving the performance of leaders, attention to holistic interpersonal practices, like those above, builds trust and credibility at all levels in both professional and personal settings. Anyone can choose to practice the skills it takes to influence, assist, and guide others. Putting effort into promoting collaborative activities increases the possibilities for development and achievement. When we work together, everyone wins! Now is a great time to practice soft skills and raise your EIQ.

At Xavier Creative House, we embrace continuous learning development as a core value that we call Empowered Mindset. We are excited to share information on professional skills with our network as part of our commitment to stretch our perspective and fuel original thinking. When you need a positive and creative take on healthcare marketing solutions that disrupts the status quo, contact us.

Reference: https://www.fastcompany.com/90379242/five-soft-skills-you-need-to-be-a-better-leader-in-2020

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