A love letter to my fellow business leaders: Lead with EQ.
In watching the 2020 election season come to life, there has been a great deal of conversation around empathy and the role this trait plays in leadership. What I hear, more than anything, is a desire for people to feel connected, aligned in values and the goals of the global world. People feel alone, unmotivated, disheartened without clear direction of which way to go.
Well, I argue the business world has a leading role in this solution.
Many of us work 40 hours a week (at least), 5 days a week (at least), 50 weeks a year (at least). And those hours are often dedicated to others — a boss, a team, a customer. If someone said you would spend 10,000 hours a year on something or someone else, it better speak to your soul. Today’s employee is begging for it.
As an executive who has climbed the ranks within the consumer goods industry, the greatest asset learned over 20 years and 5 different organizations (large, small, public, private, domestic, global) is not technical management expertise, but the importance of human capital development (both in understanding yourself and others).
Executives today are either industry experts or hired based on background (education, buzz-worthy names on a resume). However, we don’t hire and require a strong example of EQ and IQ in our leaders. We need to start setting an example of ‘how’ — how to truly understand yourself (and your gifts), ‘how’ to work with others, and how to contribute in a larger way to the world not just through the success of a company product but also through the richness of personal interactions. Very few leaders recognize the importance and trickle down effect of these interactions — mostly because THEY are not comfortable in their skin and confident enough to lead with heart. People say it’s hard to teach drive, leadership, and organizational skills, but it is even harder to teach leaders how to set people’s soul on fire. It is a gutsy way of leading and we must start setting the tone.
Each company is a living, breathing organism. On the surface, the individual employees work together to function like a human body — each person works in their discipline to make up the bones & muscles, the ‘working’ part of the body.
But there is intangible layer called the soul — the interpersonal skills that define what your company will stand for, motivate you, your staff, and your customer. The EQ in the leader can acutely observe and understand company strengths. That leader can dig into those layers to best serve up individual talents and establish deeper connections with the staff, customer, and leadership team that will create long-term dividends.
The business world is not immune from the change that is happening; in fact, the leaders who lean into these dynamics and connect their employees and the company story into the fabric of the world will come out more relevant, more authentic, more sincere. This will not only guarantee longevity of the brand but also create the exact heart forward culture we all crave.
Let’s be part of the solution and challenge ourselves to develop our EQ and those of our fellow business leaders. It is the least we can do to make this world a better place.
For more information on this EQ leadership curriculum, email PamWLevine@gmail.com.
