Today I hosted the first part of a six-part virtual seminar series on emotional intelligence. After the seminar one of the participants sent me a message asking what my thoughts are on social awareness and how it will evolve in the next year.
Social Awareness
Social awareness is one of the four domains of emotional intelligence. It includes concepts such as empathy (e.g., understanding the emotions of others), organizational awareness (e.g., awareness of the guiding values and culture of the organization), and service (e.g., to others in the organization). Managers who demonstrate social awareness listen attentively and are able to grasp the other person’s perspective.
His question is an extremely important one that all top leaders must reflect on amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. My response to him was that senior leaders are going to have to become more self-aware and cohesive. They need to come together and answer the following questions:
1. Why do we exist: Especially in light of current circumstances. Do we keep doing the same thing or do we adjust the direction of our company?
2. Values: What are our core values and how do they guide our actions and decisions moving forward?
3. What do we do: Question 1 and 2 answer the “why” and the “how“. Question 3 is about the “what“. What will our company’s focus be as we transition through the crisis?
4. Success: What does success look like now? If we adjust our mission during the crisis, how will success be measured in the future?
5. Shifting Priorities: What is the most important thing right now? Answering this question alone can provide insight and clarity of how to keep moving forward during the crisis.
6. Roles and Responsibilities: Who must do what? What are the new roles and responsibilities of the people in our organization as we adjust what we do and why we do it?[1]
I use the analogy of the anchor and the lighthouse…
Anchor: The organization’s vision and purpose. Essentially, why they exist. Every strategy, decision, and action must be anchored to the vision.
Lighthouse: The core values that guide behaviours and actions of everyone in the organization. The anchor grounds you and the lighthouse guides you. Whenever you get lost at sea, as many people are feeling right now, reflect on your anchor and lighthouse to help guide your decision-making.
I will share a personal example to illustrate…
I knew an executive whose leadership style changed as he moved up in his career. He started to drift away from his personal vision, which was to be accessible and collaborative. He valued relationships and mentoring others. But the higher up he went the less accessible he became. It was not uncommon for him to cancel many of his mentoring sessions and meetings with his direct reports. He also began to make decisions without consulting his leadership team, which led to frustration and disengagement across the organization.
He drifted away from his anchor and got lost at sea. The engagement scores for his company dropped from 80% to below 50% in one year. I think they went as low as 30%. In spite of that he refused to believe he was part of the problem. He lacked self-awareness and had lots of blind spots. He ended up leaving on his own volition, but he left a disengaged and shaky organization behind.
So, in closing…
During the Covid-19 pandemic ask yourself what kind of a leader do you want to be? When you return to shore after the storm, sticking with the sea analogy, how do you want to be remembered? As a leader who led others with little compassion, riffed with miscommunication? Or as a leader who put people first when making tough decisions?
Choose to be a leader others would want to follow. Lead with heart and purpose, especially now.
About the Author
Dr. Johanna Pagonis is the owner of the leadership consulting firm, Sinogap Solutions. She has 20 years’ experience in leadership and organizational development gained throughout her professional and academic career.
Johanna’s book, “Choose to Be a Leader Others Would Want to Follow” grew out of her PhD thesis and two decades of experience in the field of learning and development. Her goal for her book is that those, especially leaders in top ranks, will be motivated to create a workplace environment where managers are supported and encouraged to embrace their vulnerability. Johanna explores the workplace as enriched landscape for managerial learning and leadership development.
Citation:
[1] Lencioni, P. (2012). The Advantage. Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business. San Francisco, C: Jossey-Bas
