Today I was delighted to be a speaker on Emotional Intelligence at the Business Travel Market Conference in London. ‘What are the most important qualities of successful leaders?’ I asked delegates. The evidence is as true as ever that the most significant factors are neither attributable to IQ levels, nor technical or ‘hard’ skills, but to emotional and social competencies. That is, how well we understand and express ourselves, and how we relate to and understand others. One important theme I touched on was the ability to ‘step into the other person’s shoes’. We all have a different view of the world. Could your negotiations be more effective with this knowledge? Could disputes with an individual, group or another organisation be resolved more quickly or avoided?
‘Seek first to understand, then be understood’. Stephen Covey