Do you have the ability to connect quickly with others and understand group dynamics before others? If you do you may have the makings of a great leader. Social Awareness is the 3rd pillar of Emotional Intelligence. Pillars #1 & 2 were Self-Awareness and Self-Management, respectively.
Have you ever met someone who didn't seem to fit in? If you have, you have met someone who did not have or exercise social awareness.
Being socially aware is not tied to how smart you are. You can have a high IQ but still be without social awareness. You might say, "How can that be?" Because Social Awareness is all emotional and comes mostly from those sectors like the Amygdala . The ability to be Socially Aware comes from the Limbic portion of the brain and is not tied to your cognitive intelligence.
There are really just two parts to this area of EI; Empathy and Organizational Savvy. Or put another way it is all about understanding other individuals and organizations or groups.
Empathy, for instance, is your ability to put yourself in your spouses shoes and see things from their viewpoint. It is enabled by one's ability to feel what someone else is feeling both mentally and physically. It is being so in tune with someone else that when their heart rate rises due to anger, so does yours. It is being able to feel then see like someone else.
Organizational Savvy, was mentioned by Robert Kelley as a work strategy of superior performers. It is about one's ability to feel the pulse of an organization or group. It is about being able to recognize the culture of an organization quickly.
In all, this 3rd pillar is a precursor to Social Management, the 4th and final pillar of Emotional Intelligence. It is an essential to great leadership. Leaders who are able to quickly understand and connect with others and the group are the leaders that have what many of us call charisma.
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