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How does EI play a role in Psychological Safety?

Quick thoughts on how Emotional Intelligence contributes to a psychologically safe environment.

From my experience in Leadership Development specifically utilising emotional intelligence to build leadership capability, for a leader to create an environment that is psychologically safe for others they firstly need Emotional Self-Awareness quickly backed up by Empathy and Interpersonal Relationships. That is, they need to be aware of how they are perceived by others, be cognisant of other’s reactions to what they are saying and have the ability to build mutually satisfying relationships that have trust at their centre.

I would also add that Self Regard plays a role in terms of being able to let go of your ego and allow others to take the floor and the limelight without judgement.

A good level of Reality Testing combined with Emotional Self-Awareness and Empathy further provides the leader with the ability to ‘read the room’ and assess how their style is impacting on the team dynamics and comfort of others to speak.

Flexibility steps in to provide the capability to adapt and flex their style in response to their evaluation of the environment.

A certain level of Assertiveness is required so the leader can call out those in the room who may directly or inadvertently be inhibiting others to feel comfortable.

And then we come to Brene Brown’s concept of vulnerability. By showing their own self, warts and all, the leaders allows others to also be flawed. Don’t get me wrong, this is not a licence to behave badly – see my first point regarding Emotional Self Awareness.

We can use our emotional intelligence to create a space for people to do their best work free from judgement.

What might you need to be mindful of in your interactions?

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A frightening truth about Empathy

I read something today that really peaked my interest. I have been fortunate enough to have an advance copy of Dr Steven Stein’s new book, The EQ Leader. Having been asked just the other day what I would recommend as strategies for improving empathy in leaders, I thought I would review the section on Empathy: What Can We Do About It?

Dr Stein quotes studies by Christine Ma-Kellams of the University of Laverne and Jennifer Lerner at Harvard University which are intriguing. In a nutshell (because you will have to read the book for all the details) the researchers demonstrate that by using a reasoning approach, you could get better results in understanding someone else’s emotions than by just using intuition (Steven J. Stein, 2017). That’s right. You can use your cognitive abilities to work through what is happening for someone else, or what their perspective might be.

So why do I consider this the ‘frightening’ truth about Empathy? Because it should scare all of those people who believe that empathy is something you either fundamentally have, or don’t have. Many leaders I talk to feel that some people are just more naturally empathetic than others. This allows them to ‘not’ be empathetic. It lets them off the hook so to speak.

The truth is that some people just enjoy other people more than others and this provides them with more of an impetus to BE empathetic. It doesn’t mean they are born with it, or naturally more capable. Unfortunately for those who would like to believe that it is a natural talent, it is something that is sought after. That is, direct reports perceive a link between empathy and improved leadership performance. If you are a leader, your team is looking for you to demonstrate empathy and will consider it when they evaluate your leadership performance.

What we can be assured of from the studies and Dr Stein’s insight, is that empathy is a skill that can be increased through targeted development, coaching and initiatives. Everyone can become more empathetic. Which makes me think of that old joke.

How many psychologists does it take to change a lightbulb?

One, but the lightbulb has to want to change.