3 Ways to Reboot Your Brand with Emotional Intelligence

I saw a hilarious cartoon from Randy Glasbergen where a candidate says to the interviewer, “Yes, I think I have good people skills. What kind of idiot question is that?!” That 1-liner sums up why emotional intelligence is one of the most sought-after soft skills!

In the May series, Reboot Your Brand with Emotional Intelligence, we’ve talked about how to make emotional intelligence so synonymous with your behavior that it becomes your brand. A positive professional brand sounds easy enough to create, but what no one mentions along the way is that sheer talent is only the jumping-off point.

For example, you’ve probably known someone who has an exceptional natural talent for hard skills like design or coding. However, like the person in the cartoon, they accidentally undermine themselves because they’re also the temperamental genius who has trouble getting along with others! You may have counted to ten with the person who couldn’t interpret subtle verbal or body language cues in a meeting and just kept talking and talking. Or perhaps you’ve felt exasperated with someone who values technical achievement over standing in a customer’s shoes.

Those use cases show the value of making EQ part of your brand. They demonstrate how emotional intelligence can shift from a big, fuzzy cloud to quantifiable traits.

Think of EQ as Practical Traits

At the beginning of the series, I mentioned a new colleague. It struck me that her boss didn’t talk about her education or professional awards. She hired the Business Manager mostly on her EQ acumen.

For instance, her boss mentioned the Business Manager’s knack for discovering common pain points from key stakeholders (and that wasn’t necessarily the person with the most senior title!). Her creative, think on your feet style. And her calm, grounded manner when conversations got heated and deadlines were short.

Can you imagine someone describing you in such glowing terms? Let’s break down the list and make it personal. What EQ phrases or tactics appeal to you? Are there some you’ve already mastered and others you need to strengthen? How about:

* Combining critical thinking with deep listening to find important themes

* Responding in a creative, agile manner

* And the self-control to keep cool and stay wise when conversations escalate

Start thinking of emotional intelligence in terms of practical traits—like creativity, deep listening, and bringing wise thinking when the stakes are high. When you keep these traits in mind, it’s easy to use EQ to navigate your day.

How to Reboot Your Brand with Emotional Intelligence

Soft skills aren’t tricky or complicated—they’re as easy as 1, 2, 3! Here’s the recap of the three ways to reboot your brand with emotional intelligence along with the breakdown of soft skill How tactics:

1. Become the Voice People Want to Hear: Use EQ as a factor to calibrate your delivery for different audiences. Make discerning choices about your approach, timing, and street cred.
2. Meet with Yourself First: Rely on emotional intelligence to show up as poised, professional, and grown. Sketch out a game plan to be nimble, apply creative thinking, and show yourself compassion to stay on track and keep calm with challenging people.
3. Listen All the Way Through: Develop the self-control to listen all the way through, even when you want to jump in. Stay flexible and listen with empathy to the full story about the colorful personalities involved or what may or may not have worked in the past. The first answer you wanted to give may change!

Difficult situations and interactions with combative, defensive people will happen, but you don’t need to let those situations become the boss of you. Instead, take charge of your emotions and how you show up as the creative, wise CEO of your life—a Soul Boss. Broaden the depth and breadth of your brand by supporting your technical acumen and rich work experience with emotional intelligence.