This blog is part of a series of blogs exploring Emotional Intelligence. Looking at ways to be able to develop and enhance our own perceived levels of Emotional Intelligence.

What is Emotional Intelligence?

To gain a greater understanding you can read a previous blog What is Emotional Intelligence and How Can I develop it, for more detail. However, Emotional intelligence is all about how well you understand your own emotions and the emotions of others, and the ability to identify and manage them. Emotional Intelligence, also known as “Ei” or “EQ”, is now well established set of “Competencies” that contribute to performance, engagement and success.

Their are five key areas of Emotional Intelligence, Self Perception, Self Expression, Interpersonal, Decision Making and Stress Management. Each of these areas has three traits. We are going to discuss each of these traits in more detail with their own blog. We have previous looked at the area of Self Perception and now looking at Self Expression. This week we will be exploring the trait, Social Responsibility.

What is Social Responsibility and the relations to Emotional Intelligence?

Social Responsibility is the ability to demonstrate oneself as a cooperative, contributing and constructive member of one social group. It involves being a responsible and cooperative group member. Social situations bring their own pressures and we are more or less good at noticing and then adapting to them. There are unwritten, and sometimes formal, rules about how we dress, act or even speak differently at work, at home and in certain types of social situations. Some of us make efforts to adapt; some of those make a point of being ourselves.

Think of it this way, Social Responsibility to the ability to understand what is happening in a social or team gathering and being able to work and communicate with people in that group. It’s about the contribution you make to a group.

“The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.” – C.G. Jung 

How much do you use the trait of Social Responsibility?

Take a look at how you work with the team around you. Do you know that you contribute to the team? Do you understand what the team need?

When Social Responsibility is operating well:

  • Considerate, responsible and dependable
  • Understands own and others feelings
  • Contributes to achieving recognised company and team goals
  • Reads emotions in any situation well
  • Feels a sense of fulfilment from helping others

When Social Responsibility is low:

  • Puts own needs ahead of others’ needs
  • Takes advantage of others
  • Can hinder organisational effectiveness
  • Creates anti social behaviour and avoidable disagreements

Developing Social Responsibility

During Learning Cog’s Emotional Intelligence (EQ) Masterclass, starting with ‘Self-Perception’, we explain how to assess you own emotional intelligence and how to develop your EQ awareness. Here in this blog we have added some areas to think about when developing Social Responsibility.

Observation

Being Socially Responsible is about connecting with others and understand what is the right thing to do by the group. Here are ways to observe others that you perceive to have strong Socially Responsible skills.

  • Who do you know who is a good citizen, someone who is genuinely helpful and more interested in others than themselves?
  • What do they actually do to help other people?
  • What sorts of things do other people depend on them for?
  • How do they show the extent to which they care and respect for other people?
  • What charity or community activities are they involving outside of their work contacts?
  • Do they understand group dynamics?
  • How did we interact with a group and become part of that group?

Self Coaching

  • At work, what support do I offer people outside my job role an immediate area of responsibility?
  • Do I fully understand what is happening around me?
  • What opportunities exist in my day to do something altruistic, that I ignore?
  • Are there any small things that people do to me that make a difference to my life?
  • What does social interaction mean in my life?
  • Can I explain what neighbourliness means in my life?
  • What examples have I experienced of people being neighbourly?
  • How do I explain my relationship with my team?
  • What does neighbourliness mean at work?
  • Do I have any examples of people being neighbourly have I experienced at work?

Thinking and Reflection

Here is an exercise for you to complete to help build your understanding of your own Social Responsibility.

Exercise 1: Contribution
Ask yourself what specific contribution you can make to every single person who works with you and take steps to make this happen, express this to them as a commitment and use activity to exert personal leadership alongside your practical our technical expertise.

Exercise 2: What’s going on
In every interaction within the team, meeting, office environment, take time to understand what is really happening and if you are fully in tune with the social experience that everybody else has. Ask somebody who was in that situation if their experience was the same as yours.

Doing

  • Offer to be a mentor.
  • Make time to help your team.
  • Do something beyond the limits of your usual job at work.
  • Building atmosphere of collaboration and responsibility.
  • Take time to learn the unwritten rules.
  • Find time in everyday to help others.
  • Do something beyond the limits of your usual job at work.
  • Take an approach at that will benefit others.
  • Encourage and support others to volunteer, mental and take responsibility.
  • Help build an atmosphere of corporation and responsibility at work and in the community.

The more time you spend observing yourself and the people around you, the more you develop your Social Responsibility. Give yourself time, it may feel mechanical, clumsy and awkward at first, but with practice it will become quick and easy and automatic. Why not get in touch and talk to us more about developing Emotional Intelligence in yourself, your Leadership Team or your whole business. info@learningcog.com

Look out for the next blog on Developing Emotional Intelligence – Part 8 – Empathy

Or read previous blogs:

What is emotional intelligence? and how can I develop it…

1 Developing Emotional Intelligence – Part 1 – Self Regard

2 Developing Emotional Intelligence – Part 2 – Self Actualisation

3 Developing Emotional Intelligence – Part 3 – Emotional Self Awareness

4 Developing Emotional Intelligence – Part 4 – Emotional Expression

5 Developing Emotional Intelligence – Part 5 – Assertiveness

6 Developing Emotional Intelligence – Part 6 – Independence

Did you know we currently offer [Virtual] Emotional Intelligence testing and training?

Before the workshop you will be invited to take part in a pre-course activity which includes an online self-assessment producing a 20 page personal Emotional Intelligence Report.

An employee’s skills and qualifications are important for success within their role. An employee’s Emotional Intelligence is just as important, if not more so, for fulfilment within, or potentially beyond, their current role. The Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace workshop is designed to as part of an individual’s development in work settings. It helps individuals focus on the impact of emotional intelligence at work and offers suggestions for working more effectively in one’s role, with colleagues, managers and clients.

  • Understand the impact of Emotional Intelligence on themselves and the people around them
  • Quickly identify patterns in own and others Emotional Intelligence
  • Create a clear, organised understanding of their strengths and weaknesses in a constructive way.
  • Effectively measure where they currently are and wants to be by comparing results against sample groups of general population
  • Make instant connections between different subscales of Emotional Intelligence and help leverage EI strengths and improve EI weaknesses.
  • Create an action plan to develop key areas of Emotional Intelligence
  • Become a more effect member of the team and organisation– This virtual session is 4 hours with a 1 hour break.
    – All of our Virtual Learning workshops are conducted via Zoom.
    – Virtual learning begins at 10.30am through to 12.30pm and then again from 1.30pm to 3.30pm. 
    – You will receive an electronic version of your Emotional Intelligence report, and workshop materials will be sent via post.

To discover more about Emotional Intelligence and how LearningCog can help you, head over to our dedicated Emotional Intelligence page.