Where does your Empathy Rank?

December 28, 2009 by Taylor Studios in Professional & Industry Tips

Back in 2008 I took an Emotional Quotient test to test my emotional intelligence. Daniel Goleman, author and psychologist, writes about the importance of emotional intelligence in order to be a great leader. On my test, my lowest score was empathy. Given that it was the Holiday Season I thought I should blog about something like empathy and this is what I came up with.

I was not surprised that my empathy score was low. I believe strongly in self reliance, self responsibility, self sacrifice, an internal locus of control and that you are in charge of your own destiny. I am happy to help those that help themselves. I don’t like it when people play what I call a victim, villain, helpless role. I do like to help people be more than they thought they could be. This quote by John Quincy Adams sums up my leadership approach, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” So, if you got yourself into credit card debt, don’t come to me for empathy, but I might kick your butt in the right direction to fix it.

Emotional intelligence consists of: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skill. Several studies have noted that the most successful leaders have the strongest emotional intelligence. Empathy can be increased by methods that involve looking at things from the perspective of others. It is useful to have this perspective when communicating with others also. Thinking about what the other person wants will help to achieve a successful communication. From this perspective, I think my empathy score might be higher if I were to take the test now. I often try to put myself in the other person’s shoes.

My empathy score indicated I had difficulties with consistently understanding what others are feeling and thinking. I still may have difficulties with some of that, especially when dating. However, I have humbly shared some of my weird dating stories with my staff and I think it will help keep them married. That is my silly gift this season.

How would you rate your empathy? How would you rate your emotional intelligence?

I wish you a healthy, happy and prosperous new year!!

Posted by: Betty