Having Emotional Intelligence Basically Means Not Being a Jackass
Matty Kerr is co-creator with John Brancaccio of The Working Experience. He is also a filmmaker and published author. Listen to our podcast on iTunes and Spotify and visit our website: theworkingexperience.com for videos, merchandise and more. You can also find us on Facebook, Linked In, Instagram, and Twitter.
I had a colleague once who was criticizing a coworker for taking days off from work. She did not know why the person had to take the days off; it may have been because of a sick relative or child or a personal issue (we all have them, which a self-aware person would realize).
About a week later, I said to the critical person, “Well, nice that tomorrow is Friday.”
She responded, “Oh, well today’s my Friday. I’m taking tomorrow off. I just need a mental health day.”
Now, generally speaking, I like this person and she is pretty intelligent. But it is stunning how someone would not see this rather simple and obvious contradiction. It amazes me that she would not connect the dots between what she had been saying about the coworker and her own actions.
Who could possibly not see it?
Plus, the coworker taking days off had no impact on her. So why was she talking about it?
The watch word these days is Emotional Intelligence. To me, that simply means not being a clueless jackass when it comes to dealing with other people.
- Don’t talk about other people if it has nothing to do with you.
- Don’t make assumptions. If you are going to talk, at least find out what you are talking about.
- Learn the difference between gossip and honest airing of concerns.
- Stay away from the gossipers. Guilt by association can come back to bite you.
- 90% of the time, just keep your damn mouth shut.
People who are aware of their own actions and watch their mouths get more respect. People trust them.
They make better leaders.
