6 ways you can improve your employer brand
01 May, 2023
Emotional intelligence is often overlooked as a necessary skill for building your career, or as a trait you can develop. Yet recognising your own emotional intelligence and implementing it as a tool for communication can be instrumental in building stronger connections, understanding the needs of those around you and driving your own progression.
Accredited Executive Coach, entrepreneur and podcaster, Nicky Lowe provides an insight into the topic of emotional intelligence in a recent episode of our Progressing Lives Everywhere Podcast.
When I spoke to her, she revealed how we can use emotional intelligence to unlock our potential and progress our lives.
Take a leap of faith.
Everyone reaches a point in their career where they need something to change: a new challenge, a higher salary, a chance to start something new, or just an end to an unenjoyable job. But that desire for change has to combat the fear of stepping into the unknown. We often use our emotional intelligence to our detriment, talking ourselves out of our long term desires and not trusting our internal instinct.
Understanding those responses, being able to clarify what’s driving you to make a change versus what’s preventing it, can help you make the most emotionally healthy decisions - even if other people don’t understand it!
During the podcast, Nicky explained to me how when she moved out of her successful career as an account manager to start her own business, it didn't make logical sense, but she knew it was the right path to take.
Nicky said: "Where I was in my career, how well-regarded I was, to take the leap I did at that point without some safety nets in place didn't make logical sense. But there was just this deep knowing in me that this feels right for me."
When it comes to a career change, it's understandably intimidating, and there are many things to consider. Although Nicky would say to not make a change on a 'whim', she said she was guided by this 'North Star', trusting her values when progressing her life and taking a leap into the unknown. Nicky would say:
"I think (what) has always guided me has always been this North Star. It’s really getting clear on what my personal values are and how they map onto my career so I could take (an) informed choice that may still feel uncomfortable, but it wasn't reckless or on a whim. (...) It has felt like a leap into the unknown."
Embrace vulnerability.
Many of us innately doubt ourselves and give in to our feelings of vulnerability when we consider or take a leap of faith into the unknown. However, our vulnerability shouldn't be a deterrent or stop us from making a career change.
When Nicky started her business, she mentioned how she was at her most vulnerable but honed in on her emotional intelligence to become more comfortable with her vulnerability - essentially embracing it.
"It's interesting because when I've taken those steps (to start a business), I've often felt at my most vulnerable because you're stepping into the unknown.
Earlier on in my career, I used to think that if I'm feeling vulnerable, it means I'm not meant to do it. (...) I think the other piece of me is getting more comfortable with that vulnerability."
Vulnerability is part of the brains fight or flight survival design. We often feel this way when we're in a position where we feel uncomfortable, tying into the thoughts of not feeling good enough or qualified enough to complete a certain task or take on a specific role.
As Nicky would emphasise, it's important to know that embracing your vulnerability is part of your progression process.
"I realised that when I was creating my own business, although I wouldn't call myself a creative person, you know, like an artist or designer, I realised that actually the process of creating and launching your own business is a very creative process and creating your own career that there's this vulnerability and creativity. And I hadn't recognised that. So not necessarily seeing it (vulnerability) as a red flag, that I shouldn't be doing this, or I'm not yet ready, but just going actually, that's part of the process."
Unlock your 'zone of genius'.
Our brains are wired for negative bias, and we often focus on what we're not particularly good at. Of course, there is no harm in developing areas where we show weakness, but it can be so much better to develop your best abilities even further. When you think about your progression, do you think about doing more of what you’re good at and enjoy, or do you think about continuing to struggle at improving your weakest skills?
Early in her career, Nicky would focus on areas where she wasn't so strong, but she soon learnt to use emotional intelligence to direct her energies, focusing on progressing in the areas she enjoyed. Finding her niche, specialising in just the areas she was interested in, became her “zone of genius”.
Nicky said: "I spent a lot of my early career focussing on what I wasn't so good at and what I needed to do better, which absolutely can help with progression. But all of the research shows that actually when we focus more on our strengths, we not only flourish more, but we achieve more."
You may be reading this not knowing your 'zone of genius', which is completely fine. To get some inspiration, think about what comes easy to you and what you enjoy doing.
Nicky says her 'zone of genius is what "I enjoy and (when) I'm in flow are normally signs that you're in your 'zone of genius'.
And it's not that it's so easy that it bores you. I think there's got to be a certain degree of challenge that you feel that kind of anticipation and excitement. But it's normally what you find just naturally comes easy to you."
Therefore, we should be honing and improving in areas that we are good at and paying attention to what we enjoy - our 'zone of genius'.
Manage your energy.
To an extent, how we hone in on our' zone of genius' is dictated by how we manage our energy.
Don't think of managing your energy in the same way you manage your time. You may not be able to schedule in when you’ll have that burst of creative energy that will help you accomplish a task - but by paying attention to your emotional intelligence you’ll soon learn how to recognise when you’re at your best for a particular task, and what you need to do to overcome a lack of energy. So to progress your life, you must use emotional intelligence to focus your energy on your strengths, as Nicky says.
"Time is not renewable, but energy is (...) when you're playing to your strengths, you just are in this energetic flow. (...) When we can manage our energy, that's when we can progress."
In the same way that we all have different levels of emotional intelligence, we all have different energy types. This is outlined in our article How to progress lives through effective communication, and Nicky gives her thoughts on this.
Nicky said: "What is managing energy for one person will be completely different, whether you an extrovert or an introvert. What are your preferences? But actually, if we can tune into our energy, that can be powerful."
To progress your career, use your emotional intelligence first to find your 'zone of genius' and focus your energy on these strengths.
Progression doesn't have to be linear.
During our lives, we will all go through the feelings of wanting to take a leap of faith, confronting our vulnerabilities, finding our 'zone of genius' and managing our energy to unlock our potential.
When it comes to harnessing the power of emotional intelligence to progress our lives, it's important to recognise that this element of progression won't necessarily move in a perfectly straight line, as Nicky would say.
"For me, it's about becoming wiser, it is about continually and gradually kind of moving forward, but that isn't necessarily always in a straight perfect line."
Finally, Nicky gave this inspiring line for those using emotional intelligence to progress their lives:
Nicky said: "Be prepared for everything but expect nothing. (...) it's that agility to stay grounded and be open to the possibilities."
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Listen to the conversation with Nicky and I by searching for 'Progressing Lives Everywhere' on your preferred podcast platform or on our website.
If you were inspired by this piece and are looking to unlock your potential, contact us today and discover how Amoria Bond recruitment services can help.
