Leading with emotional intelligence is a major part of success in any leadership role. In this Tough Things First podcast, Ray Zinn outlines what is at the heart of developing this difficult skill to master.
Rob Artigo: We have talked at length on this show about your management style, walking around, getting to know employees, and you’ve written about it in your book, The Essential Leader. So I want to unpack that a little bit though, and talk in more detail about self-awareness, which you have, and also empathy, which you also have an abundance of, and incorporating that with your interpersonal skills to be an effective leader.
Are these essential attributes, to coin a phrase from the book, are these essential attributes that you’re looking for in leaders that you hire, as well as what you expect of yourself?
Ray Zinn: Absolutely. My thought goes to what constitutes a good father or a good mother. It starts out, when I’ve heard eulogies given about a person who’s passed away, the thing I hear about them, “They were a good person,” and I’ve never heard a eulogy for someone who has passed that wasn’t considered their goodness, as you would.
When I hear somebody say, “Well, that person’s been a good father or is a good father,” Or mother, or whoever, it’s because of their goodness. The constitution of a good leader is their goodness, G-O-O-D-N-E-S-S. Goodness. Okay. So do we need to define what is goodness?
Rob Artigo: I think you did right there. What is goodness? It is, to me, a peaceful presentation of yourself, to show your empathy, and, really, your ability to communicate. And I think that’s where you get the reputation for goodness.
Ray Zinn: And a word is caring. A good person is a caring person. They care, meaning they honestly and realistically care for others. They put themselves subservient to others. A good father, a good mother, a good husband, a good wife, a good employee, a good leader, that they all start with good, G-O-O-D, good. Good means you’re respectful, you’re honest, you have high integrity, you show dignity and respect for others, and you’re willing to put yourself at risk doing whatever it takes. A good father, a good mother, they look out for their children. Good brothers and good sisters look out for each other. Good husband and good wives out for each other. Good leaders look out for their employees. They put themselves at risk for their employees, I should say.
Rob Artigo: Yeah. Well, and in the workplace with, Micrel is a computer chip company, and you had design teams, you had people that were in creative environments, and I’m wondering if this approach as a good leader helps build stronger teams.
Ray Zinn: Absolutely. I mean, that’s what you want, is you want them to know that you care, that you show respect in all respects. You show respect for others, whether it be your customers, whether it be your vendors, whether it be your employees. That respect has to be number one. And what is respect? It’s a caring attitude.
Rob Artigo: And everyone knows that workplace conflicts do spring up. I mean, even in the best work environments, you’re going to have some conflicts, and they can be creative conflicts, or they can just be personal conflicts, and you just don’t like somebody. But I wonder if empathy and interpersonal skills make a difference in resolving these issues.
Ray Zinn: Sure. We just talked about that. I mean, to be empathetic means you are caring. To be conflict-resoluting, that means you’re caring. You don’t condescend, you don’t use foul language, you don’t use words or definitions of people that are negative or disheartening to those that you’re addressing. They feel your love, and that’s the key, is feeling that love and that respect is what’s key. And so if we can highlight the most important principle or factor to being a loving, caring person, it is to show respect for all individuals.
Rob Artigo: Our listeners can join the conversation at toughthingsfirst.com. Questions and comments are always welcome there. Follow Ray on Twitter or X, depending on how you want to reference it, Facebook, and LinkedIn. And of course you can also check out Ray’s books, and we invite you to. Tough Things First is the first one, as you know, there is the Zen of Zinn series, which is one, two, and three. And on sale now, The Essential Leader. Pick up the books. Thanks, Ray.
Ray Zinn: Thanks Rob.
