When we think of emotional intelligence, it is easy to see how it applies in the workplace, at home, and in various kinds of interpersonal relationships. But beyond these contexts, emotional intelligence is an important skill for leaders everywhere, and politicians are leaders too. Emotional intelligence is thus a necessary skill for politicians.
As a politician, emotional intelligence will help you connect with your constituents and understand their concerns so that you can represent them effectively. It will also put you in a position to act with empathy so that you can make decisions and policies that enhance the lives of your constituents.
People are more likely to vote for politicians who care about them, so politicians who are more empathetic are more likely to be elected. Having said that, it is important to note that emotional intelligence is not the same as manipulation or deception.
So, empathy should not be deployed merely as a campaign strategy. Rather, it is a skill that helps you understand the needs and yearnings of the people whose votes you are seeking. And once you understand those needs, you provide a solution to meet them.
Empathy involves active listening and putting yourself in the shoes of your constituents. It will enable you to understand the thoughts, perspectives, and feelings of other people so that you can communicate with them and lead them effectively. You will seek first to understand instead of seeking first to be understood.
It’s important for politicians to develop all of the other dimensions of emotional intelligence, too, not just empathy. These include self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, and social skills. Let’s talk about each of these parts and how they work together to improve the relationship between politicians and the people they represent.
Self-Awareness
Self-awareness is the ability to recognize your own emotions, drives, moods, and thoughts, differentiate them from those of others, and understand how they affect your actions. It’s a very important skill that will help you choose how you respond to situations instead of adopting a reactionary approach to life.
A lack of self-awareness can lead to regrettable actions and decisions with damaging consequences. It can also make it difficult for you to relate to your constituents while making you a soft target for your opponents.
Politicians who lack self-awareness may come across as tyrants. They usually make excuses, put the blame on others, and think too much of themselves.
Conversely, a highly developed level of self-awareness will lead to a better understanding of yourself and the world around you.
Self-Regulation
Also called self-control, self-regulation is a crucial skill for politicians. It is the ability to control your own behavior and emotions. Self-regulation will help you remain calm in tough situations, thereby increasing your effectiveness as a leader.
If you don’t have a lot of self-control, you will often act on impulse without thinking about the best way to do something or what might happen as a result.
On the other hand, a highly developed level of self-regulation will make you thoughtful, flexible, and adaptable. You will be able to keep your cool when you are excited, angry, or disturbed, and you will be able to cheer yourself up when you are down.
To lack self-regulation is to be like a car with a faulty thermostat. The engine will not operate optimally, and the car may even end up severely damaged.
Politicians with self-regulation skills are more likely to be successful because they can keep their impulses in check. This enables them to make sound decisions without allowing their feelings to get in the way.
Self-regulation also helps you respond to feedback appropriately. Positive comments will not get you puffed up, and negative feedback will not weigh you down. Like John Wooden said, “You can’t let praise or criticism get to you. It’s a weakness to get caught up in either one.”
Motivation
If you want to be successful in the long run, you need to be driven by more than money and other extrinsic factors. You need to know that as a politician, your job is to make the lives of the people you represent better, make important contributions to national development, and work for peace and unity.
So, it’s important to set goals that show a clear picture of what you want to happen, and it’s also important to keep a positive attitude as you work to reach those goals. You must embrace the discipline of delayed gratification and be committed to building a legacy that will continue to positively impact people, long after you have left office.
Motivated politicians are passionate about their work. They are committed to surmounting the difficulties that will arise in fulfilling their mandate. They do not look for the easy way out. Instead, they follow through and deliver on their promises.
They have an infectious drive that inspires others and helps them galvanize support to facilitate the achievement of their goals.
Social Skills
You can think of social skills as a set of abilities that allow a person to interact in a way that is effective or appropriate in different social situations. It is important to have social skills because they enable people to communicate effectively, build trust, and work well with others.
As a politician, it is very important to work on your social skills so that you can communicate effectively and establish a rapport with people. This will put you in a better position to influence them.
It is important to note that having social skills is not about drawing attention to yourself or being a guest at every event. It is more about connecting with people in a way that makes them comfortable with you while also feeling good about themselves.
Politicians with strong social skills typically excel at forming cohesive teams and mobilizing volunteers. [Click to tweet]
How would you rate yourself?
Now that you understand why it is important for politicians to develop the various dimensions of emotional intelligence, how would you rate yourself in each of the areas? And how would your constituents rate you?
In the middle of all the campaigns and other drama that happen during an election year, it’s important to remember that the whole process is about choosing leaders that will advance our collective interests as a nation.
It is not about favoring your friends, cronies, and people from your ethnic background while discriminating against people who don’t look like you. So, regardless of the office that you hold or are running for, it is important that you cultivate empathy, self-awareness, self-regulation, self-motivation, and social skills so that you will be the kind of leader that you ought to be, and the kind of politician that the nation needs.