Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Interpersonal Skills
Interpersonal Skills
Interpersonal Skills
Communication Skills
Employees who score on social intelligence are also good communicators.
They express their thoughts clearly, precisely, succinctly – and pleasantly.
Individuals like these know exactly what to say, when it say it, and how to say
it. They are blessed with the gift of diplomacy, so even when being critical, the
person at the receiving end remains open to feedback. They also use language
effectively as they are tuned to its nuances, and choose their words before they
speak.
Positive Attitude
This is the guy or gal who has that ‘vibe’ – people naturally gravitate to them.
They have sunny personalities, their enthusiasm is infectious and, sometimes,
they can be charming too.
Note how people with good interpersonal skills are always cheerful and never
run down their colleagues or subordinates.
Teamwork
If you are socially intelligent, chances are you’re a good team player. This
means you have your eye on the goal post, and are adept at negotiating and
resolving conflicts while navigating the terrain en route to the goal. Everybody
loves a team player.
These are people who like to collaborate and therefore work well with other
people. They play on their colleagues’ strengths and never belittle or berate
other people.
Managers who stress teamwork interact with their team on a regular basis and
never let anyone feel left out. They avoid making comparisons among team
members; they intervene at an appropriate time when conflicts arise among
subordinates; and are always accessible to team members.
Networking
Business and the environment in which it operates are becoming increasingly
complex, making it even more critical that managers have good networking
skills.
Business partnerships are increasing, companies are rapidly expanding with
subsidiaries and regional operations spread across geographies, and there is
now a trend towards matrix management and cross-functional teams.
Simply put, this means interacting with many people at many different levels,
in different places, all at the same time.
Add to the mix clients, customers, vendors, suppliers, you name it, and you
have a growing basket of people you need to interact with and stay in touch
with as part of your core responsibilities.
Networking doesn’t necessarily mean having the gift of the gab, and calling up
everyone in your contact list at regular intervals.
While some of this does help, networking means building lasting relationships
with the people, or partner organisations, or customers and clients you work
with so that they see value in you.
An integral part of building these connections is by engaging them
meaningfully, gaining their trust and getting them to view you as someone
who is reliable.
It is very important to know what you have to offer and then make sure other
people know it too!
Here are some professional networking tips.
Empathy
This is the ability to put yourself in the other person’s shoes and truly
understand what they are saying or feeling without judgement or bias.
People with healthy interpersonal skills score on empathy because they are
good listeners, they are patient and don’t jump to conclusions and are self-
aware.
As a manager, this is an especially great skill to have as it helps when, say, a
subordinate is trying to explain a controversial decision, or during conflict-
resolution, when team members are butting heads and it is crucial not to take
sides.
Confidence
Being confident and assertive about what you believe in, standing up for your
ideas and confidently instructing others on what should or shouldn’t be done
are an important part of interpersonal skills. When combined with tact,
confidence can earn respect.
As colleagues and subordinates realise that you are sure of yourself, you
become the go-to person for looking for help, suggestions or advice.