14. Social Skills in Leadership- The Art of Relational Leadership

Social Support is everything, but this cannot exist just in your own head. Well-being is a combination of feeling good, as well as having meaning for good relationships.

Social skills refer to the leadership capability to comprehend and manage the emotions of others. Good social skills help you connect deeply with diverse people. Good social skills help leaders provide feedback, support, and convey ideas effectively, boosting team morale and building trust.

Effective communication and teamwork foster a positive culture and support system, enhancing productivity. Recognizing non-verbal cues and empathizing with others minimize misunderstandings and conflicts, promoting seamless teamwork.

1. Key Aspects:

Here are the key aspects of Situational Leadership.

· Persuasion and influence:

Being able to read the emotional atmosphere and adjust how they behave to appeal to others.

·?Communication:

Actively listening to others and being able to articulate your thoughts and emotions.

·?Conflict management:

Helping others share emotions to have healthy discussions and find logical win-win solutions.

·?Leadership qualities: Having the ability to clearly express a plan and encourage others to be enthusiastic about it, while providing support and guidance.

·?Change management:

Being able to make change sounds positive and removing barriers.

·?Strong relationships: Being interested in people, wanting to get to know them and being good at managing a wide variety of connections.

·?Collaboration and cooperation:

Sharing ideas and working with others to foster commitment and build a better environment for everyone.

2. Steps:

?Here are a few practical ways to improve your social skills:

1. Give compliments, express gratitude and apologize when necessary

Complimenting or expressing gratitude can start genuine conversations and create a positive environment. Focus on things within someone's control, like their accomplishments or presentation style, to show you value them as a person and employee. Showing appreciation also helps team members feel accomplished and motivated.

It's important to admit when you're wrong and make a sincere apology. This shows you care, value their feelings, and understand how your actions affect others.

2. Ask more questions

Show interest in your team by asking open-ended questions about their weekend, hobbies, likes, and dislikes. Avoid divisive topics like politics, religion, or sexuality.

Chatting with co-workers helps you practice active listening and empathy. Show engagement by asking follow-up questions and expressing interest. Also, share information about yourself to avoid it feeling like an interview and create meaningful connections.

3. Avoid manipulative or passive-aggressive behavior

Disagreements are normal. When sharing opinions, be respectful and open to discussion. Avoid passive-aggressive behavior as it can create discomfort and alienate your team.

There is a difference between expressing your point and persuading others to agree with you. It is important to recognize that people may have different perspectives, which is acceptable.

4. Find resources

Numerous resources, such as articles, books, and videos, can help you enhance social skills like communication, charisma, and gratitude.

3. Challenges:

For leaders, developing emotional intelligence, patience, and resilience is crucial for honing social skills. Challenges in leadership social skills include:

1. Building Trust and Rapport?

Building trust and rapport with team members requires time and consistent effort. Leaders must balance empathy with authority, which can be demanding, particularly in diverse teams.

2. Effective Communication?

Misunderstandings can occur from varying communication styles, cultural backgrounds, or personal biases. Leaders must adapt their communication to different people and situations.

3. Managing Conflicts?

Leaders frequently encounter team or departmental conflicts. Mediating these disputes with neutrality requires patience, emotional intelligence, and diplomacy.

4. Providing Constructive Feedback?

Providing feedback that is honest yet motivating can be challenging, especially when dealing with performance problems. Leaders must offer feedback that encourages growth without harming morale.

5. Handling Emotional Situations?

Workplace emotions can be intense, and leaders often support team members through challenges, impacting their energy and focus.

6. Balancing Approachability and Authority?

Leaders need to be approachable to encourage open communication while also maintaining sufficient authority to provide guidance and influence. Balancing these aspects can be difficult; being overly friendly may result in boundary issues, whereas too much distance might create a sense of inaccessibility.

7. Developing Cultural Sensitivity?

In workplaces with diverse cultures, leaders should be culturally aware and sensitive. Addressing differences in communication, expectations, and values requires ongoing learning and adaptability.

8. Time Constraints?

Developing social skills demands time, which can be hard to manage alongside leadership duties. Leaders must balance relationship-building with achieving task goals.

9. Adaptability to Individual Needs?

Each team member has different needs and preferences. Leaders should adapt their approach accordingly, which can be challenging with larger or remote teams.

10. Self-Awareness and Continuous Improvement?

Leaders must be self-aware and open to feedback on their social skills. This involves reflecting, learning from mistakes, and constantly improving.

4 .Benefits

?To work well with others, first understand your own emotions (self-awareness). Then, learn to manage and use them for motivation (self-regulation). Mastering this will help you better understand others' feelings (empathy) and influence them (social skills).

Here are a few benefits of social skills;

1. Better working environment

Effective communication and teamwork foster a positive culture, strong support system, and improved productivity in a pleasant environment.

2. Improved leadership skills

Strong communication, teamwork, empathy, and motivational skills are key to effective leadership.

Effective social skills enable leaders to provide constructive feedback, offer support, and communicate ideas more efficiently. This can significantly enhance team morale, as demonstrating strong leadership qualities fosters trust and motivates team members to perform at their best.

3. More cohesive team

Good social skills help you connect deeply with people from various backgrounds and cultures.

Recognizing non-verbal cues and empathizing with others can reduce misunderstandings and conflict, leading to smoother teamwork.