Emotional Intelligence during a pandemic

It was an unusually quiet Sunday morning, just few days into lockdown. I waved out to Jack (name changed), the community car washer as he passed by my house and entered in to the more densely populated part of the society. I then proceed to pick my newspaper, from the driveway, for the first time since lockdown and am thinking of possible ways of sanitizing it. We all did, didn't we? Going through my motions, I hear commotion in my neighborhood, more clear and loud than ever before.

"I don't have a job for you anymore" screamed my neighbor, Mr. Smith (name changed) on helpless Jack. Playing it safe, and rightly so maybe. my neighbor had relieved all his domestic help providers from service to protect his family from the scare of the pandemic. Overnight, many like Jack faced this predicament and their only way out was to keep knocking on doors to seek a chance to get back their livelihood. So when Jack managed to squeeze his way through the now re-fortified gates of our 'upscale' gated community and knocked on my neighbor's door, it gave my neighbor the chills. The very sight of Jack brought images of his family lying on the hospital bed counting their final days on earth. Jack on the other hand would probably never be able to afford a hospital bed if the pandemic caught up to him.

Jack had been a dedicated server of the community and would play his role well by ensuring we looked good driving our swanky - shiny cars to work. Day after day, he would show up and do his duty come rain or shine. What surprised me about this episode was the tone and content of the conversation used by Mr. Smith. A Senior Executive in a multinational company, Mr. Smith had never stayed home for more than two days in a row. Now, holed up at home with his family of five and having to contribute to the daily family responsibilities, this new lifestyle had already started taking its toll and Jack was on the receiving end this time.

The absolute lack all the five elements of Social Intelligence was clearly visible in this conversation:

1. Empathy - Ability to feel what the other person is feeling.
2. Self awareness - The ability to be aware of your feelings in the moment.
3. Self regulation - Managing your emotions and the resulting reactions.
4. Self Motivation - Your personal drive to improve and achieve.
5. Social Skills - Your ability to recognize and respond to the needs of others.

This pandemic is an unprecedented event. No one alive has dealt with something like this before and it is obvious that new human traits are coming to the forefront as the fight to win this battle prolongs. The human race is very resilient and has always come back strongly from previous adversities.

The ability to maintain one's composure and empathize during unfavorable conditions is a rare quality. This pandemic has given absolute control to people in position of power and as days go by, we see multiple layers of personalities which we hadn't seen earlier. What we are forgetting though is the fact that how we conduct ourselves during this time, will play a big role in our personal brand equity in the years to follow. The pandemic will probably impact people for a couple of years, but will still give an opportunity to everyone to come back stronger and better to catch up.

The whole point here is to be nice. To be kind. Look at things from a long term perspective.

"Are you OK?" is such a relevant question to ask anybody today. You will be surprised to know what people are going through and that they are ready to open up to unimaginable lengths if only they were asked.

This moment here is temporary, and we still need to go back to normal life one day. The ones with the emotional intelligence to figure this fundamental reality will soar to greater heights by keeping people and emotions at the core of their decisions.