Here's how you can build trust and credibility with your teams using emotional intelligence.

You need to be authentic though. You can’t just “use EQ”. Most people can spot fakes a mile off. The more genuine you are, the more likely you are to build trust. People might not like you. You may not be their first choice for a night out. But if they see you are genuine they can trust you. And if you are not trusted, you won’t lead anyone.

While the mainstream acclaim of emotional intelligence (EQ) as a golden key to leadership success paints a picture of universal applicability, it's essential to approach this concept with a healthy dose of skepticism and a contrarian perspective. Yes, EQ is constructed on four foundational pillars—self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management—and its benefits are touted from boardrooms to business schools. However, it's time to challenge the narrative and consider that perhaps EQ isn't the one-size-fits-all solution it's often made out to be.

Leaders who effectively integrate emotional intelligence into their style are more likely to cultivate a trusting and credible team. Through self-awareness, you become attuned to the impact of your moods on the team's dynamics. By managing your emotions, especially under pressure, you set a tone of steadiness and resilience. Understanding and valuing the emotional currents within your team enhances social synergy. Excelling in relationship management, you motivate and unite your team, transforming potential conflicts into productive collaboration.

The foundational understanding that needs to underpin your emotional intelligence is that humans aren't all the same - we hold unique preferences, expectations, and perspectives informed by our unique cultural lens (Zaldivar, 2020) and our lived experiences at work and elsewhere. That knowledge is the launch pad from which we can understand our norms, expectations, and preferences as a manager aren't necessarily "the right way" to do things - they are just ours. We can also begin to understand that our perception of events isn't the only perception - our team might experience the same event but interpret it and be impacted by it very differently - and their perspective should still hold weight, even if they're very different from ours.

Things to avoid when practising active listening: -Interrupt -Show signs of impatience -Judge or argue -Multitask during a conversation -Have expectations or preconceived ideas -Become defensive or assume you are being attacked -Use condescending, aggressive, or closed body language -Listen with biases or closed to new ideas Jump to conclusions or finish someone's sentences

If you’re speaking for more than 1/3 of a trust-building conversation with a team member, you’re probably not being as effective in active listening. Trust is eroded when people feel they’re not seen or are being lectured without grasping underlying concerns. Give yourself time to digest and refrain from providing a barrage of well-intentioned recommendations. More often than not, they may already have a valid solution, and just needed a trustworthy soundboard to test out their decision-making process.

Active listening is a critical skill in emotional intelligence that engenders trust. By fully focusing on the speaker, avoiding premature judgments, and engaging in thoughtful dialogue, you validate your team's contributions. This active engagement communicates respect and builds a foundation of trust, crucial for a healthy team dynamic where members feel genuinely heard and appreciated.

Firstly, start by actively listening to yourself - sensing your own feelings and needs, as this sets the foundation for effective communication. Understanding yourself allows you to approach interactions with authenticity and sincerity. Next, it's crucial to sense others' feelings and needs to the fullest extent. Practice active listening skills to truly grasp the underlying motivations behind their behavior. Don't assume. Ask questions. Listen actively. Show empathy. By following these steps, you can build the foundations of trust and respect within your team

A strong EQ person will have better communication.. which means more listening & less talking. Listening has two types 1. Art of listening (nodding, umm sound & acknowledgement) 2. Actual listening (where they make notes & ask questions) Both are equally important. If a person is good at listening & doesn't interrupt unnecessarily, then he has better EQ.

Ability to put yourself in their shoes and go beyond the message - to the root of why they may be communicating what they are, will prove to the other person you are trying active listening and focused on what they have to say.

Empathy is the heart of emotional intelligence. Demonstrating the ability to perceive and share your team's feelings fosters a deep connection, paving the way for a trust-filled environment. When team members feel truly understood, they are more open, cooperative, and committed. A leader's empathy signals a supportive culture that values each individual beyond their roles.

It is possible to validate someone’s emotional response and lived experience while also maintaining objectivity and accountability. Your credibility isn’t based on taking sides, but on holding space for friction while moving the team forward. Encourage honest emotions to be expressed, while also proposing ways to progress past rumination to ownership and long-term action.

Empathy is the linchpin of effective leadership. Through my experiences, I’ve found that truly listening and responding to team members' concerns with genuine understanding significantly boosts trust. Here's a quick tip - Always make time for regular one-on-ones. This practice helps not only in catching up on tasks but also in understanding the personal challenges your team might be facing. This approach has consistently helped me build a more cohesive and committed team. Spotting emotions and acting thoughtfully speaks louder than any strategy. Its the start to powerful professional relationships.

Empathy matters in building trust and credibility among your team because it demonstrates your understanding and validation of their emotions and experiences. By showing empathy, you create a supportive environment where team members feel valued and understood, fostering stronger relationships. This emotional intelligence helps you connect on a deeper level, enhancing collaboration, morale, and overall team effectiveness.

Transparent communication is essential in nurturing trust. It's about sharing information openly and acknowledging vulnerabilities while maintaining professional discretion. Transparent leaders express their reasoning and decisions clearly, inviting open dialogue and building an environment of mutual respect and trust.

From what I've seen, companies that really embed transparency into their culture usually see way more engagement, loyalty, and better performance. People working in these places genuinely feel like they belong and matter, because they know their contributions get noticed and appreciated. This kind of trust and respect that comes from being open and honest in communication is super important for any company's long-term success and staying power.

Preface your responses with your acknowledgment that you may not have the whole picture, there may be unintentional gaps in interpretation, or things might change in the marketplace or the company even as communication is waterfalled. Establish the baseline that you as a leader want to and can support honest and ongoing information sharing, and they can ask questions or share concerns with no fear of judgment or repercussions.

Transparent communication is critical in building trust. I’ve seen how open dialogue creates a culture of mutual respect and understanding. It’s about being honest about what’s working and what isn’t, and importantly, why decisions are made. For me, always share the ‘why’ behind your actions. It invites your team into the decision-making process and helps demystify leadership. This practice not only enhances team buy-in but also encourages a more engaged and proactive team environment.

Once you understand what's being said, it is useful to play back to the other party what you understood they said. Paraphrasing should allow them the opportunity to correct anything you may have missed or misunderstood. If the stakes are high, this will not feel like a waste of time and show again your empathy and willingness to listen.

Delivering consistent and thoughtful feedback is a testament to your investment in the team's growth. Feedback, when balanced with praise and constructive critique, reinforces a leader's commitment to the team's continuous improvement and success. Such feedback promotes a culture of trust, with the understanding that all feedback is aimed at fostering development.

Consistent feedback is essential for trust. Establishing regular feedback loops not only clarifies expectations but also strengthens relationships. It’s about being proactive, not reactive. In practice, I’ve adopted weekly check-ins and real-time feedback after tasks. This approach has turned feedback into a tool for immediate improvement and personal growth, rather than a dreaded critique. It’s crucial to balance praise with constructive suggestions, ensuring your team knows they are valued and understood.

To build trust and credibility while giving feedback, make sure you preserve the relationship. Constructive feedback might be understood as jeopardizing the relationship by a sensitive counterpart. Make sure you share your intention and reassure about the fact that you believe in the person and their abilities before you share what you consider could/should progress. Creating safety around the relationship, you'll dramatically enhance the chances the feedback is taken and implemented.

Emotionally intelligent people will go for Feed-Forward rather than feedback. Their concern is to communicate the message & not to hurt or humiliate the other. They choose their words while speaking & be very careful while communicating. Team members feel psychologically safe with these kinds of leaders who had a better way of expressing their opinions.

From my experiences, I suggest to go for Fee-Forward vs Feedback. Feed-forward control predicts the system's behavior and pre-empts potential issues before they occur, akin to steering a ship before encountering rough waters. Conversely, feedback control adjusts based on past performance, akin to a driver correcting their course after hitting a bump. Both mechanisms are vital in achieving stability and efficiency across various systems. While improving past performance can relay on feedback, feed-forward helps in achieving new goals, new targets align to outcomes. As per context, pick one or combo to yield best results for our Product Innovation team.

Providing emotional support, particularly during challenging times, solidifies trust. Being approachable and considerate during times of stress shows dedication to your team's well-being. Such support is a powerful gesture of a leader's commitment to their team's holistic success.

In every team, every individual has their own unique challenges and worries. Most of the times, what is needed is that little push of: you’ve got this, I believe in you; in order to eradicate or minimise self doubt and limiting beliefs. In other cases emotional support can be the beacon upon to which someone can rely to be able to keep going, manage the challenges while in the same time is reassured that it is ok sometimes to need support and that doesn’t minimise their worth at all.

Emotional support is undoubtedly critical, but it should stem from authenticity rather than sympathy. Based on my experiences, I strongly advocate for offering emotional support consistently throughout the journey, whether it culminates in success or failure. Providing emotional support solely during challenging times is commendable, but it's not optimal. The culture we foster within our teams shouldn't be reactive; rather, it should embody proactive and partnership-oriented thinking. This involves active engagement, delegation, granting autonomy, empowering team members, and ensuring these practices become ingrained in our culture on an ongoing basis.

Building trust and credibility within teams through emotional intelligence involves understanding and managing both your own emotions and those of your team members. It starts with active listening and empathy, where you genuinely seek to understand your team's perspectives and emotions. Authenticity is key, as being sincere and transparent builds trust over time.

Leverage EQ to offer emotional support, fostering trust and credibility. Actively listen, showing genuine interest in team members' feelings. Validate their emotions without judgment to create a safe space. Empathize by putting yourself in their shoes, demonstrating understanding and concern. Communicate with kindness and encourage open dialogues, making team members feel heard and valued. Be transparent about your feelings and decisions, building mutual respect. Recognize individual contributions, boosting morale and trust. By emotionally supporting your team, you'll strengthen connections and credibility, essential for a cohesive and productive environment.

EI is required for and by every individual ! However, the impact of poor EI at a function lead level or even a Project Manager with a large team is sure to have more cascading negative effects. Organizations have a tendency of placing their top performer as a lead for a client delivery without considering their people management skills. This is quite dangerous and fosters a "dis-engaging" ambience that can have grave consequences. Equipping with self reflection tools and coaching support can bring about a learnt and practiced capability over a period of time to "earn " trust of team. It is surely not easy and there is NO quick win here.

Psychological safety is the belief that you won’t be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes. Psychological safety at work doesn’t mean that everybody is nice to each other all the time. It means that people feel free to brainstorm out loud, voice half-finished thoughts, openly challenge the status quo, share feedback, and work through disagreements together knowing that leaders value honesty, and truth-telling, and that team members will have one another’s backs.

Build trust and credibility with your teams using emotional intelligence by practicing empathy, active listening, and self-awareness. Understand team members' emotions and perspectives, responding with compassion and respect. Foster open communication, encourage feedback, and address conflicts constructively. By demonstrating emotional intelligence, you create a trusting and supportive team environment.

Leaders should also share their own experiences with emotional intelligence, illustrating its impact on personal and team success. Personal anecdotes of how emotional intelligence was instrumental in overcoming obstacles can serve as compelling examples for the team, underscoring the leader's authenticity and the practical value of emotional intelligence.

While knowing that their contributions are valued can foster a sense of belonging among team members, excessive transparency might inadvertently spotlight performance discrepancies, fostering an environment of comparison and competition rather than collaboration. The very tool intended to unify could sow division, as not all individuals process or react to information in the same way.