The best thing we can do right now is not to waste the power of a good storm to refresh and bring about positive change. One positive change you can make is by framing everything with an emotional quotient (EQ) view, to add an extra layer of understanding, especially in this confusing and uncertain situation.
“EQ, or emotional intelligence, is the ability to understand, use, and manage your own emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges and defuse conflict,” as this Glassdoor post puts it.
Using EQ allows you to create and maintain relationships. It helps you identify observable behaviors associated with various personality styles and know how to successfully connect with each one by customizing your communications. In short, knowing how to use EQ is important, especially during this unprecedented period of time.
The key elements of EQ
What do you know about yourself? Are you more of a talker or a listener? Do you think you’re an optimist or a realist? What’s your personality style? Do you know your DISC and EQ profiles?
The first part of being able to connect with other people is really understanding what you bring to the table and how you’re coming across to other people. This is where the first key element of self-awareness comes in.
DISC and EQ profiles are helpful when it comes to discovering your self-awareness because they are objective reports that tell you what your strengths and challenges are and allow you to hone in on your strengths and make them a part of who you are.
The second key element is empathy. For some people, empathy comes naturally, and they have it in abundance. For others, it can be more of a challenge, but it doesn’t mean you can’t work at improving it. Learning to be observant to certain details and behaviors will help you.
Empathy will only add to your self-awareness and allow you to establish meaningful connections with your clients.
How to identify DISC personalities
As human beings, we’re often misunderstood. Whether it’s at home or the office, our personalities can frequently become a source of mystery and confusion. They can also cause stress and tension in the workplace, in addition to hampering our productivity and overall satisfaction.
As the website claims, “DISC is a powerful and profoundly simple tool to understanding people.” Because human behavior isn’t so “black and white,” the DISC theory breaks down personalities into these four styles:
- Dominant: They are direct, decisive and have high ego strength. They are problem-solvers, risk-takers and self-starters. They bring value by being the bottom-line organizer, placing emphasis on time and thinking outside the box.
- Influence: They are enthusiastic, trusting, optimistic, persuasive, talkative, impulsive and emotional.
- Steadiness: They are good listeners, team players, possessive, steady, predictable, understanding and friendly.
- Compliance: They are accurate, analytic, conscientious, careful, fact-finders, precise, have high standards and are systematic.
It’s important to identify these personalities within your clients. By understanding someone’s DISC personality blend, you’ll know what to do to make them feel comfortable and evoke a positive reaction. You’ll better understand them, assess their actions and predict their behavior.
How to apply EQ to your relationships
Your CRM has been on the back burner for a while, so use this time to optimize and organize your business, while also being inclusive to your clients’ needs and personalities. Take this opportunity to go through your database, and augment it.
Think of the people you have in there, whether they’re prospects or clients, and consider the observable behaviors that we discussed above. Go into their contact information and write what profile you think they might be and why you came to that conclusion.
Now is the time to dive deeper into DISC and EQ profiling to learn more about your clients and how to service them better with their personality profiles in mind.
Customize your approach and communications with your prospects and clients to watch your interactions improve and your connections strengthen.
Kathleen Black is the CEO of Kathleen Black Coaching and Consulting in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. Connect with her on Instagram at @kathleenblackcoaching or through her website ItTakesa.Team.
