Is Social Skill considered a key leadership capability?

As a component of EI, Social Skill is not as simple as it sounds! (Not just a matter of friendliness)

Definition: Proficiency in managing relationships and building networks; an ability to find common ground and build rapport

Hallmarks of Social Skill:

- Effectiveness in leading change
- Persuasiveness
- Expertise in building and leading teams

Social Skill is friendliness with a purpose, to influence people and guide them toward a desired outcome. People with strong social skills are expert at building rapport and have a wide network of acquaintances and recognizes that nothing important is accomplished alone. 

This skill is the combination of other emotional intelligence components. For example, when you understand and control your own emotions and can empathize with others, you become more effective at managing relationships. Additionally, highly-motivated people tend to be popular and their positive attitude can spread to others during conversations and social interactions. 

Social skills at workplace are evident in various ways, like managing teams, persuading others, and collaborating effectively. The ability to communicate effectively, listen actively, and adapt to different social contexts directly influences personal growth and professional success.

Social Skills in action:

An executive in the strategy department of a global computer manufacturer in 1993, was convinced that the company’s future lay with the Internet. Over the course of the next year, he found kindred spirits and used his social skill to stitch together a virtual community that cut across levels, divisions, and nations. He then used this de facto team to put up a corporate Web site, among the first by a major company. And, on his own initiative, with no budget or formal status, he signed up the company to participate in an annual Internet industry convention. Calling on his allies and persuading various divisions to donate funds, he recruited more than 50 people from a dozen different units to represent the company at the convention.

Management took notice: Within a year of the conference, the executive’s team formed the basis of the company’s first Internet division, and he was formally put in charge of it. To get there, the executive had ignored conventional boundaries, forging and maintaining connections with people in every corner of the organization.

Conclusion: So, yes! Social Skills is considered a key leadership capability. People seem to know intuitively that leaders need to manage relationships effectively. After all, the leader’s task is to get work done through other people, and social skill makes that possible!!

Credits: Daniel Goleman, "What makes a leader?" HBR's Top 10 Reads on Leadership

#myreflections #anideaaday #socialskills #emotionalintelligence