Just like new technologies, the IT job market is constantly evolving, and in the face of an increasingly challenging corporate environment, due to the numerous changes, especially in the last two years, driven by the acceleration of digital transformation, having emotional intelligence can increase the professional’s chances of achieving success.
For leaders in the technology sector, this skill often offers quick responses to challenges, making a difference in team engagement and the search for innovative solutions. In addition, an IT manager with emotional intelligence has more skills to lead teams to practical results, proving to be a key component for efficient leadership.
Otherwise, the lack of emotional intelligence can lead to unresolved feelings, which result in poor leadership, with a visible increase in anxiety, interpersonal relationship problems, lack of purpose, and low team motivation.
Experts who lead the 4 Dimensional Experience believe that prioritizing a culture that encourages emotional intelligence allows people to understand which pathways connect them to their passions, maximizing their experiences to build broader and more essential life skills.
Why Is Emotional Intelligence In IT Management Valued?
It’s easy to understand why successful IT leaders often have people skills. Providing adequate emotional support to subordinates is one of the most critical roles of digital leadership. After all, leaders with empathy engage more and consequently get better results.
When approaching the team and carrying out humanized IT management, the leader understands the professional’s difficulties and their main pain points, being able to help them in the search for solutions. By offering emotional support through assertive communication and feedback culture, the manager takes the first step towards gaining the subordinate’s trust, who comes to know that he is not alone. This usually makes professionals more confident and motivated to improve.
This leadership style is proven to be more effective and widespread in organizations. But it was only sometimes so. We have been wrongly educated in the West to keep emotions out of the workplace. Just like many men grew up hearing what feelings are for women. The result is that males generally have more difficulties developing emotional intelligence, just as women are often more skilled at regulating emotions.
However, it is necessary to start weaving lessons about emotional intelligence earlier and earlier into people’s career paths. We see many people being rewarded for their technical and academic skills, but for a manager, emotional intelligence is a crucial part, almost like a work tool; after all, managing people does not require a greater or lesser skill than doing a doctorate, only different. Therefore, emotional intelligence must be learned and practiced to be improved, just like other skills.
Benefits Of Emotional Intelligence In The Technology Environment
The technology market has already understood that balancing technical knowledge and soft skills for IT management positions usually generates good results for the business. That’s because technology leaders with emotional intelligence make their team members happier and more satisfied in the work environment, increasing productivity and reducing turnover in IT.
In addition, knowing how to manage emotions helps to deal with moments of uncertainty at work, career ups and downs, and, above all, to have resilience and courage in times of crisis. This happens because emotional intelligence usually directly impacts how the professional deals with challenges, which is quite recurrent in IT.
Therefore, being prepared to control emotions in market instabilities and constant changes is a highly valued skill in the segment. Even because, many times, this can determine the course of business.
Four Best Practices To Develop Emotional Intelligence
The best way to develop emotional intelligence in IT management is to practice; the more you practice, the more you enhance it. Check out four best practices for you to apply with your work team below :
Develop Self-Awareness
From the self-knowledge of your technical and behavioral skills, list points in your management that need to be improved. Make an action plan to work on them and put them into practice.
Manage Emotions
Cultivating a positive vision, stop to reflect on what you are feeling and if you want this emotion to be shared with your subordinates. If the answer is no, avoid dialogues in moments of tension.
Practice Empathy
With a new social conscience and the context in which you are inserted in the organization, put yourself in the shoes of your leaders and practice this initiative, always using clear and transparent communication.
Work As A Team
Dealing with conflicts in the team, knowing how to be flexible in listening, and being able to positively influence the team is leading in an inspiring way, seeking to be an example of the attitudes you expect from your team members.
