What is social awareness?

The definition of social awareness is a person’s ability to understand the feelings and needs of the individuals that they interact with. It’s a tenant of emotional intelligence that people begin developing early in life. Social awareness is regarded as an important attribute of successful employers and managers, as it helps them to communicate and collaborate with others more effectively. Between two equally skilled and qualified professionals, the individual with a higher social awareness is more likely to have greater success. Essentially, a great employer should be a people person.

Improving your social awareness benefits your employee’s performance, as well as your own. In addition to helping you improve your relationship with your employees, social awareness improves your capacity for empathy and understanding for others. With the right communication, improved social awareness helps to boost employees’ self-esteem and motivation, making them more productive and effective at work.

What is emotional intelligence?

Emotional intelligence is defined as the ability to observe and understand emotions in yourself and others. With greater emotional intelligence, you can make better decisions, solve problems and communicate more effectively. Core skills of emotional intelligence involve emotional perception, reasoning, understanding and management. Social awareness helps to develop overall emotional intelligence.

Social awareness skills

The main skills associated with social awareness include:

• Empathy: Understanding the emotions, needs and concerns of others
• Organizational awareness: Understanding the organization’s mission, values and culture to learn more about what goes on in the workplace
• Service orientation: Understanding what other people expect or want to provide them with the right solution or result

Social awareness techniques

How do you apply social awareness skills in the workplace? To become a better manager and leader, try these social awareness techniques in the office.

1. Active listening

Active listening refers to fully listening to and understanding the other person in the conversation, rather than just waiting for your next chance to speak. Although speaking up and directing conversations might align with the sense of wanting to be as productive as possible, slowing down and listening can help you understand the workplace better. When you understand the workplace and its employees better, you validate other’s opinions, and you can use the insight they offer to make more informed decisions for the business.

2. Empathetic acknowledgment

As an employer, you need to actively listen to employees during conversations. When it’s your turn to speak, you should express that you acknowledge and empathize with the other person. It’s important for others to know that you value their voice and opinion and that you’re making an effort to better understand their concerns and ideas.

For example, if an employee expresses that an obstacle in the workplace is inhibiting their performance, then it’s on the employer to respond with understanding and a constructive solution.

3. Asking questions

Building on active listening and empathic acknowledgment, the next step is to ask the employee questions to find the best solutions. Rather than simply stepping in and assuming you already know the best solution, give employees an opportunity to contribute their own ideas. Even if nothing is actively wrong, ask employees if they have any insight regarding if or how something might be improved.

4. Listen to tone of voice

Tone of voice can be a major indicator of how an employee is feeling. Pay attention to whether their tone expresses excitement, low energy, ambivalence or any other mood. This can help you respond appropriately to their mood, which is especially important when managing employees remotely over a phone call or voice meeting.

For example, if any employee says a procedure change is okay with an unenthusiastic tone, you might choose to ask them if they have any suggestions or concerns, rather than moving to the next topic right away.

5. Pay attention to nonverbal communication

People convey a lot about how they’re feeling through nonverbal cues, such as facial expressions and body language. It can take time to practice and improve at recognizing nonverbal cues, but it’s worthwhile to learn to better respond to your employees’ moods.

For example, when you’re in a meeting, pay attention to whether people are sitting up straight and looking at you while you speak or slouched in their chair and gazing out a window. The latter group might be bored or frustrated by the conversation, and you might want to ask them a question or involve them in the discussion.

6. Pay attention to the workplace mood or atmosphere

In addition to being able to identify the feelings and needs of an individual, you should be able to gauge the mood of a group of employees. Take note of the workplace atmosphere and when employees seem happy, overwhelmed or distracted. A productive and positive work environment requires a balance of work and fun, so it’s important to recognize when that balance might be off. If your employees are so relaxed that they’re not getting any work done, try to incentivize more productivity with something like a staff lunch or performance rewards. If they appear stressed and overwhelmed, it might be worthwhile to offload work or show appreciation for the extra effort.

7. Take note of details

Expressing interest in getting to know your employees demonstrates that you value them as individuals and not just employees. By taking note of small details, such as a person’s hobbies or interests, you build trust and rapport with the employee while also learning about how to respond to them emotionally. The next time an employee mentions an after-work activity, such as a sport or time spent with family, remember to ask them more about it on a future occasion.

8. Avoid interrupting focused employees

If you were deeply engaged in a task and somebody barged into your office for an unannounced meeting, you’d probably be frustrated. While you might want to optimize your productivity by bringing up tasks or discussions that are relevant at that moment, it can be inconvenient and disrespectful to the time of others.

Treat your employees with respect and consideration by avoiding drive-by meetings at their desks. Be aware of social cues, such as verbal and nonverbal cues, before asking somebody for their immediate attention. When you see somebody focused on a task, ask them to check in with you for a chat or meeting at a later time, instead of asking them to drop everything then and there.

9. Be present and engaged

Social awareness goes both ways, which means that employees are paying attention to your social cues at work. Socially aware employees will take note of your verbal and nonverbal cues, and they can tell when you’re not really engaged or present in the conversation or work at hand. When employees see that you’re not engaged, it’s hard for them to offer any engagement of their own since they might think you’re bored, distracted or apathetic.

To show that you’re present and engaged, avoid any distractions while working or speaking closely with employees. This means that you shouldn’t be doing any multitasking, such as taking notes or responding to emails. Make sure your body language and tone are open and welcoming and that you’re focused on the task or conversation at hand.