Understanding other people's feelings is central to emotional intelligence. Get this wrong and you'll be seen as uncaring and insensitive. Getting it right is essential for success.
Social Awareness meets Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence consists of four basic capabilities, or domains. These are:
Self Awareness
Self Regulation
Social Awareness (this page)
Relationship Management
This page focuses on social awareness - the ability to understand and respond to the needs of others. This is the third of the domains of emotional intelligence proposed by Daniel Goleman. Use the links above to find out about the other domains or get an overview of emotional intelligence here.
Social Awareness
The waiter who suggests a better dish, the salesperson who goes the extra mile, the supportive team leader, and the executive that remembers your name - each of these have one thing in common. They excel in social awareness.
According to Daniel Goleman the competencies associated with being socially aware are:
Empathy: understanding the other person’s emotions, needs and concerns.
Organisational Awareness: the ability to understand the politics within an organization and how these affect the people working in them.
Service: the ability to understand and meet the needs of clients and customers.
Essentially awareness of social situations is about carefully considering what people want, and planning to communicate with them in a way that is intended to meet that need.
Is this the same as manipulation? I'm not sure. Great leaders and public speakers are skilled in this ability and it helps them build support.
I don't believe social awareness is intended to be quite as calculated as manipulation. At best being socially aware is a natural response to people, taking their situation and needs into account as much as possible.