The author and thought leader Simon Sinek said that if you don't understand people, you don't understand business.
He was right.
Businesses are created by people to serve people, and they are populated by people. Forget what they teach you in business school: if you fundamentally don’t understand people, you are at a huge disadvantage.
In my view, we greatly overestimate just how well we understand people.
At best, we hold a collection of generalisations and urban myths. We think that because we are one, we must understand how people operate.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
You and I are motivated differently. We have different values and different beliefs.
Unless you really understand the basic principles, you can’t possibly understand me, my neighbour, my sister, or the differences between us.
We also behave differently when we are under stress and when we are in a group.
It is a complex thing.
The good news is that there are lots of things you can do to enhance your understanding.
Alongside a discipline of extensive reading, studying Psychology, NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming), or even the best of English Literature can all help develop a better and more nuanced understanding of people. So can developing our emotional intelligence.
Unlike IQ, emotional intelligence can be learnt and coached, so don’t delay.
Leadership ability is statistically proven to be the difference that makes the biggest difference in running an organisation.
It is also a uniquely human-based set of skills, directly proportional to our understanding of people.
In a leadership role, our interpersonal skills will always trump our technical skills, and the more senior we become, the more true that is.
To quote Daniel Goleman’s book, Emotional intelligence, he writes: “CEOs are hired for their intellect and business expertise – and fired for a lack of Emotional Intelligence.”
Consciously develop your understanding of people and your people skills.
Try it and let me know how you get on. You’ll thank me later.
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