(upbeat music) Becoming an emotionally intelligent leader starts with understanding yourself. Here, we'll explore emotions, self-awareness, and how to use empathy and authenticity to benefit your organization. When envisioning emotional intelligence, picture it as a quadrant. The emotional intelligence quadrant is comprised of two boxes concerning awareness, and two concerning management. Quadrants one and two focus on self-awareness and self-management, while quadrants three and four are about social awareness and social management. To start, take an inventory of yourself. Ask yourself what your emotional intelligence looks like. For example, what emotional challenges are you good at solving? Which ones cause you difficulty? You may find you're capable of delivering projects on deadline, but have little patience for those who can't. You can also ask someone you trust to provide feedback on your EQ. If you're willing to receive constructive criticism, request direct feedback from the people you lead. What do they see as your emotional strengths and weaknesses? Taking inventory isn't about finding what's wrong with you. It's about discovering what can help you become a better leader. Another way to develop self-awareness is to take a personality assessment. There are hundreds of excellent assessments available, most for little or no cost. Personality assessments examine your intrinsic and extrinsic motivators. They let you know if you're a detail-oriented person or a big picture person, and whether you're an introvert or an extrovert. Other assessments can tell you how you learn and communicate, whether in writing, visually, or through touch. Anytime you take a self-assessment, be open to the results. Areas where you may be inclined to dispute the assessment's accuracy are the very areas where you need to dig a little deeper, and see whether there's some truth to the findings. Let's examine a case study of how personality assessments are useful. Nikolai is a leader with a dominant personality at a large law firm. As a trial lawyer, his personality is an asset in the courtroom, but his personality causes problems when leading his employees. Many are intimidated by him and afraid to voice suggestions or objections. Nikolai decides to take an assessment that identifies his dominant personality type. Armed with a greater awareness of his emotional trait, he applies the assessment's recommendations to become a more inclusive leader. His improved EQ now works well at the office and in the courtroom. You might also consider meditation or mindfulness practice, which can help you slow down or alleviate anxiety. Through mindfulness and meditation practices, you can reduce stress and become less judgmental of yourself and others.