To achieve Step 2, individuals will show that they can recognise the feelings of others.
In earlier steps, the focus was on individuals understanding their feelings and being able to explain them to others. This step is recognising the emotions of others and how to react well to those.
The building blocks of this step are learning:
It is not always easy to tell what emotion someone is feeling, and some people might choose to try to hide how they are feeling for different reasons. However, we can also pick up some clues about how people are feeling:
We might also pick up clues for negative emotions that people might be feeling. For example:
Over time, you might well be able to get better at recognising emotions in other people by looking for some of these signs.
Although we might be able to get a sense of how other people are feeling through their facial expressions and body language, we should not just presume that we understand:
We might not know why they are feeling that way. It is easy for us to assume that we understand why they have a particular reaction, but it is just a guess.
For all these reasons, we should try to learn more about why people feel the way that they do about something. To do this, we can use:
Sometimes you might not understand why someone feels the way they do, or feel that it does not make sense. That is why it is important not to end up arguing with people about how they feel or how they should feel.
Instead, the focus should be about acknowledging how someone is feeling (“I understand that you feel…” or “I hear that you feel…”). You can then try to understand why and see if anything can be done to make them feel better if they are feeling negative about something.
To teach this step:
This step can be reinforced in the classroom setting when learners are working collaboratively, and new ideas are introduced, or disagreements worked through. In some settings, this can also be a helpful way to encourage learners to resolve misunderstandings or to work together more effectively.
This step is best assessed through observation of an activity where learners have to explore the feelings of others about something. The assessor is looking for whether the learners can think about the emotions someone else might be feeling and then explore this further through questioning. A reflective discussion after the exercise can help check learners’ understanding.
This step is relevant to all individuals who will experience emotions with others at work.
To build this step in the work environment, managers could:
There are plenty of opportunities for building this skill in the workplace:
For those already employed, this step is best assessed through observation. For instance:
During the recruitment process, this step could be assessed by:
We work with a wide range of organisations, who use the Skills Builder approach in lots of different settings – from youth clubs, to STEM organisations, to careers and employability providers.
We have a lot of materials available to support you to use the Skills Builder Universal Framework with the individuals you work with, including:
We also do a lot of work with organisations who join the Skills Builder Partnership to build the Universal Framework into their work and impact measurement systems. You can find out a lot more using the links below.
In school, a significant amount of time is spent working with others, for example completing a project, contributing as a member of a team or orchestra, or doing lunchtime duties. The ability to complete tasks and duties successfully will depend upon how you and the other people are feeling about something. Someone who is feeling very sad or angry is unlikely to be able to focus on getting the jobs done. If things are not done, it would be very easy for us to blame the other person and be cross with them.
If we are to work together successfully, we need to make sure we do not make a situation any worse. The strategies learned at this step of Leadership will help you to identify how someone is feeling about something and most importantly ask questions to ensure you have a full and correct understanding. Once you have the true reasons for the emotion you can ensure your behaviour towards them is appropriate. Your support will ensure the person feels included in the group, then they are more likely to work positively with everyone.
In the workplace, our links with other people may be about the work we do together but may also be about friendship and support. This may be the case when you spend time with people who may not be in your department or team. In this situation, everyone is working for the same organisation and the success of the organisation is dependent upon everyone working effectively.
How someone is feeling will affect the way they approach their work. If someone is sad or upset, they are likely to produce less work, or work of a lower standard. To be able to support someone appropriately, it is important that you master this step of Leadership which requires you to not only identify their emotion but to ensure you have the correct understanding. They can then work to the best of their ability for the good of the organisation. Time spent with a colleague actively listening and asking open questions, will ensure you do not misread the reasons for their emotional feeling. You may not be able to help them overcome the feeling but by acknowledging and listening you are providing support which will help them to feel part of the workplace.
We are likely to experience the emotions of friends and family on a regular basis. It is easy to be cross when others do not behave as we might like them to do. Our behaviour towards them can often make a situation even worse. Can you remember when a parent or sibling was cross and their shouting made you cross? Perhaps you shouted too?
By mastering this step of Leadership, identifying and understanding the emotion someone is feeling about something, we can change our behaviour towards them and make the situation better, instead of worse.
To best practise this step of Leadership, apply what you have learnt to a real-life situation. Choose one or more of the activities below, remind yourself of the key points and strategies in the step, and have a go!
As a parent or carer, you might be thinking about how best to support your children to build their essential skills. The good news is that there is lots that you can do that will have a big impact, including:
We’ve developed a whole series of tools and resources to help parents to build these skills, including:
There is also content for older children and young people, including short activities and reflections that they can complete alone, or with you.
