What is Social Awareness?

You may have heard leadership gurus say something along the lines of, “EQ is more important than IQ.” However, you may not know what EQ is or how to increase it.

Emotional Intelligence (often abbreviated “EQ”), is a leadership skill that focuses on one’s personal and social competencies. There are four components to emotional intelligence:

1. Self-Awareness
2. Self-Management
3. Social Awareness
4. Relationship Management

This post will focus on Social Awareness. In their book, Emotional Intelligence 2.0, Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves define social awareness as “Your ability to recognize and understand the emotions of others” (p. 136).

The first two components of emotional intelligence focused on the self. The last two components focus on others. Similar to how you need to be aware of your emotions, you also need to be aware of the emotions of your team. 

In order to be aware of the emotions of your team, you need to spend time with them. In my book, A Leader Worth Imitating, I explain that one of the greatest gifts you can give someone else is your presence (Principle 2). You’ll be present with them when they’re calm and when they are stressed. To be an emotionally intelligent leader, you need to be aware of the emotions of you and your team.

Think about it: Do you know what calms your team members down? Do you know what stresses them out?

_{Originally posted on June 20, 2023. Last updated on October 7, 2025.}

---

If your interested in learning more about EQ, check out the accompanying posts:

• What is Emotional Intelligence?
• What is Self-Awareness?
• What is Self-Management?
• What is Relational Management?