The term `social intelligence' is made up of
two words social and intelligence. The
term intelligence, in general, is
understood as a person's capability in promptly grasping
an issue. If we combine both the words we will
find an individual trait that helps in understanding
the social repercussions or reactions whenever one does something. As the society is becoming
more and more complex, the intellectual
competences continue to become more sophisticated. Intellectual competence is termed as
social intelligence and, thus, can be defined as
the intelligence that lies behind group interactions
and behaviors. This type of intelligence is
closely related to cognition and emotional intelligence.
In simple words it is a behavioral skill that helps
one to deal with people, both as individuals and
in groups.
Social intelligence comprises of a set of social
skills which one inherits over the years through experience. This includes both verbal and
non-verbal behavior when a person interacts with others by giving, receiving and
interpreting messages. The social norms which are fundamental determinants of one's level of
social intelligence are greatly influenced by
group exercise, environmental, culture, political, positional and economic issues. A person
with advanced social intelligence can deal with a situation in a far superior way than others as
he can visualize an issue quite differently and intelligently. Human beings, by tradition,
have close affinity for similar class, caste, color,
religion as they feel comfortable interacting with a
person having similar understanding of an issue. In
the absence of adequate social intelligence one
may feel isolated and lonely, and may go through phases of individual rejection, poor
self-esteem, depression, increased level of anxiety,
aggression, forgetfulness, etc.
Due to reduced social intelligence one may face difficulties in interpersonal relationships
and lesser acceptability, resulting in peer rejection.
All these may lead one to a life of indiscipline
and may sometimes even get that person involved in criminal activities. This is one of the major
causes behind increased absenteeism, siting idle in
the workplace (physically present) and the growing rate of attrition. Business success largely
depends on how the manager shares information, encourages others, asks for help, builds
relations in the team, resolves conflicts, shares
success, handles uncertainty, etc. All these require a
high-level of social competence, one of the main
factors of effective leadership. |
