Effective Leadership in the Automotive Industry: The Importance of Emotional Intelligence

Buying a car is often an emotional experience. More than a transaction, many view the process through an array of lenses ranging from exhilaration to trepidation. Therefore, leaders in the automotive industry must possess emotional intelligence (EI) to understand and empathize with customers. As John H. Brennan emphasized during a recent dealer presentation at NADA, “EI is the service that you are not obliged to give but that people remember the most.”

⭐Key attributes and terms for understanding Emotional Intelligence: 

Self-Management Skills (i.e. how you handle yourself):

• Self-awareness: Knowing one's own strengths, weaknesses, drives, values, and impact on others. Being socially aware, able to "read the room," and navigate potentially sensitive social and cultural spectrums.
• Self-regulation: Controlling or redirecting disruptive impulses and moods. The propensity to suspend judgment and think before acting.
• Motivation: Having a passion for work beyond money or status. A strong focus on pursuing goals with vigor and perseverance.
  

Personal Connection Skills (i.e. how you handle others):

• Empathy: Understanding other people's emotional makeup. Treating people according to their emotional reactions and "reading between the lines." Typically very successful in building and keeping talent.
• Social skills: Building rapport with others. Managing relationships and building networks. Leading and growing teams.
• Trustworthiness: Practically explains itself —  Truthfulness, Respectfulness, Understanding, Sincerity, and Transparency.
  

⭐The Importance of Emotional Intelligence in Leadership:

• Determination, vision, and intelligence have always been essential ingredients for success, but effective leadership in the 21st century requires a higher degree of emotional intelligence than ever before.
• EI skills help build and retain relationships, keep quality talent, understand how others work best, and play an important role in generating repeat and "word of mouth" business. 
• Maya Angelou said it best, "People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
  

⭐Practicing Emotional Intelligence:

Studies suggest nature and nurture both play roles in one's degree of emotional intelligence. It comes more naturally to some than others. But, like most things, the more you practice, the better you get. Here are some ways to tune up your EI skills:

• Give others your full attention, and practice active listening during conversations.
• Be generous with your time, praise, and recognition.
• Make every interaction personal and to the guests' comfort level.
• Try to anticipate guests' needs.
• Get curious! Cultivate a genuine interest in learning about others.
  
  

What's the point? 
‍A paper by the Harvard Business Review found a significant payoff waiting for companies that connect with customer needs. 

One example showed a bank increasing its use among the Millennial segment by 70% through engagement with the emotional values of the demographic. 

Fair prices are the expectation, emotional motivators are competitive advantages. 
‍The paper found hundreds of emotional motivators. The highest across demographics have some familiar concepts: Feeling free, a thrill, a sense of optimism, or security. 

Some less well-known motivators are being unique, belonging to something bigger, and good stewardship of the environment. 

Emotional intelligence plays a role in every relationship, including management to associates, associates to one another, and the company to its community and customers. There’s a positive correlation between emotional intelligence and positive outcomes: investing in it will likely lead to better experiences, and neglecting it has been shown to slow action and reduce profits.

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