EQ: social media - how others see you

Facebook has been called a stupidity x-ray. Every day there are reports of people being sacked, disciplined or embarrassed by their own lack of judgement and their lack of social and emotional intelligence, because of something they have posted online about themselves or others.

Social media has also been called the new EQ because of:

• its potential to provide the means to be incredibly responsive to customers or employees, and
• its capacity to demonstrate those basic people skills associated with EQ.

So social media can be both a risk and an opportunity in business and personally.

EQ behaviours, like active listening, questioning, problem solving, and generating solutions, are not necessarily all that common. On social media platforms, skilled communication can also be rare.
If people do not understand the consequences of personal information being in a public and, potentially, a professional domain, it could be said that their online behaviour demonstrates a lack of emotional intelligence.

Emotional Intelligence is demonstrated in a social context – and that includes online. You should think about:

• Do the "people skills" that you use in face-to-face situations translate well online?
• If your workplace uses social media, how does your company mitigate risks?
• How do you make sure that your online presence does not negatively affect your work?
• How much does social media change the way you communicate – at work and in private?

Because social media is a relatively new phenomenon, people seem to need guidance about how to behave, what to post and what not to post.

Your online presence is important to your professional identity. Remember, many people involved in the recruitment process use social media to help them select candidates. Social media is never private.

The module Brand U, covers a range of online behaviours that impact – positively and negatively – on how others see you. In the meantime, think before you post!