Last updated on Mar 23, 2024

You want to advance your career in CSR. How can you use emotional intelligence to get there?

If you are passionate about making a positive impact on society and the environment through your work, you might be interested in pursuing a career in corporate social responsibility (CSR). CSR is the practice of businesses integrating social and environmental goals into their strategies, operations, and stakeholder relations. However, to succeed in this field, you need more than just technical skills and knowledge. You also need emotional intelligence (EI), the ability to understand and manage your own and others' emotions, motivations, and behaviours. In this article, we will explore how you can use EI to advance your career in CSR.

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1 Why EI matters in CSR

EI is essential for any professional who wants to work effectively with diverse and complex stakeholders, such as customers, employees, communities, investors, regulators, and NGOs. In CSR, you need to be able to communicate your vision and values, listen empathetically, negotiate win-win solutions, resolve conflicts, build trust, and inspire action. EI can help you do all these things by enabling you to recognise and regulate your own emotions, understand and respond to others' emotions, and adapt to different situations and perspectives.

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Vidyasagar Vuppalapati

Learning & Development Head
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Making a good start to one's career is always important and CSR seems to be a right option in the current scenario. CSR holds huge potential in the long term perspective and it's future oriented too. To make an impact in CSR domain, one needs to internalize skills in handling EI issues. EI becomes almost an essential element in CSR project activity mainly because of the need to align with a variety of stakeholders. Rational use of CSR project funds and other available resources could be handled effectively with EI. The successful completion of CSR activity depends on how we manage work loads and stress related factors. EI can provide required traction and control in executing CSR projects. Optimal use of time is possible with EI.

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2 How to assess your EI level

Before you can improve your EI, you need to know where you stand. There are various tools and tests that can help you measure your EI, such as the Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i), the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT), or the Emotional and Social Competence Inventory (ESCI). These assessments can give you a comprehensive overview of your strengths and weaknesses in different aspects of EI, such as self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. You can also ask for feedback from your colleagues, managers, mentors, or coaches to get a more realistic and practical insight into your EI.

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Alessandro Romei

Experienced CEO | TIC Senior Executive | Member of BoD | Passionate about sustainability & CSR | Internationalization Pioneer | Business Development Expert | Multicultural Leader
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Start by reflecting on your own emotions and how they influence your interactions and decision-making processes. Consider seeking feedback from colleagues, mentors, or utilizing self-assessment tools to gain insights into your EI strengths and areas for growth. Pay attention to how you manage stress, navigate conflicts, and demonstrate empathy in professional settings. Engage in activities such as journaling or mindfulness practices to enhance self-awareness and emotional regulation skills, which are fundamental components of EI.

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3 How to develop your EI skills

Once you have identified your EI gaps, you can start working on them through various methods and strategies. For example, to enhance your self-awareness, practice mindfulness, journaling, or meditation. This will help you become more aware of your thoughts, feelings, and triggers, and how they affect your behaviour and performance. Additionally, to improve your self-management, set SMART goals, create action plans, and track your progress. This will help you manage stress, emotions, and impulses better. To boost social awareness, seek diverse perspectives, listen actively, and observe body language. This will help you understand others' emotions, needs, and expectations better. Lastly, to strengthen relationship management skills, communicate clearly, provide feedback, and collaborate effectively. This will help you build rapport with stakeholders and resolve conflicts.

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4 How to showcase your EI in CSR

Developing your EI skills is not enough; you need to demonstrate them in your CSR work and career. Your resume and cover letter are a great place to highlight your EI achievements and accomplishments, such as how you used EI to design and implement a successful CSR project, engage and motivate your team, or persuade and partner with a key stakeholder. During interviews or presentations, use stories and examples to illustrate your EI skills and competencies, like how you handled a difficult situation, solved a problem, or overcame a challenge using EI. Additionally, build and maintain your EI reputation and credibility by participating in relevant events, forums, and groups, sharing your insights and opinions, and offering support and assistance to others.

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Alessandro Romei

Experienced CEO | TIC Senior Executive | Member of BoD | Passionate about sustainability & CSR | Internationalization Pioneer | Business Development Expert | Multicultural Leader
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Demonstrate your EI in CSR by cultivating authentic connections with stakeholders, including employees, communities, and partners.Practice active listening and empathy when engaging with individuals impacted by CSR initiatives,seeking to understand their perspectives and needs.Communicate with sincerity and transparency, expressing genuine concern for social and environmental issues and articulating how CSR efforts can address them. Collaborate effectively across diverse teams, demonstrating empathy and respect for different viewpoints to foster inclusive decision-making processes. Additionally, showcase your ability to navigate ethical dilemmas prioritizing the well-being of both people and the planet in CSR strategies and initiatives.

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5 How to leverage your EI for CSR

Leveraging your EI for CSR can create more value and impact for your work and career. When strategizing and planning, use EI to align CSR goals and actions with the organisation's vision, values, and stakeholders' interests. During execution and delivery, use EI to manage and lead projects, coordinate and motivate the team, monitor progress, evaluate results, and communicate. Learning and growing with EI can help to continuously improve performance and potential, seek new opportunities and challenges, reflect on feedback and lessons learned, update skills and knowledge, and explore trends and best practices.

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6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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You want to advance your career in CSR. How can you use emotional intelligence to get there?

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1 Why EI matters in CSR

2 How to assess your EI level

3 How to develop your EI skills

4 How to showcase your EI in CSR

5 How to leverage your EI for CSR

6 Here’s what else to consider

Corporate Social Responsibility

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You want to advance your career in CSR. How can you use emotional intelligence to get there?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 Why EI matters in CSR

2 How to assess your EI level

3 How to develop your EI skills

4 How to showcase your EI in CSR

5 How to leverage your EI for CSR

6 Here’s what else to consider

Corporate Social Responsibility

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