By Nilesh Bhagat, CHRP

I’ve had the privilege to work with and know many great leaders. Both in the workplace and out, I’ve learned what it means to show integrity, respect and class. Their actions have been memorable; their words like scripture.

I (like many) am a people watcher. I love watching how people act, talk and react to one another. I think this is one of the best ways to learn about oneself and others. We’re all fundamentally wired to read each other’s verbal and non-verbal tone – such is the gift of mirror neurons and resulting emotions of empathy. Through my watching and learning, I’ve picked up on certain things that I think help make people exceptional at what they do, as well as make those around them exceptional. Specifically, I’ve noticed (with help) three behavioral indicators among leaders that I feel make them brilliant. All the great leaders in my life have displayed these three behaviors consistently.

First, some background. We all know by now that intelligence can be measured many ways. There is the traditional concept which values the amount of information that one can retain and apply across varying situations, measured via the Intelligence Quotient. Then there is the type of intelligence that helps people to connect disparate others toward collective goals and actions. This is emotional intelligence: the understanding of oneself with respect to others, plus the application of behaviors to optimize harmonious collective action. Daniel Goleman, the Harvard Business Review contributor and author of Social Intelligence, describes three factors which help to bind people emotionally, and which are common with those who have a high Emotional Quotient. With Goleman’s descriptions, these are:

• (Mutual) Attention: A sense of mutual interest, a joint focus that amounts to perceptual glue
• (Shared) Positivity: (G)ood feeling, evoked largely through tone of voice and facial expressions
• Coordination/Synchronicity: (When) we coordinate most strongly via subtle nonverbal channels like the pace and timing of a conversation

I’ll illustrate with an example of these behaviors at work. Every day, my boss displays these three characteristics in her interactions with myself and our team. When she speaks with you, it’s like no one else is in the room – it’s just you, her and the issue at hand. Her undivided attention is genuinely yours.

Thanks to Goleman, I can understand how she’s able to do this – not an easy task considering the incredible busy world we all live in. When you speak with her, she allows her attention to focus on your words and accompanying behavior as you explain your situation (regardless of whether it was about a wage check, or your weekend). Her face exudes positivity – whether through well-timed smiles and laughs, or genuine intent to know more. Finally, her interjections and nods of (dis)approval are either impeccably timed, or genuinely synched with the flow of our conversation (you’d be hard-pressed to convince me it’s the former).

Time and again, these same types of behaviors are emergent together across all the great leaders I’ve come across. Their ability to connect, understand and respond is a large part of what makes them so memorable and so important to the growth and development of the people around them.

For me, these cues offer clues in my quest to become half of what any one of these great individuals have become.

Nilesh Bhagat, CHRP, is a rewards coordinator with Best Buy Canada. Nilesh graduated from Simon Fraser University with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, First Class Honours. He majored in Human Resources Management and tacked on an extended minor in Psychology. He’s a self-confessed nerd (the first step is admitting), likes to read, loves hockey and is struggling with the complexities of learning the game of golf.