Have you ever noticed that you’re the one in your team who’s asking all the questions? Do you get irritated when colleagues are swayed more by feelings and intuition than by facts and figures? Maybe you hate rushing into business decisions. You need time to think, and you want ample evidence.
If all this seems familiar, it could be that you’re an analytical thinker. And that’s a good thing. It makes you a thoughtful and innovative leader. Indeed, it makes you an objective problem solver (and that’s valuable in any business).
On the flipside, being logical and rigorous in your thinking can have its drawbacks, especially in a leadership role. Let’s dive a little deeper into this strength to see how it can help you as a manager but also how it can get in the way if you don’t have a handle on it.
Analytical thinking and the need to get the details right
Analytical Thinking is one of 34 natural talents that Gallup has identified for its CliftonStrengths Assessment. It comes under the domain of Strategic Thinking, and it describes people who make sense of their world by studying it. Analytical thinkers love searching for reasons and causes.
If Analytical Thinking is one of your top talents, you trust data more than feelings. That’s why you’re always pushing for proof and looking for facts. It also means that you can take big, complex ideas and condense them into tiny pieces of evidence. This is extremely helpful when your team is finding it hard to bring structure to high-level plans.
So many crucial questions and not always enough answers
Analytical thinkers often feel they have more questions than answers. They tend to be a little bit skeptical or maybe they’re simply more curious. Either way, they’re not quick to jump in. They explore first because they want to make sure that any decision made is the right one for the team and for the organization.
Interestingly, I would say that more than half of those who come to me for leadership coaching are strong in analytical thinking. Does this particular talent make them ineffective leaders? Absolutely not. But they can struggle with the emotional elements of leadership: giving feedback, showing empathy, addressing conflict, and so on. Consequently, they appreciate practical guidance in this area.
The importance of emotional intelligence in leadership
Emotions play a key role in the workplace, whether we like it or not. They are woven into everything that we do, and they affect not only our mood but also our productivity and our willingness to work with others. So, if you lack the capacity to recognize and manage your emotions as well as the emotions of others – what we call emotional intelligence – you’re going to be hard pressed to lead your team.
Emotional intelligence has five key elements according to Daniel Goleman, an American psychologist who helped popularize the term. Those elements are self-awareness; self-regulation; motivation; empathy; and social skills. He maintains that the more you manage each of these elements, the higher your emotional intelligence.
Goleman also maintains that these elements are not fixed at birth. In other words, you can nurture them throughout adulthood to the benefit of your personal and working relationships. That’s good news for analytical thinkers. It means you can learn to become more:
- mindful of your strengths and weaknesses
- accountable for your own mistakes
- optimistic in the midst of problems
- considerate of other people’s perspectives
- ready to praise others and resolve conflict
Learning to master the five elements of emotional intelligence in your role as leader will help you better relate to and work with others.
Claiming and demonstrating your analytical thinking
That all sounds well and good, I hear you say, but how can you apply this to your day job? Here are six ideas for you to use and manage your analytical talents in a way that benefits you and your team.
Make it clear why you’re asking questions. One of your strengths is realizing what’s important to the group and the organization. Help the team to see the bigger picture by explaining the reason for your probing. You’re not quizzing them because you want to destroy their ideas or because you enjoy a disagreement. You’re simply making sure their theories are sound.
- Learn to be less direct when questioning. Bluntness can put team members on the defensive. Try rewording your questions and statements. For example, instead of “Why should we…?” try “Could you tell us a little more about that?” And instead of “Prove it to me” try “What can you tell us about…?”
- Understand that your research can also be qualitative. Take time to converse with your colleagues. Ask them how they feel, and learn to accept ambiguity (not everything is black or white – sometimes “don’t know” is the answer). Your love of data makes you a very objective person, but subjective influences such as experience and opinion also play a part in decision making. Take time to develop your communication strategies.
- Don’t ignore or dismiss emotions. There’s a danger that your tendency for dispassionate thinking can make you seem ruthless. If dealing with feelings seems beyond your capabilities, try considering them from an analytical perspective. An employee who is outwardly angry may have underlying feelings of sadness and fear. Discovering the parts that make up that anger could lead to a more effective resolution.
- Capitalize on your ability to defuse emotion with fact to resolve conflict. You have a knack for put feelings aside and getting people to focus on the issue at hand. Use this to your advantage when disagreements occur. Your drive to solve problems will inspire your team.
- Prevent your analysis from turning into paralysis. Your motto could well be “Only fools rush in” but hesitation under the guise of detailed research can result in nothing being done. In business, it is said that a bad decision is better than no decision. If you find yourself procrastinating, consider finding a mentor who is good at taking action. They can give you a gentle push when needed.
Hopefully, these six suggestions will get you thinking (analytically, of course) about how to make the most of your wonderful talent. If you feel that you need a little outside help to enhance your leadership skills, explore our monthly online Leader Workout Group. It’s where expert-led development and business-peer support meet every month.