In the dynamic landscape of entrepreneurship, traditional metrics of success often prioritize tangible outcomes such as revenue growth or market share. However, amidst the hustle and bustle of business ventures, there exists a lesser-known yet invaluable asset that can make, or break an entrepreneur's journey: the entrepreneur´s emotional capital.
As entrepreneurs, we don’t only risk our financial capital, throughout the entrepreneur's path we look at our relational, intellectual, and emotional capital at risk as well, and many times we notice it until the divorce knocking the front door, suddenly some friends have disappeared, some knowledge must be acquired, or something in our inner self is not working as it used to be, and it doesn’t depend of business going well or not, or does it?
In this article, we delve into the concept of the emotional capital of the entrepreneur, its significance in the business world, and strategies for entrepreneurs to leverage it effectively to achieve self-inspiration, and motivation, build strong relationships, and empower not only themselves but their teams.
“Emotional capital enables people to feel and act effectively.”
The Emotional Capital Concept
Emotional capital encompasses the emotional intelligence, trustworthiness, and empathy that entrepreneurs possess and cultivate over time. It is the foundation upon which strong relationships, effective communication, and collaborative teamwork are built. Entrepreneurs with high emotional capital understand their own emotions, empathize with others, and create an environment of psychological safety where team members feel valued, respected, and motivated to contribute their best work. Unlike financial capital, which is tangible and quantifiable, emotional capital is intangible yet equally critical for organizational effectiveness and business long-term viability.
Many factors can be involved, as entrepreneurs we are constantly growing, and changing, the same as our businesses, businesses make you grow in different aspects, but sometimes the business grows faster than us which eventually can come into a complicated situation if we don’t charge the battery on time. Something similar can happen when business is not growing as expected. Independently of the entrepreneurial mindset we could own, emotions play an important role, that's what Tony Robbins calls “The psychology of the leader”.
“The chokehold on the growth of a business is the psychology and skills of the leader, and 80% of the time it's going to be the psychology.” Tony Robbins
In my experience, these are the Emotional Capital Assets of Entrepreneurs at risk:
· Self-esteem
· Self-regulation (temperance)
· Resilience
· Likeability
· Optimism
· Good Energy Thoughts
· Empathy
· Authenticity
· Social Capital
· EI (Emotional Intelligence)
· Trust
Emotional capital enables entrepreneurs to be successful in their economic and personal lives. As an entrepreneur, you are rich in emotional capital if you are high in self-esteem, self-regulation, resilience, likeability, optimism, and good energy thoughts keeping your authenticity and core values untouched. Entrepreneurs with high emotional capital possess a deep understanding of the emotions and needs of themselves and their team members, and they create a supportive and positive work environment that encourages open communication, collaboration, and growth.
Is our Emotional Capital related to our personality type?
Our personalities play such an important role in determining our behaviors and habits, so it is a little wonder that personality type has a connection to your emotional capital and how you invest it.
Strategies to Leverage Entrepreneurs' Emotional Capital
Leveraging the emotional capital of an entrepreneur involves recognizing, cultivating, and strategically utilizing their personality, self-awareness, emotional intelligence, trustworthiness, and empathy to inspire and empower themselves and their team. Here are some strategies to effectively leverage the emotional capital of an entrepreneur:
Develop Self-awareness
To successfully invest your emotional capital the first step is to cultivate self-awareness by reflecting on your emotions, strengths, and areas for growth or weaknesses. This introspection helps you understand how your emotions impact your behavior and interactions with others. Self-awareness is the ability to see yourself clearly, earning comfort in knowing yourself which eventually gives you power.
To achieve Self-awareness is imperative to know and understand yourself.
Self-knowledge
Is the information you possess about yourself that facilitates proactive responses rather than reactivity. This is being able to accurately perceive and interpret your emotions, and using this knowledge will guide your actions and interactions which eventually will help you to communicate better with yourself.
Self-understanding
Is summarized with three words: Think, Feel, and Behave. What you think and how you think defines what happens inside you; then your thoughts will define your feelings and your feelings will define your actions, which eventually will help you to communicate better with others.
At The School of Your Pass for a Better You, we offer a class to learn about YOU! Self-knowledge, and Self-understanding, where you can find some answers about your behavior in and out of your business.
This next line is fantastic!
“People with self-awareness are less likely to lie, cheat, and steal.”
Define Your Core Values
As an entrepreneur, you should demonstrate authenticity, integrity, congruity, and empathy in your actions and communication. By defining your core values, you set a positive tone on your behavior which inspires trust and respect among your business and increases your self-worth.
Build Auto Trust and Rapport
Foster an inner culture of trust and openness within yourself by encouraging honest, direct, and open communication, active listening, and respect. As an entrepreneur, you can build trust by being transparent, reliable, and accountable for your actions.
Allow me to share an example about this last point, you know that I have been researching elite army warriors for some time so this example is with Jocko Willink and you can watch it at this LINK.
Now let's think about some questions for a while; are you aware of your actions or inactions? Is there a behavior you have that you would like to change? How are your emotions involved between you and your business path? Are your emotions breaking or making your entrepreneur journey?
In conclusion, emotional capital is a valuable asset that entrepreneurs possess, a treasure trove of intangible qualities that drive success and fulfillment in the entrepreneurial journey. By recognizing and cultivating their emotional capital assets, entrepreneurs can harness the power of empathy, resilience, authenticity, and social capital to navigate challenges, build meaningful connections, and create lasting impact in the world of business and beyond.
As aspiring or seasoned entrepreneurs, let us embrace the richness of our emotional capital and leverage it as a source of strength, inspiration, and innovation on our path to entrepreneurial success.
If you are interested in reading more about Entrepreneurial Lifestyle insights you can visit my blog “Zitrev The Alpha Blog” and you can listen to more topics on my podcast “Zitrev Your Pass for a Better You” which will be launched in the next few days.
The School of Your Pass for a Better You is currently closed for enrollment, but you can enter your information HERE to get on the waitlist and be notified when doors open again.
Strength and honor.
See you in the arena…
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