Emotional Intelligence for Software Engineers and Developers

As software developers, we have our image of what it means to be a good developer, and we also have a mental model of the road we started walking when we first entered the field as interns or as junior developers. Most of the time, we research what technical books to read, what courses to watch, which field to go into, web development, mobile development, or something else. The Technology, the tool – we get so involved in this wide array of choices, and so there is something very foundational that we might miss if we don’t pay enough attention and get lost in the technicality.

There is a set of skills known as “soft” skills, and that forms the ‘EI’ or ‘Emotional Intelligence‘.

Emotional intelligence is something everyone has, but which few of us really know how to channel or develop. Many Software Developers wrongly believe it to be a quality they simply don’t possess – and that if they weren’t born with it, it’s something there’s no hope of attaining later in life. But the good news for all of us is that emotional intelligence in general, and empathy in particular, are things we can train ourselves to have more of.