Importance of Emotional Intelligence in Product Development

Berk Buldanlı
2 min readJan 16, 2023

Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize, understand, and manage our own emotions, as well as the emotions of others. It is an important quality to have in any field, but it is especially crucial in product development.

Having a high level of emotional intelligence can help product developers to better understand their users, anticipate their needs and preferences, and create products that are truly valuable to them. It can also help team members to communicate more effectively, collaborate more efficiently, and handle conflicts in a more productive way.

Empathy

One way to improve emotional intelligence in product development is through empathy. By trying to see things from the perspective of our users, we can better understand their emotions and needs. This can help us to create products that truly resonate with them, rather than simply meeting the minimum requirements.

Photo by Josh Calabrese on Unsplash

Self-Awareness

Another way to improve emotional intelligence is through self-awareness. By recognizing our own emotions and how they influence our thoughts and behaviors, we can better manage them and make more rational decisions. This is especially important when dealing with complex and high-stakes situations, such as when launching a new product.

Photo by Lesly Juarez on Unsplash

Communication with Other People

In addition, emotional intelligence can help product developers to better manage their relationships with stakeholders, such as customers, partners, and team members. By understanding the emotions of others and being able to communicate effectively, we can build stronger and more productive relationships.

Overall, emotional intelligence is a crucial quality for product developers to possess. It can help us to create products that truly meet the needs and preferences of our users, communicate and collaborate more effectively, and build stronger relationships with stakeholders. By working on our own emotional intelligence, we can improve not only our own performance, but also the success of our products.

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Berk Buldanlı

Product & Project Management | Data Science | Digital Transformation | Technology Development