What can managers do to find out how they are perceived? The first step is to develop greater emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is the capacity to understand one’s own emotions and those of other people. In addition to attempting to understand the self better, the prospective leader should solicit honest feedback from others. Self-exploration and some sought-after honest feedback from others will bring the greater self-awareness necessary to judge ourselves more accurately and to recognize the signals others send back to us either in their words or, often more importantly, in their body language and their actions.