Love them or hate them, Elon Musk and Steve Jobs are known as two of the most brilliant minds the business world has seen. Yet, despite their ability to process information, think critically, and identify key insights--many of which helped Tesla and Apple reach valuations into the billions of dollars--both men practice(d) an unexpected habit: They embraced the rule of awkward silence. The rule is simple: When faced with a challenging question, instead of answering, you pause and think deeply about how you want to answer. But make no mistake, this is no short pause. Rather, you might go five, ten, or even fifteen seconds before offering a response. Which, if you're not used to doing it, will feel very awkward...at first. Want to see some real-life examples of the rule of awkward silence at work? Want to know how this rule can help you: -think more critically; -give deeper, more analytical, more thoughtful answers; -get to root problems more effectively; -develop emotional intelligence? (Read more in today's column.) #leadership #management #elonmusk #stevejobs #criticalthinking #apple #tesla #EmotionalIntelligence #MakeEmotionsWorkForYouNotAgainstYou …see more