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“What really matters for success, character, happiness and life long achievements is a definite set of emotional skills – your EQ — not just purely cognitive abilities that are measured by conventional IQ tests." – Daniel Goleman.
If you carry out a random interview in the streets and ask the following questions:
What makes a great leader? What's one skill that defines a great leader? What would you do if you were to rise to a leadership position?
Typical responses might include: Someone who leads by example and inspires others, has great technical skills, has confidence in making tough decisions, good self-management and self-regulation, can understand a combination of different DiSC styles, is approachable, has good communication skills and empathy, or is a great listener.
These are typically recommended leadership behaviors that anyone in a leadership role should aspire to have. That said, emotional intelligence ranks supreme as a core attribute of great leadership.
Why is this the case?
Of all the important leadership skills, lacking emotional intelligence competencies in leadership means poor relationship management and the absence of psychological safety important in, among other things, conflict resolution and encouraging people to deliver on set targets.
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Emotional intelligence in leadership is the ability to manage your emotions and that of your employees in a workplace. Researchers John Mayer and Peter Salovey first used the term in 1990, but it were brought to the mainstream by Dr. Daniel Goleman through his book Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ.
Emotional intelligence in leadership is one of the core aspects of the fundamentals of leadership that leaders need to learn. When a leader practices emotional intelligence, they:
Conversely, leaders who lack emotional intelligence can negatively impact a workplace environment due to their own behavior leading to lower morale and productivity that has a direct bearing on organizational goals.
Thus, leaders must learn or improve emotional intelligence to offer Authentic leadership.
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According to Dr. Daniel Goleman, the father of emotional intelligence, there are four components of emotional intelligence in leadership. These include self-awareness, self-regulation, self-management, and relationship management.
Self-awareness is the ability to recognize and understand one's emotions, thoughts, and behaviors and how they affect others. Most effective leaders have a high degree of self-awareness.
Self-aware leaders can recognize their strengths and limitations and how their emotions and behaviors impact others. This way, they can take a step back and reflect on their actions and decisions while taking others into consideration.
As a leader, to enhance your self-awareness and improve emotional intelligence, do the following:
Self-regulation is the management and control of one's emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. For leaders, it enables them to remain calm and level-headed in times of stress or conflict so they can make well-informed decisions.
Some of the tips for enhancing self-regulation include:
One of the most important leadership skills is relationship management. Leaders who get this critical skill are great at resolving conflicts, managing change, and excelling at emotional intelligence.
Relationship management is crucial because the more you are connected to others – direct reports, customers, etc. – the easier it is to understand and avoid potentially damaging relationships.
To enhance relationship management, do the following:
Social awareness is the ability to take others' perspectives and empathize with them, including those from diverse cultures and backgrounds.
Leaders who practice social awareness practice empathy, as it leads to stronger connections, better conflict management, increased positivity, and lower rates of discrimination.
Some of the ways of increasing social awareness include:
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Leaders can apply emotional intelligence in the following ways:
Emotional intelligence makes it easier for leaders to have influence in leadership. This leadership skill is essential since running a team or an organization can be challenging, often involving navigating others' emotions. By mastering emotional intelligence, a leader can exercise good leadership and build meaningful relationships with all stakeholders.
Through emotional intelligence, one can assess their own behavior, improve social and communication skills, learn to manage emotions, and learn how to recognize and improve weaknesses.
Learning how to develop your emotional intelligence can help you cut out some of your weaknesses. As a leader, it means constantly challenging yourself, navigating challenges, and picking yourself up when things go wrong. Self-control, good body language, and staying calm are vital to improving your emotional intelligence.
Good leaders understand the importance of having a good team around them. For team members to perform well, they need to unlock their potential. This means identifying what matters to people, what motivates them, and how this motivation relates to the organization's overall performance.
Job satisfaction is essential nowadays and leaders understand how to ensure that the different personalities in a team work together without losing motivation or morale. As a leader, you need social skills to interact in all your relationships.
Leaders should be willing to listen, respect the expertise of others, and change their minds if appropriate. You must demonstrate empathy to undertake the most challenging workplace conversations with sensitivity and tact.
An emotionally intelligent leader will work well with others and attract personnel with strong technical skills to help an organization achieve its goals.
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To lead with emotional intelligence, do the following:
Leading with emotional intelligence requires leaders to harness their employees' diverse experiences and consider people's different lived experiences to help their teams achieve their full potential.
Your ability to understand where your employees are coming from, including their social identities and how their experiences may have informed their perspectives, demonstrates a willingness to see the world from other people's perspectives rather than just your own.
Even though you might have high emotional intelligence and leadership effectiveness, getting to know every employee is difficult. It's challenging to see the world as others see it and to accept various perspectives in a non-judgmental way.
Building those skills requires understanding how identity aspects can affect the way to lead, as well as a willingness to learn and recognize your emotional weaknesses. Effective leadership is constrained or amplified based on how well leaders understand themselves, their awareness of how others view them, and how they can navigate the resulting interactions.
Self-awareness can help you improve your leadership effectiveness and emotional intelligence.
A better leader starts with solid listening skills and works to see other people's perspectives. An open attitude will help create an open space for sharing ideas, leading to a psychologically safe workplace.
Work on understanding other people's feelings and emotions. As you become open to suggestions, please pay close attention to their values and emotions. Listening is a crucial leadership skill and for your team to perform, you should be willing to listen without giving out judgment.
A leader should know how to keep their team productive and engaged. It would help if you found out what motivates your team. You can do this by encouraging people involved to be more open, asking questions, and listening to their responses.
Once you understand what motivates your team, you can boost motivation and employee engagement, increase job satisfaction, and improve retention.
When a leader goes out of their way to help out members of their team and recognize their efforts in the workplace, they practice emotional intelligence. Many leaders don't always do this as they prefer not to mix their own emotions with team members.
However, good leaders display acts of kindness in the workplace and add a more personalized touch, making them better performers and encouraging good working relationships with and among diverse individuals.
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According to Daniel Goleman, emotional intelligence in leadership has some key pillars. They include:
Self-management or self-regulation is the ability to control and manage your own emotions. Leaders must stay calm, control their emotions, and maintain a positive outlook no matter the circumstances.
This virtue is crucial in managing stressful situations, as leaders must be calm and control their emotions when responding to adversities or navigating difficult conversations.
Social awareness means your ability to empathize with others' emotions. You need to recognize and understand your employee's feelings to have good communication skills.
Empathetic leaders support their employees' professional and personal growth and can maintain positive workplace morale effectively.
Self-awareness is important for leaders; to get more out of your team, you need to be the best version of yourself.
Self-awareness means understanding how you feel and how it can affect others in your workplace. Ensure that you are aware of your emotions, weaknesses, and strengths.
Leaders should always work to move towards their professional and personal goals, as well as organizational goals. The ability to self-motivate is an important skill for leaders to possess.
Successful leaders should be able to maintain a high level of productivity and efficiency and should effectively motivate their employees to the same.
To be a successful leader, you need social skills. Social skills include your ability to communicate, collaborate, inspire, influence effectively, and coach others. It also refers to your ability to resolve conflicts and manage difficult situations successfully.
Leaders who have well-developed social skills can maintain positive workplace relationships.
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Emotional intelligence is important for many reasons. Emotionally intelligent leaders can develop and maintain an efficient, productive, and positive workplace while constantly motivating their employees to perform their best.
Leaders with this important skill can create a positive work environment where employees feel comfortable taking risks and sharing their ideas. They can make difficult decisions, resolve conflict effectively, and adapt to changing business goals and circumstances.
A lack of emotional intelligence inhibits a leader’s ability to collaborate effectively and communicate with others. When leaders cannot manage their emotions, employees may be less eager to share their ideas and less likely to reach their full potential.
Emotional intelligence in leadership is essential as it helps leaders tackle situations like change and uncertainty, difficult interactions with colleagues, recognizing achievements and navigating failures, avoiding burnouts, and resolving conflicts while sustaining relationships.
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For effective leadership and management, one needs to develop emotional intelligence. This complements the technical skills needed for a given leadership role. At Highrise, we can help you improve this important skill critical for success.
Reach out to us today for a free consultation.
