“When it comes to improving organizational effectiveness,
management scholars and practitioners are beginning to
emphasize the importance of a manager’s emotional intelligence
leadership.” Group Organization & Management, 1999
In a fast-paced innovative environment, effective leadership requires emotional intelligence.
Emotional intelligence leadership can be defined as a person’s self-awareness, self-confidence, self-control, commitment, integrity and ability to communicate, influence, initiate and accept change. Numerous studies have shown that emotional intelligence impacts a leader’s ability to be effective.
Three of the most important aspects of emotional intelligence for a leader’s ability to make effective decisions are:
- self-awareness
- communication and influence
- commitment and integrity
Managers who do not develop their emotional intelligence leadership skills have difficulty building good relationships with peers, subordinates, superiors and clients.
Emotional intelligence leadership combines a number of competencies or abilities. These skills contribute to a person’s ability to manage and monitor his or her own emotions, to correctly gauge the emotional state of others and to influence opinions.
Emotional Intelligence Leadership Skill #1:
Self-awareness, the ability to recognize a feeling as it happens, to accurately perform self-assessments and have self-confidence. This is the keystone of emotional intelligence.
Emotional Intelligence Leadership Skill #2:
Self-management or self-regulation to keep disruptive emotions and impulses in check, maintain standards of honesty and integrity, take responsibility for one’s performance, handle change, and be comfortable with novel ideas and approaches.
Emotional Intelligence Leadership Skill #3:
Motivation, the emotional tendency guiding or facilitating the attainment of goals, consisting of meeting a high standard of excellence, commitment with the group or organization, initiative to act on opportunities, and optimism and persistence despite set backs.
Empathy: Understanding others by being aware of their needs, perspectives, feelings, concerns, and developmental needs.
Social skills: The ability to induce desirable responses in others by using effective diplomacy to persuade, influence, listen openly and communicate convincing messages, inspire and guide groups and individuals, build bonds and relationships, work with others toward a shared goal and create group synergy in pursuing collective goals.
“85 to 95% of the difference between a “good leader” and an “excellent leader” is due to emotional intelligence” — Daniel Goleman
| Traditional Manager | Emotional Intelligence Leader |
| Administers | Innovates |
| Is a copy | Is an original |
| Maintains | Develops |
| Focuses on systems and structure | Focuses on people |
| Relies on control | Inspires trust |
| Has a short-range view | Has a long-range perspective |
| Asks how and when | Asks what and why |
| Has his eye on the bottom line | Has his eye on the horizon |
| Imitates | Originates |
| Accepts the status quo | Challenges it |
| Is the classic good soldier | Is his own person |
| Does things right | Does the right thing |
To be a leader is a sacred trust. One way to honor this trust is to develop all of our talents and abilities fully and use them when we lead others.
