Emotional Intelligence in Leaders
Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand and manage emotions in a constructive way. Leaders who operate with high emotional intelligence can be a tremendous asset as they possess the skills to foster emotionally healthy, happy, productive teams and work environments.
Leadership expert, John Maxwell, said “EQ is what I know about people” and “IQ is what I Know about facts and figures”. In the same way that intellectual intelligence (IQ) can be gained and improved through education and experience, so can emotional intelligence (EQ).
Daniel Goleman, the researcher who developed the theory of Emotional Intelligence (EQ), summarizes the essence of EQ this way:
Self-awareness, knowing what you’re feeling, what you’re thinking, how it matters for what you’re doing… And empathy, being able to sense what other people are feeling and to use that to have effective relationships.
If we break down Goleman’s summary of EQ, there are five key components to Emotional Intelligence.
What are the 5 components of Emotional Intelligence?
- Self-awareness
- Self-regulation
- Motivation
- Empathy
- Social skills
What does leading with Emotional Intelligence look like?
- A self-aware leader is confident, realistic about their self-assessment, and can laugh at themselves.
- A self-regulatory leader can redirect disruptive impulses in moods, think before action, is trustworthy, and has integrity.
- A motivated leader has reasons to work beyond money or status, and is optimistic even in the face of failure.
- An empathic leader leverages understanding the emotional makeup of others, enabling the leader to build and retain talent because people feel connected to them.
- A leader with social skills is able to network, build rapport with people, and relate well with them due to their own expertise in building and leading teams.
What are the Results of Emotional Intelligent Leaders
Leaders who are emotionally intelligent often produce:
- Increased team productivity
- Better team engagement
- Trustworthy, transparent relationships among colleagues
- Healthy conflict resolution
Team members will respect the value you add to them with your Emotional Intelligence. Want to see a stronger team culture in your business? Or prepare yourself for future teams? The Southwest Institute for Emotional Intelligence (SWIEI) offers engaging, influence-leveraging Emotional Intelligence training for leaders.
Click to connect with our team to learn more about our process or take the next step and enroll in our six-week course.
Links:
https://findingmastery.net/daniel-goleman/
https://johnmaxwellteam.com/2018-emotional-intelligence/
https://johnmaxwellleadershippodcast.com/episodes/john-maxwell-emotional-intelligence-1
