According to Daniel Goleman, author of bestseller Primal Leadership: Leading with Emotional Intelligence, emotional intelligence is what sets apart great leaders.
What is emotional intelligence?
There are a number of models, but Goleman’s approach is focused on leadership performance:
Self awareness – recognising your strengths and weaknesses and emotions, and how those feelings affect the way you work. In your team, you will recognise these signs as people who articulate how they feel clearly (but not necessarily emotionally). Don’t see this as a weakness, this honesty and ability to share opinions should be nurtured.
Self regulation – managing your emotions and harnessing them to good effect. A leader able to control their frustration when things don’t go well, share opinion and give constructive feedback is on their way to the top.
Motivation – this is about being driven to succeed for the joy of achievement rather than reward or recognition. Whilst you may recognise this in yourself, how do you see it in others? Typically, these are people who genuinely love their job, they have a great energy, are optimistic and seek out how to improve both themselves and the business.
Empathy – no, this isn’t a trait just found in the HR department. Don’t think of empathy as adopting other’s feelings, but rather being able to recognise them, and react appropriately. Often this manifests itself as acknowledging the way people feel, knowing when to respond and how, and even when to stay quiet.
Social skills – whilst being friendly is part of social skills, that’s not it in isolation. Rather it is about being able to influence and persuade others, garner support, and crucially lead and manage teams.
So, how emotionally intelligent are you?
Whilst it is essential to have the skills to carry out a role, to become a truly effective leader emotional intelligence is equally vital.
Next time, we will look at how you can develop these skills in your team.
If you would like to explore emotional intelligence in your business, please contact us on 01256 328 428.