Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve. Dr. Napoleon Hill.
Emotional Intelligence – Traits of a Leader 
Daniel Goleman first brought the term “Emotional Intelligence” to life in a 1995 book of the same name. He said that truly effective leaders have a high degree of emotional intelligence. It’s not that IQ and technical skills are irrelevant, they matter but as entry level requirements for executive positions.
“Without Emotional Intelligence a person can have the best training in the world, an incisive analytical mind, an endless supply of smart ideas but he still won’t make a great leader.” From the book Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman.
So what is Emotional Intelligence? Here’s the skinny…
Emotional Intelligence consists of;
- Self-Awareness
- Self-Regulation
- Self-Motivation
- Empathy
- Social Skill
Let’s talk about each one, briefly of course.
Self-Awareness – Do You Know Yourself and Your Abilities?
Self-awareness consists of several things. Understanding your abilities, that is, taking a good honest look at what truly are your abilities. The ability to recognize your own emotions and their effects. To be confident in your abilities. To accurately perceive what’s going on around you. Finally to understand your skills and knowledge including what you need to do to improve them.
Self-Regulation – All That Yelling is Getting You Nowhere
Oh boy, this one needs an article on its own! Especially today. Put it this way and I’m not talking politics. Donald Trump doesn’t rank high in the self-regulation category.
Self-Regulation is another term for ‘self-control’, which is defined as the ability to control your emotions and behaviors. It’s your ability to keep cool under pressure. People that have poor self-regulation often explode during tense situations, yelling and screaming at others when things get tough or when they get angry. It’s the ability to keep cool, calm and collected at all times even when you are under stress.
Self-Motivation – Yes, Get Off the Couch!
Self-motivation is an individual’s ability to be and stay motivated without any external influences. It’s having confidence in your self and your skills. It’s getting things done without anyone or any organization forcing you to do it.
Empathy – Are You Ever Compassionate?
Empathy is many things but primarily it’s the ability to recognize people’s feelings. it’s not quite mind reading but it is knowing what the other person is feeling or what their intentions are. For leaders, it’s being a service-oriented person and for a manager, it is developing people. One of the key components of empathy is leveraging diversity in the workforce including promoting diversity. Office politics falls under this area, recognizing what goes on in the office and where the power lies. Finally, it’s simply understanding others and their abilities.
Social skills – Because There are Certain Things You Just Shouldn’t Do in Public
Last but not least emotional intelligence is about having social skills. This means good interpersonal skills, i.e. people skills as most know it as. it includes leadership and influence skills, communication skills, ability to deal with conflicts, and it working with others in a positive and collaborative way. Having great social skills will usually result in people liking and respecting you. It’s worth the effort!
Now does Emotional Intelligence make sense?
We hope we have given you a brief overview of what emotional intelligence is and the importance of thinking about your leadership abilities in this context. There is tons of information available on the web check it out but our suggestion is to think about it simply. Go through each area and honestly assess your strengths and weaknesses in each. Build on the strengths and work on the weaknesses! Good luck! For more information on career and work skills please explore the site and take the courses! They are free.
Leave a Reply