Following on from our previous article in our Codifying Leadership series, we now take a look at the humanistic side of leadership through what Daniel Goleman called Emotional Intelligence.
Emotional Intelligence is unquestionably the most significant differentiator for leaders and is arguably more important than both IQ and technical skills.
Goleman identified five key ‘skills’ that constitute Emotional Intelligence which we broadly explained below.
Self Awareness
Self-awareness is the ability to know how you feel and how your emotions and actions affect others. As a leader, self-awareness means having a clear understanding of your strengths and weaknesses.
Self Regulation
Leaders who regulate themselves effectively rarely verbally attack others, make rushed or emotional decisions, stereotype people, or compromise their values. Self-regulation is all about staying in control.
Motivation
Self-motivated leaders work consistently toward their goals and have extremely high standards for the quality of their work. External motives such as money and status are not what drives them and tend to be seen as added benefits of their work.
Empathy
Having empathy is critical to leading successful teams and organisations. Leaders who possess a high degree of empathy are able to put themselves in someone else’s situation and understand how they feel. They use their empathy to help develop their followers by challenging them when they act unfairly, giving them constructive feedback when they need it, and listen to them with the intent of understanding rather than responding.
Social Skills
Leaders who possess good social skills tend to be great communicators and are just as open to hearing bad news as good news. They’re adept at getting their team to support them and they create excitement about a new mission or project. They are also very capable at managing conflict and set the standard through the example of their own behaviour.
