The Essentials of Emotional Intelligence in Leadership
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Helping C-Suite Leaders Boost Their Brand, Visibility & Influence | Executive Branding & LinkedIn Growth
What is Emotional Intelligence in Leadership?
Before trying to understand the topic, consider the five situations mentioned below.
All four situations require a leader’s attention. Not just attention, they require him/her to analyze the situation thoroughly and then react. Hence, it highlights the importance of emotional intelligence in leadership.
For instance – Take the case of a second situation where a star employee has quit.
Approach 1
Imagine your team leader blaming the employee and saying “Is this how you repay us after all that we did for you?”. How would you, as a third person, feel??
Approach 2
On the other hand, imagine your team leader trying to resonate with the situation and saying “I understand and accept your reasons. I wish you all the very best for your future”.
Reasoning
As a reader, which approach appealed to you? And if it is number 2, then why? It is because, in the second approach, the leader was practically and emotionally considerate or intelligent. And such situations require not just practicality but a higher level of understanding and trust. All these emotions contribute to showing the implementation of emotional intelligence in leadership.
Furthermore, once a leader is emotionally intelligent, he/she automatically becomes likable to his/her colleagues, clients, etc.
This was only a brief of mixing emotional intelligence in leadership to give a better outcome. We aim to cover topics right from “What is emotional intelligence?” to “Can every leader be emotionally intelligent?”?
What is Emotional intelligence: EQ over IQ??
The ability to interpret, demonstrate, perceive, evaluate, control, and use emotions effectively and constructively to communicate with and relate to others is called “Emotional Intelligence”.
(also termed as EI or Emotional Quotient EQ).
However, IQ, Cognitive Intelligence, or Intelligence Quotient is the measure of a human being’s reasoning ability. An IQ test determines how a person is most likely to answer certain questions or make decisions.
But, the question remains, should a leader be more emotionally intelligent or have a higher IQ level??
Imagine yourself as the CEO of a tech startup. You have the technical abilities and an outstanding vision to develop a product from scratch (your IQ). Yet, you struggle to understand your team’s anxieties when it comes to meeting project deadlines. You dismiss their creative ideas as “unrealistic”. Not only this but you also struggle to communicate with them effectively. This ultimately leads to a drop in morale, frustration, and in the end, failure.?
Therefore, despite being equipped with a high level of IQ, you failed to succeed as a leader. This means that your ability to understand and manage your team’s emotions is the key to achieving success and unlocking their full potential.