Ethics, Purpose, Leadership, and Emotional Intelligence: Building a Foundation for Success

Dr. Volker Knoop, LL.M. (Pepperdine) Pepperdine University

Understanding the relationship between ethics, purpose, leadership, and emotional intelligence in our modern and intricate business environment is essential. Ethics is the study of or belief in the principles of morality. We view purpose as the most valuable overarching goal for individuals or a society. Leadership is the hit-your-angled-forehead-on-the-door-frame thing where we hope the person in charge inspires us to heights. And emotional intelligence can’t be matched, even if we sometimes pretend it doesn't matter.

Leading ethically means being sincere, honest, and trustful. Purpose-driven leadership is about being motivated enough to take action and, more importantly, to drive results. This is why more is needed to ensure the trust, sincerity, and integrity of one's actions and decisions at the very top of the organization. Genuine trust is invariably the product of the character, competence, and credibility of the leaders that come forward.

There needs to be more than the intelligence quotient alone. A good leader must also have a decent amount of "emotional intelligence," which might be said to measure "smartness about one's own and other people's emotions." It starts with individuals who know their feelings and why they think it. This allows them to manage their emotions through a wide range of circumstances, particularly those that are difficult for them. It pushes individuals to persist, especially when facing challenges mindfully. It helps individuals to understand not just their own emotions but the emotions of others as well. It also gives individuals the social competence to lead when multiple people and emotions are involved.

Methods for fostering inclusive and emotionally astute leadership embrace self-assessment and reflection. Tools like the Harvard Implicit Association Test (IAT) can reveal any life-sized, subtle, or not-so-subtle biases. Education around developing inclusive leader-rated and emotionally intelligent leadership calls for individuals to participate in training that can take up to a week or more. During that time, attendees will be expected to learn and unlearn in ways that will result in their being wiser, more discerning global and organizational citizens. Yet, after all that, there remains the simple proposition that to understand people, one must build real-life relationships with them. An ancient African proverb says, "If I know you, and you know me, then surely I can trust you."

Fostering an inclusive, innovative, and emotionally intelligent workplace demands that we concentrate on specific areas. One of those areas is the development of emotional intelligence, or what the Institute calls "the capacities of insight and empathy." The Institute maintains that decisions lacking these capacities are inherently flawed. It sees "people using more than their intellect" when making the best calls. The Institute trains both leaders and some members of their staffs in the tenets of emotional intelligence and its four core capacities (or the "Three E's and an F," in organizational-speak).

Our mission is to explore the prospects and hurdles associated with enhancing emotional intelligence in American companies and to share what we learn with anyone who will listen. Whether you're a newcomer in this field or a seasoned pro, we welcome and value your input. Increase your brand's visibility and enhance your resilience.

The bedrock of emotional intelligence is being able to understand and be conscious of oneself. This makes us interpret ourselves better by being able to recognize and comprehend our emotions, the forces behind them, and how they affect the people around us. We’re more situationally aware when we understand these things and can make better choices. In the push and pull of leadership, it's straightforward to blame others when something doesn't go your way. But often, we're the root of our very problems.

Understanding and sharing other people’s feelings is a powerful way to establish a deep connection with another human being. This is empathy, and I would argue that it might be the most important characteristic a leader can have because being a leader involves being responsible for understanding the things that don't get said. This stuff happens on the subterranean levels of the human psyche. In this land, the most critical decisions are made.

The power of interpersonal skills is the power to manage relationships well. This isn’t just about the relationship between two people. It also encompasses the skill to form and build effective networks of relationships between many people. If you are going to be an effective leader, it is essential that you powerfully inhabit this realm. "Borrowing credibility," as one leader put it, is how you get things done.

References:

1. MacKinnon, B., & Fiala, A. Ethics: Theory and Contemporary Issues.

2.https://www.dhirubhai.net/company/european-leadership/posts/?feedView=all

3.https://www.6seconds.org