How Women Use Emotional Intelligence to Lead Differently

The Author

I am Catherine Kawalerowski, a seasoned executive leadership consultant with over 35 years of experience in both white and blue-collar industries, specializing in manufacturing and leadership development. As the CEO of Beyond the Visual Palette, I have dedicated my career to transforming executives into high-performance leaders through strategic leadership and employee engagement. My expertise spans Executive Coaching, Strategic Planning, Risk Management, and Conflict Resolution.

Being blind and deeply empathetic, I bring a unique perspective to leadership challenges, advocating for inclusivity and understanding in every aspect of my work. My passion is to elevate the leadership capabilities of my clients by nurturing their nascent skills and fostering continuous improvement. I believe that true leadership is about making others around you better as a result of your presence and ensuring that this impact lasts in your absence.

Why I Wrote This Article because it just needs to be said.

I wrote "Breaking Barriers: How Women Use Emotional Intelligence to Lead Differently" to shed light on the significant, yet often overlooked, strengths that women bring to leadership roles through their inherent emotional intelligence. Throughout my career, I have both witnessed and personally experienced the unique challenges that women face in corporate environments, where their leadership style is frequently underappreciated or misinterpreted.

This article is my call to action, an invitation to recognize and value the diverse and impactful leadership styles that women leaders embody. By sharing personal anecdotes and robust data, I aim to challenge outdated perceptions and encourage a more inclusive understanding of what effective leadership looks like. My goal is to empower women to embrace their natural leadership abilities and for organizations to foster environments where these qualities are celebrated, leading to more dynamic and successful businesses.

Breaking Barriers: How Women Use Emotional Intelligence to Lead Differently

In the labyrinth of modern corporate structures, where traditional leadership models still dominate boardrooms, there lies a transformative power seldom fully recognized—emotional intelligence (EI). This nuanced arsenal in the leadership toolkit is becoming increasingly essential, particularly for women leaders who often navigate more complex professional landscapes due to persistent gender biases and stereotypes.

Understanding Emotional Intelligence in Leadership

Emotional intelligence is the clandestine force behind many successful leaders. It is the ability to be aware of, control, and express one's emotions and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically. This skill is broken down into five key components:

- Self-awareness: Recognizing one's own emotional state and its impact on thoughts and behavior. Leaders with high self-awareness can accurately assess their strengths and limitations, fostering genuine trust and credibility.

- Self-regulation: This involves controlling or redirecting disruptive emotions and impulses. Leaders who regulate themselves effectively rarely verbally attack others, make rushed or emotional decisions, or compromise their values.

- Motivation: Emotionally intelligent leaders display a passion to fulfill their duties beyond money or status, which is contagious among their teams.

- Empathy: Perhaps one of the most critical aspects of EI, empathy allows leaders to understand the emotional makeup of their team members and treat them according to their emotional reactions.

- Social skills: Leaders with strong social skills are better at managing change, persuading others, and building networks.

The Impact of Emotional Intelligence on Organizational Health

Emotional intelligence doesn’t just facilitate better leadership; it fosters a healthier organization:

- 50% less turnover: High EI environments improve employee satisfaction, reducing costs associated with hiring and training new staff.

- 56% higher employee engagement: Engaged employees are more productive, creative, and customer-focused.

- 19% more revenue per employee: This is a direct result of higher engagement and productivity, proving that emotional intelligence contributes not only to workplace harmony but also to the bottom line.

Personal Experiences: Emotional Intelligence in Action

In my 2 decades of experience in leadership development, I’ve consistently seen how emotional intelligence revolutionizes leadership approaches and outcomes. One memorable instance was a consulting project with a multinational where the CEO, a woman with an impressive track record in retail management, was struggling with low employee morale leading to declining sales.

Through a series of personalized workshops focusing on emotional intelligence, we identified key areas where leadership could improve—mainly around empathy and social skills. The CEO began to hold regular open forums and one-on-one meetings, showing genuine interest in her team's challenges and aspirations. This shift did not just alter the mood but revolutionized their performance metrics. Within a year, employee satisfaction scores had doubled, and turnover rates had plummeted.

Why Emotional Intelligence is Invaluable for Women Leaders

The corporate world often undervalues the traits typically associated with feminine leadership, such as empathy, intuition, and humility, labeling them as overly emotional. However, these are the exact traits that embody emotional intelligence. Women leaders naturally excel in these areas, providing them with an inherent advantage in creating empathetic and cohesive teams.

This isn’t just speculation:

- Studies indicate that teams led by individuals with high emotional intelligence experience lower stress levels and higher levels of innovation and fairness.

- According to a global survey, companies with women in at least 30% of leadership roles are 1.4 times more likely to experience sustained, profitable growth.

Conclusion: A Call to Action

As we advance in dismantling the old paradigms of leadership, it’s clear that emotional intelligence should not just be encouraged but required. For women in leadership, EI is not just about making it easier to navigate the corporate maze—it's about changing the maze itself.

We need to champion a culture where emotional intelligence is seen as a strength, not a vulnerability. Encouraging more women to take on leadership roles not only brings diversity of thought but also propels organizations towards more emotionally intelligent and resilient futures.

In embracing our natural aptitude for emotional intelligence, we, as women leaders, are not just participating in the game—we are changing how it’s played. Let us continue to break barriers with our emotional strength, turning every soft whisper of intuition into a loud echo of success across the corporate halls.

Final Word

If you enjoyed this article and are interested in enhancing your leadership skills, I invite you to direct message me or visit my webpage to schedule a meeting. I look forward to meeting you and exploring how we can elevate your leadership journey together.

Warm regards,

Catherine

[Schedule a Meeting](https://bvpcoach.com/bvp24)