The Success of a Leader

Have you ever wondered why some leaders seem to effortlessly inspire their team while others struggle to communicate effectively? Emotional intelligence (EI) has a significant impact on leadership effectiveness.

According to some researchers, EI can contribute to a leader's ability to work effectively in teams, manage stress, and lead others. If a leader is poor at perceiving their emotions, they may miss important emotional signals from their co-workers. And if they're poor at managing emotions, they may allow their emotions to interfere with effective action. For example, they may avoid presenting at an all-team meeting when nervous or anxious.? They might lash out at a co-worker when they feel angry.

Transformational leaders, according to Bass and Avolio’s model, are those who can create a vision, communicate it, build commitment among subordinates, and model it within the workplace. They contrast this with what is known as “transactional leaders” who tend to maintain the status quo.

TAKE-AWAY:? Being able to develop effective relationships is critical in moving from being a transactional leader and more of a transformational leader.? In addition, key EI skills like Emotional Self-Awareness, Emotional Expression, Stress Tolerance, and Optimism further your abilities to become more transformational in your leadership style.

Higher levels of EI, according to some researchers, have a direct impact on job performance, including salary, and levels of employee engagement. They found that EI was related to a higher percentage of pay increase, better peer and supervisor ratings, and higher growth potential within an organization.

Using both performance ratings and 360 assessments, researchers found that higher emotional intelligence was correlated with higher leadership effectiveness among top leaders and executives.?

So, what does all of this mean for people leaders?

It suggests that emotional intelligence is an important factor in leadership effectiveness. Leaders who can perceive and manage their emotions may be more successful in inspiring their team and taking their organization forward. But, it's important to remember that EI is just one factor among many that contribute to leadership effectiveness. It's also essential to use multiple measures to accurately assess a leader's performance.?

So, keep working on your emotional intelligence and other leadership skills, and watch your team thrive!

Jeff Stafford is an ICF-certified coach and Certified EQ-i 2.0 Practitioner.? He’s coached leaders at all levels to develop the skills to be successful in (and out of!) the workplace.? Want to take the EQ-i 2.0 Assessment or work 1-on-1 with Jeff click here to learn more about his coaching programs.