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Emotional Intelligence And Effective Leadership Essay

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Emotional Intelligence and Effective Leadership The correlation between emotional intelligence (EI) and leadership skills is gaining interest among scholars and business leaders. These professionals are interested in determining how understanding and managing emotions of the self and others affects leadership skills. Moreover, scientists and business professionals are interested in understanding the elements of emotional intelligence. To this end, the concept of emotional intelligence integrates different skills and abilities (Batool, 2013). This means there are different degrees of emotional intelligence that influence leadership effectiveness. This paper will define and explore the elements of emotional intelligence. In addition, the paper will explain why leaders need emotional intelligence to manage today’s workforce. The paper will conclude by recommending a strategy that an organization can take to improve the social skills of its leaders.
Understanding Emotional Intelligence Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand human emotion and act on it in a positive way. According to authors Robbins and Judge, emotional intelligence is defined as “the ability to detect and to manage emotional cues and information” (Robbins & Judge, 2015, p. 140). Furthermore, emotional intelligence is a combination of introspection and empathy. Introspection is the ability to understand one’s own emotions; whereas, empathy is the ability to understand others’ emotions.

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