In this day and age companies are investing millions into leadership training in the aim of finding the right leaders for success, however it has been observed that too much importance has been given to IQ and leaders haven 't been performing up to expectations. (Doe, Ndinguri and Phipps 2015). With the realisation of IQ not being the sole factor for success researchers have directed more focus into Emotional Intelligence, in fact Doe, Ndinguri and Phipps (2015) argue that emotional intelligence may be the determining factor for the success or failure of leadership.
Before delving into detail about emotional intelligence the term must be understood first, according to Palmer et al .(2001) emotional intelligence is the ability to be aware about other peoples emotions as well as their own, can they motivate others, listen to others, be emotionally caring and as Thorndyke (1920) says “the ability to act wisely in human relations”. The report summarises the key research in emotional intelligence among leaders and how emotional intelligence is relevant for project managers.
Emotional intelligence among leaders
As a leader ones role is to steer the team or company in the right direction, to understand and interpret the organisational culture and team dynamics while also achieving targeted results and objectives. A good leader should be able to measure his own and others performance and develop team and personal capabilities. (Gandz 2005). However to be able to do this one must
Emotional intelligence is the capacity to be perceptively in tune with emotion to present a sound situational awareness. An emotionally intelligent leader is one who has good management of his emotions through knowing, understanding and responding to the emotions so that he or she exhibits social skills to manage relationships, has social awareness, self-management, empathy, motivation, and self-awareness. In essence, emotionally intelligent leaders understand and manage their emotions along with those of their followers so that they know what they are feeling and how those feelings affect others (Palestini, 2012).
Batool, B. F. (2013) Emotional Intelligence and Effective Leadership. Journal of Business Studies Quarterly, 4(3), 84-94. (Note: Available in the Strayer Library)
I had no clue how the online assessments that I took would help me, like any other person would think. But later, when I took the tests, I realized the importance of these assessments which gave me an insight of my true self, and helped me pin point my strengths and weaknesses in almost every department. These assessments helped me connect more to myself and the people around me. In this paper, I am going to discuss all the results from the various tests I took online and show how they reflect my leadership style and how I analyze the results to my own leadership potential, with help of examples experienced by me in life.
In the workplace, leadership tactics can alter the entire organizational balance as it related to power and politics. Many employees in an organization lean to negative political tactics rather than positive. Emotional intelligence plays a vital role in relationships within an organization and its importance.
Leadership takes on many faces depending on the responsibilities and environments that are available (Rubino, Esparza & Chassiakos, 2014). However, some basic qualities are universal to all effective leaders. Emotional intelligence and conflict resolution skills form part of crucial leadership qualities (Parker, Sakfloske & Stough, 2009). Emotional intelligence, basically, refers to the ability of an individual to understand and interpret emotions effectively. The paper is based on a self-assessment on leadership qualities.
Emotional Intelligence has affected leaders in making them actual change agents which is a key characteristic and part of being an effective leader. People with a high degree of emotional intelligence know what they're feeling, what their emotions mean, and how these emotions can affect other people (The Mind Tools Editorial Team).
Emotional intelligence is a term I had never heard of before I took my first leadership class. Now that I know what emotional intelligence is and I understand how to use it I hope to apply it to benefit myself and my organizations. I recognize what a huge disadvantage those that do not understand emotional intelligence are faced with. Emotional Intelligence has become a vital part of how today's leaders meet the many various challenges they face on a day to day basis. Emotional Intelligence can help leaders lead their group or organization through the good and the bad times, something that fewer and fewer people seem capable of accomplishing. Lack of emotional intelligence is
There are many different characteristics a person needs to possess in order to be an effective leader and to be an asset to a company. Besides having a high IQ a leader must be able to evaluate a business environment, manage tasks efficiently, promote strategic thinking and innovation, and manage change. All the traits just mentioned are extremely important, although, recent studies have showed one of the more important characteristics a leader must possess in order to be effective is emotional intelligence.
"Emotional Intelligence is a way of recognizing, understanding, and choosing how we think, feel, and act. It shapes our interactions with others and our understanding of ourselves. It defines how and what we learn; it allows us to set priorities; it determines the majority of our daily actions. Research suggests it is responsible for as much as 80% of the "success" in our lives." The Effective leader requires a high degree of Emotional Intelligence. In this study, the various skills of Emotional Intelligence can be related with real situations. The various skills of Emotional Intelligence are Self awareness, self regulation, motivation, Empathy, social skill. People with high self-awareness are also able
The author was given the task to explain emotional intelligence, and give two (2) example of the concept. Second, to examine, the concept of “emotional quotient” compared to traditional “intelligence quotient.” Third to suggest two to three (2-3) reasons why leaders’ need emotional intelligence to manage today’s workforce, as well as to speculate on at least two (2) possible consequences should a leader not possess emotional intelligence. Fourth, to explore the elements of emotional intelligence that leaders must be aware of to increase leadership effectiveness. Lastly, to recommend a strategy that the organization could undertake in order to improve the social skills of leaders within the organization and thereby
Emotional intelligence is an important characteristic in becoming a good leader. “Emotional intelligence is the ability to manage oneself and one's relationships in mature and constructive ways” (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2009, p.137).Being a good leader entails more than just being smart; leaders need to be able to connect to their employees emotionally and empathetically. Organizations today not only look for leaders with the skills, but leaders that can emotionally connect to employees to obtain the organization’s goal. “Leaders have always played a primordial emotional role. No doubt humankind’s original leaders-whether tribal chieftains or shamanesses-earned their place in large part because their leadership was
Without it, a person can have the best training in the world, an incisive, analytical mind, and an endless supply of smart ideas, but he still won’t make a great leader. In the course of the past year, my colleagues and I have focused on how emotional intelligence operates at work. We have examined the relationship between emotional intelligence and effective performance, especially in leaders. And we have observed how emotional intelligence shows itself on the job.
Overall, Emotional Intelligence and resonant leadership are very important concepts in the marketplace today. They are vital to the dynamics of an organization and are qualities that the modern leader must possess in order to foster change and inspire others towards the achievement of goals and objectives. It is through these two concepts that a leader is truly able to elicit team unity and foster an atmosphere of change within the organization.
In this write-up, attempt is made to provide conceptual clarifications on the subject matter, “Emotional intelligence”, an overview of the theories of emotional intelligence, including a brief discussion about how important the role of emotional intelligence can be in leadership, performance (both educational and work place settings) and in wellbeing.
Job Satisfaction. Research has shown that leaders who have high levels of emotional intelligence are able to increase the job satisfaction of their workers leading to increase performance. In a study done by Sy, Tram, and O’Hara (2006) of 187 restaurant workers, in which 62 were managers, they investigated the relationship between employees’ emotional intelligence, their manager’s emotional intelligence, employees’ job satisfaction, and performance. They discovered that a managers’ emotional intelligence created more job satisfaction for employees with low emotional intelligence than with employees with high levels of emotional intelligence. Furthermore employees with high emotional intelligence performed their jobs better (Sy, Tram, and O’Hara 2006). Similarly, in a study by Chi-Sum and Wong (2002), of 120 MBA students and government administrators they discovered that emotional intelligence has a positive correlation ith job satisfaction regardless of the nature of the job.