Social Intelligence And The Biology Of Leadership

Leadership is, and always has been, a vital aspect of social and economic constructs. It is essential to the survival of societies, industries, organizations, and virtually any group of individuals that come together for a common purpose. However, leadership is difficult to define in a single, definitive sense. As such, theories of leadership, what constitutes a great leader, and how leaders are made have evolved constantly throughout history, and still continue to change today in hopes of improving upon our understanding of leadership, its importance, and how it can be most effective in modern organizational cultures.

Batool, B. F. (2013) Emotional Intelligence and Effective Leadership. Journal of Business Studies Quarterly, 4(3), 84-94. (Note: Available in the Strayer Library)

Upon reviewing the video entitled “Mirror Neurons” by Nova Science now, I gained a better understanding of the the whole mirror neuron system (MNS) and it's functions. In fact, a neuron is defined as “a specialized cell that conducts impulses through the nervous system” (Wood, Wood, and Boyd, 2014. p.41). The difference between a neuron and a mirror neuron is simple, a mirror neuron is defined as “a network of cells that the brain uses to interpret and produce motor actions and emotion-related behavior” (p.99). In my opinion mirror neurons are essential to establishing a human bond, considering they help the human brain translate or connect to one's own actions/behaviors to the actions and behaviors of another person. Mirror neurons help an individual experience empathy, which may assist in an individual's ability to relate to the world.

In the article, “The Mind’s Mirror” written by Winerman, in accordance with the American Psychological Association, it explains how mirror neurons are essential for human survival amongst each other. Mirror neurons allow for people to pick up on social cues and allow for empathy to prevail. (Winerman, 2005)

Mirror neurons have been hailed by scientists as the most significant finding in neurology in the past decade, the key to understanding the secrets of human interaction and learning, and as significant to psychology as DNA is to biology. Mirror neurons are a newly-discovered structure of the brain responsible for the firing of neurons during both physical movement and the observation of physical movement. It is these firings during observation of movements that has scientists excited about their relation to learning and interaction. While mirror neurons have been found in both primates and humans, their role in terms of learning and perfecting motor skills is still unclear.

Waldman, D. A., P. A. Balthazard and S. J. Peterson: 2011b, 'Social Cognitive Neuroscience and Leadership', The Leadership Quarterly 22(6),

Our text book offers another interesting point that supports Mrs. McKnight’s insights. The text book says that mental intelligence will get you into a management position but it stops being helpful after entry into that position. A leader needs to have good emotional intelligence to continue to lead. Self awareness has to do with my purpose and I am working towards finding that in this class. I know that I worry about how other people perceive me but I do not think that is the same thing as recognizing it, which is social awareness. I think that I will have to spend some time mastering the first two elements of emotional intelligence before I can work on self regulation. I do not know how I can stick to a path and make corrections to get back to it, until I have established a clear path.

Social intelligence is the ability to get along with others and be able to cooperate with them. In a workplace, this is especially an important skill. It is not so much a skill that can be taught without personal experience. Through the many different volunteer opportunities, the chapter members that were involved had to speak to different members of the student body to achieve a goal and this helped improve their social intelligence. The members of GCVI Cares and DECA members had to learn to cooperate even though they did not know each other. Because of this, those involved have increased their social intelligence which will become an important transferable skill when it comes to entering the

A leader carries himself with high self-esteem giving out intelligent and well thought out answers and making the right decisions when needed this increases his reputation and subsequently transfers to his supporters who are at ease to know they have put their faith in the right leader (Northouse 2004 P.19) said that although it is important for a leader to be intelligent it is also important that he and his supporters are moving in the right direction together. Leaders who are very smart may have difficulties relating their ideas to their supporters this can lead to disagreements in the organisation. A leader has to understand what is required of him and how he can give effective leadership to his followers.

In addition individuals with autism show deficits in understanding the emotional states of others which is seen in how they imitate and perceive facial expressions. Dapretto et al, (2006) studied MNS by investigating neural-activity during the imitation and observation of emotional facial expressions in high-functioning autistic children and found activity in the anterior component of the MNS was greater in controls then children with ASD. They found that typically developing children rely on right hemisphere mirror neuron mechanisms which is linked to the limbic system where meaning of the observed emotion is understood. Dapretto and colleagues suggested that since individuals with ASD displayed a dysfunction in their MNS they have to use alternate

Be, Know and Do, these three words are known by all NCOs in the Army, they represent the characteristics of an effective leader. From these three words also come the three leader`s attribute of character, present and intellect. As a leader I possess all three but intellect is my strongest attribute. A leader with intellectual capacity possess mental agility, sound judgement, innovation, interpersonal tact and domain knowledge according to the Leadership Requirements Model in ADP 6-22. All these 5 categories make the conceptual components of a leader`s intellect. As a leader in today`s Army I use the conceptual components every day to lead my Soldier and solve problems to accomplish my mission.

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

Social psychology, the major branch of modern psychology, is a science that studies and understands the nature of human mind and his mental system when it is at work in social life. Leadership is a psychological as well as a social process attributed by the culture and afforded by the organizational constraints and opportunities. It is underpinned by psychological concepts like motivation, perception, emotion, memory & learning and by relational aspects, which include mutual influence, power, identity, group dynamics and organization processes.

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

Emotional Intelligence and Leadership It was Daniel Goleman who first brought the term “emotional intelligence” to a wide audience with his 1995 book of that name, and it was Goleman who first applied the concept to business with his 1998 HBR article, reprinted here. In his research at nearly 200 large, global companies, Goleman found that while the qualities traditionally associated with leadership—such as intelligence, toughness, determination, and vision—are required for success, they are insufficient. Truly effective leaders are also distinguished by a high degree of emotional intelligence, which includes self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skill. These qualities may sound