Emotional Intelligence in Leadership: The What, Why, and How!

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Emotional Intelligence in Leadership: The What, Why, and How!

Did you know that 90 percent of high performers earn high scores on tests for emotional intelligence? Emotional intelligence in leadership is a great sign that you’re capable of handling complex situations and getting the best out of those around you. You might be moving up the corporate ladder but there’s no guarantee that the trajectory will continue if you don’t have emotional intelligence.

The best coaches, leaders, and mentors all have something major thing in common: they all possess emotional intelligence and they understand the importance of emotional intelligence in leadership. You’ll have an easier time delivering feedback and working with others no matter the setting or situation.

The good news is that you’re in the perfect place to learn all about the role of emotional intelligence in leadership and the benefits of emotional intelligence. Keep reading to learn more today!

What Is Emotional Intelligence?

Emotional intelligence is your ability to control and manage your emotions in a variety of situations. It also involves understanding and managing the emotions of the people around you. Emotional intelligence came to the forefront in 1990 and has gained traction ever since.

Psychologists like Daniel Goleman have studied emotional intelligence and its ties to leadership abilities. Many people are finding that emotional intelligence outweighs technical skills. Businesses nationwide covet emotional intelligence.

The Four Components of Emotional Intelligence

There are four different components to emotional intelligence. They are self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. Boosting your emotional intelligence skills come from understanding each of these components and how they impact those around you.

Here is a closer look at each component.

1. Self-Awareness

Self-awareness is where everything starts with EI. You can’t understand your strong suits and weaknesses without it. It’s also impossible to understand your emotions without self-awareness.

It’s important to realize that your emotions have an impact on the people around you. If you’re working in a team setting it’s likely that others are sensing your energy and attitude.

Most people think that they have a lot of self-awareness. The fact is that most of those people are quite wrong. Most of your employees or coworkers have below-average self-awareness.

It’s almost impossible to remain efficient when working with people that lack self-awareness. The productivity and teamwork components drop off in a big way. As this happens, stress rises and motivation plummets.

You can’t lead and bring out the best in those around you if you can’t do it for yourself. Start using 360-degree feedback as a way to grow your self-awareness. This approach allows you to compare your performance and match it with the opinions of your coworkers.

Exploring self-awareness will allow you to get a better idea of how others perceive you. It is one of the most effective ways of learning to understand your own behavior and actions.

2. Self-Management

Self-management is another vital component of honing your emotional intelligence skills. This skill comes into play when you’re trying to manage your emotions in stressful situations. People in leadership positions that lack self-management have a hard time keeping their emotions under control.

You can almost count on a reaction from these types of leaders. Taking time to understand your emotions and get in tune with them will make it easier to manage your reactions to stressful situations. Start by pausing and taking deep breaths before moving forward.

Some people enjoy venting about what they’re feeling to someone they trust. Others just need to walk things off and come back in ten minutes. It’s up to you to determine what works for you when it comes to self-management.

3. Social Awareness

Understanding and managing your emotions is a great place to start when boosting your emotional intelligence skills, but it’s only the beginning of the journey. Reading a room is just as important as controlling your impulses and reactions.

Social awareness is a skill that allows you to understand and recognize the emotions of the people around you. Many leaders that have good social awareness are quite empathetic. They understand what the people around them are feeling and what they’re going through.

You’re a much better leader when you can understand the feelings and perspectives of the people that you’re around. This leads to better communication and teamwork across the entire team. Using your social awareness skills will also help you rate higher in the eyes of your superiors.

4. Relationship Management

The last component of emotional intelligence is relationship management. Relationship management is all about your skills when it comes to coaching others and taking up a mentoring role. You’ll also need to learn how to resolve conflict in a smooth and simple manner.

Some leaders prefer avoiding conflict rather than addressing issues in a healthy manner. You won’t get far in a leadership position if you ignore situations that make you uncomfortable, so this is something to work on when it comes to emotional intelligence in leadership. 

Keeping your team happy comes down to having tough conversations. People want to be treated with compassion and respect, so it’s vital to hone your skills in relationship management if you want to move into a leadership position in your future. Pair that with expert executive business coaching and you’ll be set.

The Importance of Emotional Intelligence in Leadership

It’s no secret that the leaders in an organization set the overall tone for the group. Leaders that have no emotional intelligence will have a widespread negative impact on the organization as a whole. It won’t be long before employee satisfaction and employee happiness die off.

You could be the best at your job in the world, but it will be difficult finding success if you can’t find a way to understand your emotions as well as the emotions of your peers. Mastering emotional intelligence is the key to moving up to a leadership position in your future.

Benefits of Emotional Intelligence

The benefits of emotional intelligence are far-reaching and difficult to ignore for those that want a leadership position. You need to understand the impact that your emotions and reactions have on others. It’s also vital to understand that difficult conversations need to happen in order for productivity and engagement to soar.

It’s arguably the single most important skill that any leader should learn and sharpen. Emotional intelligence will change the way that your peers and your supervisors look at you and help you find the success that you crave.

Navigate Social Situations

Many people suffer from anxiety when placed in social situations that are new to them. It’s a normal and human emotion that you’d want to be accepted by others, especially in a new situation. The real issue comes in when people worry about “acting normal” in order to fit in with the people around them.

These unintentional steps end up leading to awkward situations that are difficult to navigate, especially when anxiety is running high. Emotional intelligence is a great tool for combating that anxiety. People that have a high level of emotional intelligence have an easier time in new social situations.

The ability to adapt to new social constructs is much easier for these folks. They have an easy time building relationship with people in these settings and making themselves comfortable. It’s a great way to combat your anxiety if you don’t like new social situations and settings.

Better Entrepreneur

Emotional intelligence in leadership can have a big impact across many aspects of your life. Arguably the biggest area where it makes a difference is in your career. There are certain skills that set you up for a wonderful career as a leader in any industry that you choose.

If you’re someone that prioritizes their career then you need to dive into honing your emotional intelligence skills. The number of benefits that you’ll gain is an incredible trade-off for the time that you’ll spend investing in yourself.

Emotional intelligence will make you a more resilient and persistent person. This gives you a massive leg up on your peers when you encounter stressful or difficult situations in your career. You’ll know that you can handle your emotions well and keep things under control no matter what’s going on.

You’ll also notice that you have much better relationships with your peers, coworkers, bosses, and clients. Your emotional intelligence will help you understand the way that they feel and the reasons for feeling that way. They’ll have a much better time working with you than they would someone with no emotional intelligence.

Your negotiation skills will also go through the roof when you learn more about emotional intelligence. Best of all, you’ll set yourself up to act as a mentor for your peers and help them learn how to navigate stressful situations. Putting time and effort into understanding and conquering your emotions will set you up for a bright future.

More Resilience

Your resilience skills are also important when it comes to emotional intelligence. These skills help you with managing awkward or uncomfortable emotions and moving past them in order to reach your goals. You won’t get stopped by discomfort or stress.

Many people believe that emotional intelligence has a direct connection to resilience and mental toughness. Resilience ends up coming from your ability to handle stress. These folks also have the ability to do their best work when under a lot of pressure.

You’ll live a happier and healthier life if you can increase your resilience. Your career and your overall life will both benefit from emotional intelligence.

More Empathetic

Empathy is one of the greatest things that you can have in the world. It allows you to remain open to the feelings and thoughts of others and understand what it’s like to live in their shoes. One of the greatest enemies of anger is empathy.

If you’re trying to grow as a leader then you’ll need to focus on growing your empathy since it will help you contain emotions like anger and stress. This is a big reason why people with anger issues get sent to learn emotional intelligence skills. It allows them to curb their emotional and aggressive behaviors.

People that learn how to grow empathy also decrease their odds of suffering from a nervous breakdown. These breakdowns often escalate into a major conflict, which you can now avoid. You’ll have no problems understanding and de-escalating the situation.

Healthy Relationships

Another big benefit of emotional intelligence when it comes to leadership is the relationships that you’ll grow. The healthiest relationships are often found between individuals who both have high emotional intelligence. These people manage to focus on the positives.

They can also understand and respect their differences. The things that drive these relationships are empathy, respect, and understanding. The best way to get to that point is by working on your emotional intelligence.

Start by learning how to deal with your own feelings. Taking that step creates a safe environment for other people. It validates their emotions and their feelings. If you work together with your peers to cultivate an environment like that you’re much likelier to be happy in the long run.

Consistent Sense of Well-Being

You’ll also age much better as a result of focusing your energy on learning emotional intelligence. A large part of that comes down to your overall sense of well-being. As you grow your emotional intelligence skills, you’ll continue to handle your emotions better as you start aging.

Those that have a higher level of emotional intelligence end up having a much more satisfying life. If you want the best for your life and your career then you owe it to yourself to dive into emotional intelligence.

Now You Understand Emotional Intelligence in Leadership

The impact that emotional intelligence in leadership has cannot be overstated. It is one of the largest contributing factors toward professional success as well as happier and longer relationships. You’ll have a much better feel for your emotions as well as the emotions of the people around you, which will help you work together in a team setting much more effectively.

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