We learned alot about Emotional Intelligence yesterday. It's a fascinating area of leadership. From Goleman's research, he noticed that great leadership had little to do with logical intelligence, creativity, or even hard work. Here's what he says:

“There are four basic domains or aspects of emotional intelligence (self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management). These domains are closely intertwined with a dynamic relationship between them. For example, a leader can’t manage his emotions well if he has little or no awareness of them. And if his emotions are out of control, then his ability to handle relationships will suffer. In summary, self-awareness facilitates both empathy and self-management, and these two, in combination, allow effective relationship management. EI leadership, then, builds up from a foundation of self-awareness.” Daniel Goleman, Primal Leadership, p. 30

Let’s look more closely at each of those basic domains:

Self-awareness
There are several kinds of self-awareness: knowing one’s feelings and their impact on others, knowing one’s strengths and limits, and having an accurate sense of worth and capabilities. Communication begins with being able to express one’s own needs and being able to listen attentively to others. Self aware people recognize and manage patterns of inner thoughts, are clear about feelings and hence have better control of moods and emotions, and get beyond emotional ‘noise’, which enables better and deeper listening. Lack of self awareness results in being unclear of true motivation or goals, being incapable of candor or assertiveness, and reduced ‘deep listening’.

Self-management
This involves the following six elements:

Emotional self-control—Keeping disruptive emotions and impulses under control
Transparency—Displaying honesty and integrity; trustworthiness
Adaptability—Flexibility in adapting to changing situations and overcoming obstacles
Achievement—Drive to improve, be effective and meet inner standards of excellence
Initiative—Readiness to act and seize opportunities
Optimism—Seeing the positive in events

Leaders can’t manage emotions in others without first handling their own.

Social Awareness
This involves the following components:

Empathy—Sensing others’ emotions, understanding their perspective, and taking active interest in their concerns
Organizational awareness—Reading the currents, decision networks, and politics at the organizational level
Service—Recognizing and meeting follower, client, and customer needs.

Relationship Management
Relationship management is friendliness with a purpose: moving people in the right direction. This involves the following critical elements for effective leadership:

Inspirational leadership — Guiding and motivating with a compelling vision
Influence — Use range of communication for persuasion
Developing others — Bolstering others’ abilities through opportunity, feedback and guidance
Change catalyst — Initiating, managing, and leading in a new direction
Conflict Management — Resolving disagreements
Building bonds — Cultivating and maintaining a web of relationships
Teamwork and collaboration — Cooperation and team building

Labels: Emotional Intelligence, leadership