Leadership can be defined as one’s ability to get others to willingly follow. Every organization needs leaders at every level. Leadership qualities can be learned over time. Much has to do with developing a strong leadership EQ. In this study, researchers found that the effectiveness of a leader is 52% depended on his or her emotional intelligence. Research indicates that when compared to IQ and technical expertise, emotional competencies are more than twice as important when it comes to achieving organizational excellence.
Check out this free leadership emotional intelligence survey by the Turknett Leadership Group. This can give you a good idea what you should focus on as you are growing your leadership EQ. The survey should take about 10 minutes.
Why does emotional intelligence matter?
It has been found that higher levels of emotional intelligence are directly linked to better leadership performance such as:
- Participative management
- Putting people at ease
- Work-Life balance
- Building and mending relationships
- Decisiveness
- Confronting problem employees
What is leadership EQ?
In this study researchers found that the following abilities were the most important leadership EQ areas:
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Social skills
Adeptness at inducing desirable responses in others.
Requires the following skills:
Influence, communication, conflict management, leadership, change catalyst, building bonds, collaboration and cooperation, team capability
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Self-awareness
Knowing one’s internal states, preferences, resources and intuitions
Requires the following skills:
Emotional awareness, self-assessment, self-confidence
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Self-regulation
Managing one’s internal states, impulses, and resources
Requires the following skills:
Self-control, trustworthiness, conscientiousness, adaptability, innovation
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Self-motivation
Emotional tendencies that guide or facilitate reaching goals
Requires the following skills:
Achievement drive, commitment, initiative, optimism
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Empathy
Awareness of others’ feelings, needs, and concerns
Requires the following skills:
Understanding others, developing others, service orientation, leveraging diversity, organizational awareness
Some more Leadership EQ skills:
I want to add some more skills that I find equally important. I have talked about some of them in previous blog entries:
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Creativity
Identifying innovative opportunities and short-cuts. See how the ability to be a creative leader links to your sleep pattern.
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Integrity and authenticity
Leading from the inside-out; based on own values, purpose, and drive
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A sense of humor
Dispersing tension by lighting up the atmosphere through appropriate jokes
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Assertiveness
Giving clear direction, standing by decisions. Not to be confused with aggressiveness or rigidy
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Openness
Listening to and considering other opinions and other possibilities
Some important leadership EQ skills described by well-known leaders:
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Communication skills: Creating a vision
Stressing the ability to create a vision for others, Jack Welch, former chairman and CEO of General Electric Co., said: “Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision and relentlessly drive it to completion.”
Look at this entry, that one, and this one to learn how passion and purpose as well as setting your goals effectively play important factors in creating a clear vision for yourself and others.
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Capability, collaboration, and character
Carly Fiorina, former CEO of HP illuminates the importance of the following three leadership abilities: capability, collaboration and character. Asking questions, listening to answers, celebrating new ideas, and taking initiative to try new things are in her opinion the most important skills of a leader. She stresses that the development of these abilities is an ongoing process.
How do you develop a high leadership EQ?
Six areas to increase your leadership EQ (Weisinger, 1998):
- Developing an enhanced level of self-awareness
- Managing emotions
- Motivating yourself
- Developing effective communication skills
- Developing interpersonal skills
- Helping others to help themselves
Also, check out this book on Emotional EQ: Emotional Intelligence in Leadership and Organizations by Robert K. Cooper and that book by Daniel Goleman on Working with Emotional Intelligence for more information on how to develop your own leadership EQ.
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