Both in leadership and people development, you can’t get around emotional intelligence these days: everyone talks about it, everyone says you should have it. And here are some intriguing figures to back these statements up:
Not only due to this figures, it’s for many years now that I do not get tired of advocating for emotional intelligence in people leadership. I’ve seen the horrible outcomes of a lack of it and the miracles that can happen when leaders have a high EQ.
But what is EI after all?
Daniel Goleman is a pioneer in the field of emotional intelligence. He somehow “invented” the term in 1995 and with his model we can distinguish four aspects of emotional intelligence: Self awareness, social awareness, self management and social skills.
Two cheers for emotional intelligence in leadership
Facts, studies and graphs are the one thing, but how does emotionally intelligent behavior REALLY affect your leadership practice?
Cheers #1: Emotional intelligence makes you more successful and more effective in interactions with others
Going beyond facts and business realties and diving into the world of emotions and human needs will help your interaction skills big time.
In detail that means:
Cheers#2 Emotional intelligence makes you understand your emotions and those from others
Daniel Goleman found out: The higher our EQ, the better we understand our own emotions and those from others. Why is that important at the workplace? It’s important because emotions are nothing else than energy. They are either energy boosters or energy drainers and the more you know about what gives you energy and what takes energy from you, the better you can use your energy.
So as a conclusion of that, the shortest definition of EI in my opinion could be:
Emotional intelligence = Energy management: how to use your energy in the most effective way!
For an emotionally intelligent leader that means:
How to grow your emotional intelligence skills
So which behavior and skills can you show in order to be/become emotionally intelligent?
What does that mean for you?
Well, whenever an impulse “hits” you the reaction you have is either showing or hiding your emotional intelligence and has a definite influence on your team and business results. And as a leader today we owe it to ourselves as well as to our employees to make sure we master that skill.
Got interested?
In the online learning world of Think Beyond you find a practical Emotional Intelligence Toolbox for leaders – to refresh what you already know and to learn what you still need in order to be just the emotional intelligent leader you want to be!
Check it out HERE
"Executive Coach, Senior facilitator and trusted advisor in organizational development, international leadership, communication, leadership development, potential analysis, NLP, certified TMS Master Coach, Insights, MBTI and MPA certified, DiSG Master Trainer, Diploma in Intercultural Management, PCM Trainer and Certified Conflict Clarifcation Counsellor. Master of Arts in Business Education and Romance Studies with focus on Marketing at the WU Innsbruck, Trento and Paris. Several years of international experience as HR manager, in recruiting and marketing with sales and management responsibility at various international companies in Austria and abroad."
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