ON LEADERSHIP : Five Components of Emotional Inteligence

 ” Leadership is more art than science”

“different situations call for different types of leadership”

“ Emotional inteligence is the sin qua non of leadership “

“ Without emotional inteligence a person can have the best training in the world, an incisive, analytical mind, and an endless supply of smart ideas, but he still won’t make a great leader “

The Emotional Inteligence skills are :

1. Self Awareness :

- Knowing one’s strength, weaknesesses, drives, value, and impact on others.

- Hallmarks  :self confidence, realistic self-assessment, thirst of constructive criticsm.

People with high degree self-awareness recognize how their feeling affect them, other  people, and their job performances. Can turn the anger into something constructive, understanding of his or her value and goals, knows where he is headed and why, can speak accurately and openly, frank and admitting to failure and tell their tales with smile, comfortable talking their limitations and strength, thirst to constructibe critisism, sef confidence, 

2. Self Regulation :

- Controlling or redirecting disruptive impulses and moods.

- Hallmarks : trustworthiness, integrity, comfort with ambiguity and change.

The component of emotional inteligence that frees us from being prisoners of our feelings. People engaged in such conversation feel bad moods emotional impulses just aseveryone else does, but they find ways to control them and even to channel them in useful ways. He/she will pick up the word carefully, acknowledging the team’s poor performance without rushing to any hasty judgment. People with self regulation can control their feeling and impulses. They are able to create an environment of trust and fairness.  

3. Motivation :

- Relishing achievment for its own sake.

- Hallmarks : A passion of the work itself and for new chalenge, unflagging energy to improve, optimism in the face of failure.

Those with leadership potential are motivated by a deeply embedded desire to achieve for the sake of achievment. Such people seek out creative chalenge, love to learn, and take great pride in a job well done. Optimistic when the score is against them

4. Social Skill :

- Building rapport with others to move them in desired directions

- Hallmarks : effectiveness in leading change, persuasiveness, extensive networking, expertise in building and leading teams

People with social skills are friendliness with a purpose, moving people in the direction thar desired. Socially skilled people tend to have a wide circle of acquintances and they have a knack for finding common ground with people of all kinds. People with social skills tend to be very effective at managing relationship when they can undestand and control their own emotions and can empatizes with the feelings of others.

5. Empathy :

- Understanding other people’s emotional make up

- Hallmarks : expertise in attracting and retaining talent, ability to develop others, sensityvity to cross-cultural differences.

Empathy is particularly important today as a component f leadership for at least three reasons: the rapid face of globalizations, the increasing use of teams, and the growing need to retain talent. Empathy is an antidote. People who have it are attuned to subtleties in body language, they can hear the message beneath the words being spoken. They have a deep undestanding of both the existence and the importance of cultural and ethnic difference.

We’re born with certainlevel of EI skills. But we can strengthen these abilities through persistence, practice, and feedback from colleagues or coaches.

Source : Goleman, Daniel.2011. On Leadership : What Makes A leader?, Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. USA