Leadership and Emotional Intelligence

I read this article on Leadership and Emotional Intelligence titled: “None of Us Are Rational, So Smart Leadership Means Learning to Deal With Emotions“. I would like to share the points I took from the article here. Emotional intelligence is a key skill for Leadership but quite difficult to acquire, we have to learn it mindfully and deliberately. I believe EQ is not only for Leadership but crucial in every human relationship, close or far, formal or informal.

I share other links within the article at the end of the points. And there is also a link to Ekman’s atlas of emotions. It maps out all the different emotions we feel, five in number, their triggers and responses. This helps in the process of being emotionally aware and being able to control our emotions and our responses. I find it very intriguing, maybe you would too.

1. Effective leaders need to become more attuned to their own emotions as well to those of the people around them.
2. It’s only when we create emotional resonance between ourselves and our people that we enable true connectedness.
3. True engagement happens when people feel connected on an emotional level.
4. Everyone irrespective of genes, upbringing, or culture has five universal emotions including enjoyment, fear, disgust, sadness, and anger.
5. We carry our emotions on our face and other people pick up on them and are influenced by them consciously or unconsciously.
6. A moody leader creates stressful and fearful environments, while a happy leader makes the team see everything in a more positive light.
7. An upbeat leader has the most positive impact on productivity.
8. There is nothing inherently good or bad, positive or negative about emotions.
9. Being aware of our emotions is the first step to managing them.
10. Emotions are fuelled by our reactions to them, the greater our reaction, the more energy our emotions build.
11. Managing our emotion takes selflessness to be able to view our emotions objectively without letting them take the better of us.
12. Managing our emotion also means avoid taking things personally because only you can control the way you react to your emotions irrespective of the trigger.
13. Facing our emotions neutrally and without ego, loses their grip and over time, dismantles their power.
14. It is not enough to have empathy for others, it must be accompanied with compassion for positive out come.
15. Emotional resonance and compassion are invaluable for leadership and relating to other.
16. Linkedin CEO Jeff Weiner describes the difference between empathy and compassion: “To show empathy is to see someone suffering under the weight of a great burden and respond by putting the same burden on yourself. Compassion is the act of alleviating the person from the burden.”
17. When we manage our own emotions and manage to resonate with those whom we lead, we enhance connections and engagement.

Useful links within the article and other links for more readings on Emotional Intelligence and leadership.

• Primal Leadership: The hidden drive of great performance
• The Importance of Emotional Intelligence to Good Leadership
• Leadership Intelligence Is What Matters Now
• Emotional Intent of words matters
• Emotional Intelligence Is Not Just For Leaders
• The Atlas of Emotions: Supported by Dalai Lama
• Emotional Intelligence applied: I particularly like this website and a book is coming soon that I think is worth buying.