What makes a leader?
Identifying individuals with the right stuff to be leaders is
more art than science. The personal styles of superb leaders vary:
Some leaders are subdued and analytical; others shout their
manifestos from the mountaintops. Different situations call for
different types of leadership. The most effective leaders are alike
in one crucial way: They all have a high degree of emotional
intelligence. Its not that IQ and technical skills are irrelevant.
They do matter, but mainly they are the entry-level requirements
for executive positions. Without emotional intelligence, a person
can have the best training in the world, an incisive, analytical
mind, and an endless supply of smart ideas, but he still wont make
a great leader.
Most large companies today have employed trained psychologists
to help them in identifying, training and promoting likely stars in
the leadership firmament.
How can you tell if someone has high emotional intelligence?
Well, there are five components of emotional intelligence at work:
self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social
skill.
Self- awareness: it is the ability to recognize and understand
your moods, emotions, drives, goals and their effect on others It
has hallmarks such as: self-confidence, realistic
self-assessment.
Self-regulation: it is the ability to control disruptive
impulses and think before acting.Its hallmarks: trust worthiness
and openness to change.
Motivation: it is the passion to work for reasons that go beyond
money or status and to pursue goals with energy.Its hallmarks:
strong drive to achieve, optimism even in failure.
Empathy: it is the ability to understand the emotional makeup of
other people and the skill of treating people according to their
emotional reactions.Its hallmarks: expertise in building and
retaining talent, cross-cultural sensitivity and service to clients
and customers.
Social skill: it is the proficiency in managing relationships
and building networks.Its hallmarks: effectiveness in leading
change, persuasiveness, building and leading teams.
Finally, an important question should be asked, can emotional
intelligence be learned? It is fortunate that emotional
intelligence can be learned. The process is not easy. It takes time
and commitment. But the benefits that come from it make it worth
the effort.
