Emotional intelligence (EQ), is a must for leaders. Leaders with high EQ are better equipped to build relationships, defuse conflicts and increase team productivity.
Leaders with high emotional intelligence (EQ) excel at understanding their own emotions as well as how they affect others, and can easily manage conflicts and difficult discussions.
Self-awareness
Self-awareness refers to an individual’s capacity for understanding their emotions and how they impact behavior, an essential aspect of Emotional Intelligence (EI). Leaders can use self-awareness as an analytical tool in understanding both themselves as individuals as well as understanding those under management better.
Establishing a self-awareness toolkit can be essential to increasing leaders’ effectiveness, such as through mindfulness practices and targeted self-reflection. When receiving feedback that doesn’t agree with, try pausing before reacting and asking yourself what would be your natural reaction; this may provide more insight as to how best to proceed.
Many tools have been developed to assess emotional intelligence, including Hay Group’s EQ-i which boasts excellent internal consistency and construct validity (correlating with general intelligence). Other instruments include Pakistan’s Indigenous Scale of Emotional Intelligence [73] and USA’s Test of Emotional Competency 2.0; these assessments employ Salovey and Mayer’s ability-based model which rates individuals on four dimensions such as emotion identification, regulation, facilitation, etc.
Self-management
Intellectual ability or your Intelligence Quotient (IQ) may get you through school and into work, but emotional intelligence (EQ) is what helps manage stress and forge relationships. People with high EQ are capable of controlling impulsive behavior, understanding emotions well and communicating efficiently while empathizing with others to overcome challenges or defuse conflict more successfully than those without.
They’re adept at reading nonverbal cues from others that give an indication of how they’re feeling; this helps build stronger and more productive working relationships.
Salovey and Mayer proposed several instruments to assess emotional intelligence (EI). One is an ability-based model which measures EI through questions rated on a scale; other models use personality traits which require filling out an extensive questionnaire that offers both convergent and predictive validity.
Empathy
Empathy involves listening and understanding the thoughts and feelings of employees as well as providing resources to assist with any challenges that they encounter at work. Managers who show empathy create trusting teams while simultaneously creating an enjoyable work environment.
Empathetic managers are better at comprehending their employees’ needs and desires, providing insightful feedback and mentoring that encourages employee development. Furthermore, these leaders can help teams effectively resolve conflicts while also working together more closely together so as to reduce miscommunication and conflict.
Empathetic leaders foster resilience by giving employees the support needed to navigate obstacles, creating an atmosphere of perseverance. They do this through meaningful communications that create trust, as well as by appreciating different perspectives which lead to inclusive innovation. Moreover, they serve as moral compass by making decisions which balance business imperatives with employee welfare.
Interpersonal skills
Leaders with high emotional intelligence have an edge when it comes to building strong relationships and working in collaboration with their teammates, creating psychological safety that encourages employee engagement and productivity. Furthermore, their staff can connect through empathy as another aspect of emotional intelligence.
Emotionally intelligent leaders can quickly form lasting personal connections with both customers and employees over time, mediate disputes efficiently, respond quickly to customer concerns and foster an excellent workplace culture.
Emotional intelligence is a result of both nature and nurture; some factors determine its development genetically while other influences such as life experience or training can shape it further. When used wisely and compassionately it can motivate leaders and their teams towards peak performance; when misused it may paralyze managers and lead to unethical practices.