Dee Harding asks - what has heart-centred emotional intelligence got to do with leadership? “Emotional Intelligence is more important than IQ in almost every role and many times more important in leadership roles” - Steve Covey Our ever changing world requires a new kind of thinking about what it takes to be an inspiring leader. The attributes traditionally considered necessary to be an effective leader are no longer enough.
It was Daniel Goleman, who first brought and applied the concept of emotional intelligence to leadership. He said “Emotional intelligence is much more powerful than IQ in determining who emerges as a leader. IQ is a threshold competence. You need it but it doesn’t make you a star. EQ can. What sets star performers apart from average performers, aren’t the technical skills or a high IQ but good communication and people skills. “Because of the furious pace of change in business today, difficult to manage relationships sabotage business more than anything else… it is not strategy that gets us into trouble, it is a question of emotions” - Harvard Business School. A fundamental change in work place organisations is taking place.
It is no longer money or perks that are the biggest motivators for people but finding meaning and purpose. The capacity to create a culture of mutual respect, cooperation and trust, where heart centred emotional intelligence is accepted and embraced as the norm is essential to the success of the 21st century leader.
Emotional intelligence is defined as: “The ability to monitor one’s own and others feelings and emotions...and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and actions” - Salovey and Mayer The essence of heart centred emotional intelligence is that people have value and they want to be seen and appreciated for that value within them. In order to be successful, the 21st century leader must strive to grow people and grow performance through applying the principles of heart centred emotional intelligence.
There are 4 main competencies of emotional intelligence:
1.) Self-Awareness Self awareness is being aware of and being able to identify and describe your own emotions
2.) Self-Management Self management is managing your emotions in such a way that you do not become sabotaged by them. It is also being able to delay self gratification, manage impulsiveness and use emotions to take positive actions
3.) Social-Awareness Social awareness is recognising the feeling of others through subtle social clues and being able to put yourself in other people’s shoes. It is being empathetic and having the ability to listen effectively.
4.) Relationship management Relationship management is taking into account and dealing with the feelings of others in all contexts also having other peoples interests at heart
The heart centred emotionally intelligent leader’s ability to understand and manage emotions empowers them to stay calm, show poise under pressure and make better decisions. Being able to effectively handle relationships ensures that conflicts are resolved quickly and that positive relationships are forged at every level. Possessing the skill of empathy and the ability to listen compassionately promotes an understanding of different points of view. The heart centred emotionally intelligent leader recognises the value of his emotions and other people’s and uses them as a source of wisdom. A heart centred emotionally intelligent leader is a leader worth emulating.
A potentially great leader may be experienced and skilled with a high I Q but not have any emotional intelligence. Without the ability to manage emotions effectively and foster good relationships, low motivation, lack of trust and poor performance will be the result. Although everyone, at every level, has the ability to become emotionally intelligent, a lack of self awareness, a negative self belief and a fear of failure may prevent them from doing so.
The leadership styles of some of the most outstanding leaders of the 21st century are all underpinned by heartfelt emotional intelligence. Although Steve Jobs leadership style was considered by some to be a little crazy, he certainly inspired people to do what they did not believe they were capable of doing or wouldn’t normally do. His way of thinking was very different and he encouraged people to “have the courage to follow your heart and intuition”. Richard Branson’s philosophy about leadership is that the best leaders strive to unearth what their employees are thinking and feeling He also believes that “the best designed business plan will come to nothing if it is not carried out by enthusiastic and passionate staff”.
Developing staff through praise and recognition and having fun are also important ingredients of Branson s philosophy on leadership. Branson’s high level of heart centred emotional intelligence is evident in all the amazing inspiring things that he has done and continues to do. Anthony Robbins has very clear ideas about what it takes to be a truly outstanding leader. He believes that our world needs true leaders who are committed to creating positive change in themselves and others. Anthony Robbins definition of a true leader is - “A true leader is someone who inspires others to become more of who they truly are”. In our changing world of crisis and challenge . . . if we want to be more, if we want our business to do more than just survive . . . we must learn the skills of heart centred emotional intelligence . Dee Harding
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