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| Articles » Emotional Intelligence Sets Leaders Apart |
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Emotional Intelligence Sets Leaders Apart |
| by Janet Williams |
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| There are too many examples of poor leadership in the workplace,
from within all levels of organizations, and the attributes of this
poor leadership are easily identified. But have you ever noticed those
leaders and managers that everyone admires and who just seem to have
a knack at being excellent leaders? What is this elusive quality that
good leaders have that sets them apart? |
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| According to Daniel Goleman in his book, “Emotional Intelligence:
Why it can matter more than IQ”, it is likely that these leaders
and managers have a high Emotional Intelligence Quotient or “EQ”.
These people are recognized as stars within their organization and
for their ability to work with people and accomplish great things. |
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| EQ Versus IQ |
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So, what is EQ? Whereas, IQ is a measure of intellectual functioning,
EQ is the capacity for effectively recognizing and managing our emotions
and those of others. These star leaders and managers with their high
Emotional Intelligence quotients often tend to have modest traditional
academic IQ's and yet they manage people with much higher academic
IQ’s. How is it possible that people with lower IQ’s are
in management positions leading people with higher IQ’s?
Daniel Goleman has helped to develop an expanded view of intelligence.
The narrow traditional understanding states that IQ is based mainly
on verbal comprehension and problem solving. So people with good math
and reading skills tend to score well on IQ. The assumption for decades
was that a person with a high IQ would be successful. What Goleman’s
research has shown is that a high IQ in young people was not an indicator
for their success in their adult lives. In his search for what was
an indicator of success in life, Goleman discovered it was Emotional
Intelligence (EI). EI can be defined as those aspects of self that
include: self-awareness, impulse or self-control, persistence, zeal,
self-motivation, empathy and social deftness. People who have a high
EI quotient are stars in their adult lives, are highly successful
in the workplace and tend to have excellent interpersonal relationships.
Those people with high IQ’s and low EI quotients are usually
those highly intelligent people who can be recognized as being critical,
condescending, inexpressive, prone to anxiety, swept up by their intense
emotions, and have poor interpersonal relationships. An organization
that has leaders who have emotional deficiencies can jeopardize the
health and safety of the organization.
In his book, Goleman relates the story of Melburn McBroom, who was
a domineering leader, with a bad temper. The problem with this combination
of emotional deficiencies was that he also happened to be an airline
pilot. In 1978 as McBroom’s plane was approaching Portland,
Oregon to land, he noticed a problem with the landing gear. He decided
to maintain a holding pattern as he obsessed about the landing gear.
His co-pilots watched as the fuel gauges approached empty, but they
were so fearful of their leader’s wrath that they said nothing.
The plane crashed, killing ten people. This story is told in training
courses to enforce the need for teamwork, open communication, cooperation,
listening, which leaders with high emotional intelligence foster. |
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| How Important is EI to Performance? |
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How important is Emotional Intelligence to performance? According
to John Kotter of Harvard Business School, “Because of the furious
pace of change in business today, difficult to manage relationships
sabotage more business than anything else—it is not a question
of strategy that gets us into trouble, it is a question of emotions.”
Research tracking over 160 high performing individuals in a variety
of industries and job levels revealed that emotional intelligence
was two times as important in contributing to excellence than intellect
and expertise alone. |
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| What is your EQ? |
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What is your EI quotient and how can it be measured? There are several
aspects that make up EI but some key ones are:
• Achievement
orientation
• Self-control (ability to delay gratification)
• Empathy
• Teamwork
• Self-confidence
Researchers developed a simple test that was used on four-year old
children to measure their EI. The children were in their classroom
and a marshmallow was put in front of each of them. The researcher
told them that he needed to run an errand but when he returned, if
they still had not eaten their marshmallow, they would be given a
second one. The researcher left the room and was gone for more than
15 minutes. Some children resisted their impulse to eat the marshmallow
but others ate the marshmallow within seconds of the researcher leaving
the room. When the researcher returned those children who had resisted
their impulse were rewarded with a second marshmallow.
These same children were tested again when they were adolescents.
Those children, who had used delayed gratification as youngsters,
were as teenagers more socially competent, personally effective and
better able to handle life’s frustrations. They were found to
embrace challenges and pursue them instead of giving up when difficulties
arose. These children were self-reliant and trustworthy and they took
the initiative with projects. They were able to delay gratification
when pursuing their goals. The other children who had not delayed
their gratification, were more easily upset by frustrations, felt
unworthy, became paralyzed by stress, were resentful about not “getting
enough”, overreacted to irritations with a sharp temper and
were found to be argumentative. |
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| Can you increase your EQ? |
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Is it possible to increase EQ? Most definitely yes! According to the
research, although some would say a person’s IQ is set for life,
it is believed that a person’s EI quotient can be developed.
EI is not fixed at birth and can be nurtured and strengthened in everyone.
Training in emotional competencies includes how to:
• Listen
better and help employees solve problems on their own
•
Empower and inspire others
• Become a more effective leader
As a leader or manager, here are some things you can focus on to develop
and increase your EI quotient: reading and interpreting social cues,
controlling impulses, setting goals, identifying alternative actions
and anticipating consequences, understanding the perspective of others
and behavioural norms, having a positive attitude towards life, and
developing self awareness through realistic expectations of yourself.
You can also develop your verbal skills to ensure that you are making
clear requests, responding effectively to criticism, resisting negative
influences, listening to others, and helping others.
Many studies have shown that Emotional Intelligence greatly contributes
to job performance and leadership.
Competency research in over 200 companies and organizations worldwide
suggests that about one-third of this difference is due to technical
skill and cognitive ability while two-thirds is due to emotional competence.
(Goleman, 1998). Research by the Center for Creative Leadership has
found that the primary causes for derailment in executives involves
deficits in emotional competence. The three primary ones are: difficulty
in handling change, not being able to work well in a team, and poor
interpersonal relations.
Therefore, leaders need a high Emotional Intelligence quotient to
be successful, and the good news is, that these can be developed with
training. For those of us who witness excellent leaders in action,
we know now that the evasive quality that they are demonstrating to
their organization is a high Emotional Intelligence Quotient. Training
in handling change, working in a team and interpersonal skills can help
to increase your EQ. |
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| © 2007 Janet Williams |
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