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Week 8: Emotional Intelligence (Emotional intelligence – self-management…
Week 8: Emotional Intelligence
What is emotional intelligence?
Researchers have been examining factors that make effective leaders for decades
Trait theories suggested that effective leaders have unique traits – intelligence, determination, vision
However, the behavioural and contingency theories found simple possession of such traits to be insufficient for achieving success at organisational-level
Emotional intelligence refers to competencies related to one’s ability to recognize, understand and manage their own emotions as well as those of others they interact with
Why the need for emotional intelligence?
IQ alone does not predict effective leadership and therefore organisational success
Perennial difficulties associated with ‘identifying’ those with ‘potential’ to become leaders within organisations
At the upper echelons of organisations, technical competencies are of lower importance
Empirical evidence that supports a positive relationship between emotional intelligence and leader/organisational performance
Emotional intelligence can be learned - managers can be trained on emotional intelligence through structured long-term training programs
Emotional intelligence – self-management skills
Self-Awareness
Self-aware individuals:
– Haveadeepunderstandingofone’semotions,strengths,
weaknesses, needs, and drives.
– Are neither overly critical or unrealistically optimistic – they value honesty with oneself as well as with others
– Understandhowtheirfeelingsaffectthem,others,and their job performance
– Haveasolidunderstandingoftheirvaluesandgoals Identifying self-aware individuals:
Ability to speak accurately and openly about their emotions and the impact they have on their work
Frank in admitting failure
Recognise and highlight their limitations as well as
Self regulation
Extreme displays of negative emotion unlikely to result in effective leadership
Those with self-regulation are not bound or controlled by their feelings
They are able to control feelings and use them to their advantage
Why does self-regulation matter?
– Leadersincontroloftheirfeelingsaremorelikelyto
create trusting and inclusive work environments
– Inhighlyvolatileenvironmentswhereone’s adaptability dictates survival and success, self- regulations enhances one’s adaptability to change
– Canleadtogreaterintegrityinleaders
Motivation
Effective leaders:
– Have a desire to achieve beyond expectations –their own as well as everyone else’s.
– They want to achieve for the sake of achievement and not necessarily for external rewards
– Continuously attempt to raise the performance bar and track progress
– Are better equipped to deal with failure,especially when combined with self-regulation
– Have a strong passion for what they do (those with leadership potential included)
Emotional intelligence relationship-management skills
Empathy
Thoughtfully considering other’s feelings along with additional factors when making decisions
Why empathy?
– Increasing reliance on teams
– Rapid rate of globalisation
– War on talent (i.e. mentoring and coaching)
Social skill
Culmination of other dimensions of emotional intelligence - allows competency in other dimensions to be employed
A core task of being a leader is ‘managing relationships’ with others – above, parallel, and below
Being friendly – but with a specific purpose – influencing people to move in the same direction as you
Those with strong social skills:
– Wide network within and outside organisation
– Find it easy to establish common ground with a diverse range of people
Can emotional intelligence be learned?
Learning emotional intelligence
Genetic component to emotional intelligence
– Emotional intelligence a product of the brain’s limbic system governing feelings, impulses, and drives
– The limbic system learns best through motivation, extended practice, and feedback
– Training the limbic system takes a lot longer than training the neocortex governing analytical and technical ability
Nurture also play a significant role
– Emotional intelligence increases with age (i.e. maturity)
– However, age does not guarantee heightened emotional intelligence
– Requires sincere desire and commitment from the learner
– Easier to learn regression analysis than empathy!
Conclusion
Emotional intelligence is a required competency for contemporary business leaders
There are two main components to emotional intelligence:
– The self-management dimensions: Self- Awareness; Self-Regulations; and Motivation
– The relationship-management dimensions: Empathy and Social Skill
Available evidence indicates that despite the genetic differences, emotional intelligence is a competency that could be learned