Leaders and Emotional Intelligence
Early in my career, I understood that leaders who were smart, creative and knew how to work with people, were usually more effective than those who did not. There were certainly exceptions: ineffective leaders who always made their revenue targets, technical leaders that did not have a big interest in people leadership, found ways to be very successful within the organization, by hiring a strong people leaders underneath them. Others contributed so much to the success of the organization in spite of their EQ deficits, it was overlooked.
It was not until much later in my career where I witnessed how destructive a leader who’s IQ far exceeded his EQ could be to an organization.
This person had an impeccable resume; great experience and multiple degrees from Ivy League Schools. During the interview process, many of the leaders in the organization had concerns about hiring this person. Instead of listening to their own intuition and honoring the feedback of the team, the leader of the organization (with the enthusiastic support of the CEO and the Head of HR) decided to hire the person into a very important and senior role.
When the person started, they certainly had good ideas about how to positively impact the business. However, instead of building relationships with the current team, gaining support and alignment on their ideas, they did just the opposite. They tried to forge forward on their own, having no regard for the people and the culture of the organization. This person had little interest or skill in people leadership and led in a “command and control” style that was rejected by the rest of the organization.
While initially this person made some traction with their ideas, ultimately they were unable to execute on any of their plans and asked to leave the company. They did not have the trust, support or cooperation of anyone in the organization. The damage this person caused, both from a revenue perspective and people perspective, was fairly substantial.
This was the clearest example I’ve witnessed of how important emotional intelligence is to success. It was also a great example of what can happen when you don’t listen to your team and honor intuition. This hiring error caused a lot of problems for the organization and the company.
Daniel Goleman writes about the Five Components of Emotional Intelligence at work in his 1998 Harvard Business Review Article, “What Makes a Leader”. Whether you believe in EQ or not, thinking about incorporating these qualities in your leadership style can help you be a better and more fulfilled leader.
Daniel Goleman’s key components of EQ:
- Self-Awareness: the ability to recognize and understand your moods, emotions, and drives as well as their effect on others.
- Self-Regulation: the ability to control or redirect disruptive impulses and moods. The propensity to suspend judgment – to think before acting.
- Motivation: a passion to work for reasons that go beyond money or status. A propensity to pursue goals with energy and persistence.
- Empathy: the ability to understand the emotional makeup of other people. Skill in treating people according to their emotional reactions .
- Social Skill: proficiency in managing relationships and building networks. An ability to find common ground and build rapport.
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