Empathy is needed for contemporary leaders. Emotionally intelligent leaders have perfected the attribute of empathy. When I was in the military (two years ago) my emotional intelligence was different from that of an educator’s or future scholar. Abrahams (2007) quoted the Field Manual (FM) 6-22: “Leadership is the process of influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation while operating to accomplish the mission and improving the organization†(p. 3). Abrahams (2007) suggested that the wording implies that leadership is a one-way action and that the leader simply provides purpose, direction, and motivation, and the followers are influenced. The Department of the Army (2007) defines leading in the military as “influencing and getting your people [subordinates] to do what you want them to do [completing the mission]†(p. 1). Abrahams (2007) concluded that the Army leadership simply tells people what you want them to do and there is no provision for subordinate inputs. I have learned from my personal experiences in the military, an effective leader is one whom is in touch with their subordinates’ morale with the purpose of sustaining long-term mission success. However, I lacked the understanding of the concept of empathy. While as a leader in the armed forces I definitely had motivation, self-regulation, social skills, and self-awareness; however, empathy for me at that time was meaningless. I just wanted my followers to do what they were told; I cared more about the mission at hand than my soldier needs (for the most part). Now as an academic director and aspiring scholar I use emotional intelligence to guide me in areas where company policy is ambiguous.
References
Abrahams, D. (2007). Emotional intelligence and army leadership: give it to me straight!. Military Review. Retrieved from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0PBZ/is_2_87/ai_n27175931/
