The importance of emotional intelligence
What aspects of emotional intelligence are most important to leadership skill development?
I think all the aspects are important. I have found that through the effective use of relationship building I have been able to develop strong teams. This is a skill I learned at a young age from my early mentors. I have had the oppotunity to work for leaders who have been effective and some who have been ineffective at building relationships. Those who took the time to invest developing a relationship with me always got much more out of me. Those are the mentors I model my leadership style after today.
It sounds like you have used your experiences and mentors to help shape your definition of leadership. I get the sense that you value leaders that cultivate relationships with team members and you thrive in that environment. This is great insight top have as you further develop your leadership skills! All the best to you, Shawn.
Although all aspects of emotional intelligence are important, I think empathic listening allows you to really develop your leadership skills through building rapport with others. When you listen empathically you understand your audience and therefore you are able to create and build relationships with co-workers, students and develop a strong team.
Wonderful insight, Sandi. You're right it is essential to use empathic listening when to truly understand another person and their unique situation. Listening empathically will allow you to have a greater understanding for what the person is going through and also offers the opportunity to generate options for moving forward. It sounds like this is something that you work to do with everyone you work with, that's awesome. Keep up the good work!
I try to apply this as much as possible, but I have to be honest I am not always successful. What I learned from the training, is that this is normal and getting good at it takes work.
Thank you for your honesty, Sandi. The important thing is that you know that it takes work and you try your best to apply what you learn.
I believe you have to know yourself first,then as individual know your employees
Thanks Dave. That is great awareness. Ultimately, knowing yourself will allow you to know how you will relate to others. I'm curious, what specificially would you want to know about your employees?
In my role as the dean of academic affarirs, I feel the most important aspects of emotional intelligence is motivation and building relationships. With 35 faculty, all with different personalities and varing levels of development I must utilize multiple skill sets and experiences as the leader to reach each faculty in order to help them develop and realize their potential.
Wonderful insight, Donald. It sounds like you take care to recognize the various talents, experiences, and personalities that make up your team. I'm guessing that your team appreciates your attention and the care you take to build relationships with them and amongst them.
All the aspects you discussed in the lesson are important, but I feel the most important would be self awareness. I believe you must listen to that inner voice of reason and your conscience to do what is right and fair and what is best for the department and company you work for. I have worked very hard at thinking things thru before I react emotionally.
Wonderful observation, Jeannine. Self awareness is a critical element for all leaders. Being aware of how you, as a leader, might react to specific situations can help you plan an appropriate response. Have you ever had a situation in which you felt you reacted on an emotional level,and if so, what was the outcome?
I believe you must have empathy for others and at the same time be able to recognize when you are being taken advantage of.
Scott,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Empathy is critical when you're trying to get a clear understanding of another person's situation. Using empathy in your student interactions really gives you the opportunity to acknowledge your student's challenges or struggles without joining them in that place. I'm curious, what are some of the things that you look for in your interactions to determine if you are being taken advantage of in the situation?
Shannon Gormley
I think self awareness is the most important. It is a critical element for all leaders. It helps leader react to any specific situation and gets the appropriate response.
Lisa, thank you for sharing this. It sounds like you value leadership and know that in order to lead others, you have to know yourself. Self awareness will allow you to know how you will relate to others too. Keep up the great work.
Dr. Jean Norris
Being a leader means that an individual needs to have control over personal emotions. By doing so, it allows for leadership qualities to not be crowded by personal feelings and judgements. Emotions when it comes to relating to a group of people is different from being a leader who is using emotional intelligence. When a leader needs to be emotionally intelligent it means they have to be the one standing strong and leading the team to the right path of success while their attitudes may not always be optimistic.
In my experience the most important aspect of emotional intelligence for a leader to have is the ability to connect and empower. Connecting by empathic listening with your staff ensures understanding and builds trust. Empowering your staff through innovation not only helps get the work done, but also inspires staff to create, a skill employees are rarely allowed to explore.
Thanks Dave, I have found this to be true as well. Knowing yourself allows you to be aware of not only your own strengths but also your weaknesses.
