Why is emotional intelligence important in leadership? Emotional intelligence makes a person become aware of the feelings and emotions of oneself as well as others which helps to sustain a positive and a calm atmosphere and resolve conflicts faster. Thus, being emotionally intelligent for any leader becomes very important.
Being emotionally intelligent brings in lots of benefits. If you are a leader or you aspire to become one, then work on increasing your emotional intelligence first. Other qualities will follow in naturally.
The qualities that you need in order to become a perfect leader are all a part of emotional intelligence. If you are emotionally intelligent, you will possess qualities like being considerate, diplomatic, caring, active listening etc. If you want to understand the relationship of emotional intelligence and leadership and want to learn how to become an emotionally intelligent leader, lock your eyes and brain till the end of this article.
How Is Emotional Intelligence Related To Leadership?
In order to understand the term leadership, you should first understand emotional intelligence. Once you understand emotional intelligence and have those qualities, you already became a leader.
Emotional intelligence will improve all your relationships, whether they are personal or professional ones. Why? Because there is no space for misunderstandings and miscommunications. You actively listen to what the other party has to say and give a proper reply after comprehending.
Being a leader means you need to be the pillar of strength for your team. You should walk along with your co-workers through all the blood, sweat and tears, good days and bad days. You should celebrate the small happiness and the worst situations, together. Every coworker has a different type of personality. Thus, there is a different manner in which you need to speak with them.
In order to become such a leader, you need to be an amazing listener, speak assertively, be slightly humorous to lighten up the atmosphere, and become a source of energy, strength and motivation. This is how emotional intelligence is related to leadership. Both of them are related to one another.
Emotionally Intelligent Leader: How Are They Different Than The Regular Leaders:
There are many types of leaders in the world. The CEO of an organization, principal of a school, class monitor, school representative, politicians, President of a country, Prime Minister and you (you are the leader of your own life) as well.
The approach of these various types of leaders may vary depending on whom they are leading and their profession. But, if any of the leaders lacks emotional intelligence, then he/she cannot be termed as the “ideal leader”. But if you are a regular person and you are emotionally intelligent but you aspire to become a leader, you are better than the regular leaders.
An emotionally intelligent leader will never measure the intensity of a situation. He/she will listen to every single problem attentively and will solve the problems with everything they have. For them, every single team member is important and they acknowledge the efforts given by every co-worker. If someone has done wrong, instead of belittling them, an emotionally intelligent leader will bring that person back on the right track.
Such leaders are extremely rare to find because as easy as these qualities might sound, it takes quite some time to practise them. As you continue living your life and as you continue to experience life, you will keep acquiring the qualities of emotional intelligence in depth.
Why Is Emotional Intelligence Important In Leadership?
Emotional intelligence is very important in leadership because it helps you to understand, perceive, validate and comprehend other’s feelings and conversations. Here are some of the reasons why emotional intelligence is important in leadership as well as workplace:
- Be mindful of non-verbal communication:
Non-verbal communication is when a person displays their emotions and feelings through their facial expressions, body language and gestures. You should understand these signs and mend the situation there itself before it becomes a problem.
- Remain alert to your inner feelings:
You might suddenly feel angry at one of the team members and something might make you sad as well. Regardless of what the situation might be, you should learn to control your feelings and emotions so that it does not show on your face.
- Become efficient:
Once you start to understand the emotions of others and are empathetic towards it, you are able to solve conflicts faster and thus, become efficient.
On A Concluding Note:
Being a leader is not very easy and not anyone can become a leader. Emotional intelligence cannot be acquired in one day. You need to work on it every single day and learn new things by observing your co-workers. Do not be afraid to become mindful of your weakness and your emotions. If you do not start from you, you cannot be the leader that people will want to follow.
