The Challenge Among Leaders
There’s more to leadership than meets the eye. That is, being a leader is more than looking good and directing people. Leadership is actually that one critical aspect that can make or break an organization.
Employee engagement, culture and business productivity are largely influenced by the style of leadership. The employees’ regard and relationship with their leader determines how long they stay and how productive they are in the business.
By Kevin Jones
The ongoing challenge among leaders nowadays is to continually boost productivity and secure staff retention. A primary resolution to this is to enhance employee engagement through emotional intelligence. Having employees emotionally engaged in their jobs make them more productive.
What Is Emotional Intelligence?
Emotional intelligence is defined as a person’s ability to understand, perceive, manage and reason with their feelings, mood states, behavior and emotions. With this emotional sensibility, a person consequently becomes more understanding and competent in handling other people’s feelings and emotions as well. Emotional intelligence makes an individual more capable of coping with their frustrations, controlling their emotions and cultivating healthy relationships with others.
People spend 25% of their week in the workplace. That’s an ample amount of time spent with co- workers and bosses. Relating with other people requires emotional intelligence. Moods, behaviors and feelings on a daily basis at work affect employees’ motivation in doing their jobs. Engagement, team morale and job satisfaction are influenced by how people feel in their working environment.
Just how important is emotional intelligence? Studies have shown that people with high emotional intelligence are healthier, happier and more successful in their jobs or businesses and personal relationships.
How can you develop emotional intelligence?
According to Daniel Goleman, in his model, there are 4 main components of emotional intelligence leadership: self awareness, self regulation, self motivation and social awareness.
Self awareness includes emotional awareness wherein you recognize your emotions and their subsequent effects. You know which emotions you are feeling and why you are feeling them. You are also capable of doing accurate self assessment which means you know your strengths and limits. You possess self confidence because you are sure about your own worth and capabilities.
Self regulation includes self control where you can put a rein on disorderly emotions and impulses and you are able to keep to standards of integrity and honesty.
Self motivation means you possess the drive to achieve. You take a stand on your commitment in which you align your goals with the organization’s. You know how to take initiative and are optimistic about your goals.
Social awareness is feeling empathy for one thing. You recognize the significance of developing others, are politically aware and proficient in social skills such as influence, communication, change catalyst, leadership, conflict management and team capabilities, among others.