Developing Emotional Intelligence As A Leader

We’ve known about the importance of developing emotional intelligence as a leader for some time now, but there are still some misconceptions about exactly what emotional intelligence is (or is not) and how to increase it. Emotional intelligence isn’t just about having “soft skills.” And it’s not a set of mindfulness practices.

Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize and control your own emotions and recognize and empathize with the emotions of others. Leaders with high emotional intelligence find their teams have better discussions and make better decisions. Emotionally intelligent leaders give better feedback and are better able to communicate and be understood.

In this episode, we’ll outline ways to develop emotional intelligence as a leader based on the four elements in Daniel Goleman’s original research: Self-Awareness, Self-Regulation, Empathy, and Social Skills. (Goleman’s model is sometimes presented with a fifth element, motivation, but we’ve covered motivation a lot in the past.)

0:00 Introduction
1:42 Self-Awareness
3:29 Self-Regulation
5:41 Empathy
7:47 Social Skills
9:24 Conclusion

As you think through these four elements, one element may have stood out as one you could work on. If so, get started working on it. If not, ask your team. But as they answer, practice the active listening that will grow your social skills. Then make your emotional intelligence development plan based on their feedback. As you do, you’ll find you’ve grown as a leader. And you’ll find your team has grown as well—into a team that can do its best work ever.

//DO YOUR BEST WORK EVER

//ABOUT DAVID
One of the world’s leading business thinkers, David Burkus’ forward-thinking ideas and bestselling books are helping leaders and teams do their best work ever.

He is the best-selling author of four books about business and leadership. His books have won multiple awards and have been translated into dozens of languages. His insights on leadership and teamwork have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, USAToday, Fast Company, the Financial Times, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, CNN, the BBC, NPR, and CBS This Morning. Since 2017, Burkus has been ranked as one of the world’s top business thought leaders by Thinkers50. As a sought-after international speaker, his TED Talk has been viewed over 2 million times. He’s worked with leaders from organizations across all industries including Google, Stryker, Fidelity, Viacom, and even the US Naval Academy.

A former business school professor, Burkus holds a master’s degree in organizational psychology from the University of Oklahoma, and a doctorate in strategic leadership from Regent University.

//SPEAKING

//CONNECT

//MUSIC

[Allbeautylab]

Emotional intelligence is super important to create trust in teams. I've never heard of RASA. Thank you for sharing it because it helps me be more mindful in conversations

[mattjohnson]

Great concept to keep a journal of your emotions and how they affect your decision making. I'll have to give that a try.

[annejoyce]

This is the best anyone has broken down and explained the concept of Emotional Intelligence. Thanks David

[jskursky]

Fantastic as always, David. Just forwarded it on to a coaching client. Thank you!

[LeadershipwithMike]

Leave Michael Scott out of this lol

Great content.

[akademia_kenjutsu]

Interesting is relation between EQ and leadership style preferences