Author: Barbora Sedlarikova
Are you trying to motivate your employees but don't know how? Do you feel like you don't understand them or what they need? Many documents and books discuss the qualities a good leader should have, such as empathy and creativity. But where is emotional intelligence? Although often overlooked, emotional intelligence is a crucial aspect of good leadership!
It is not only one key to your employees but also to a pleasant working environment, positive results, and personal growth as a leader. In this article, you will learn how and why emotional intelligence is essential for good leadership. Please focus on the critical basic elements of emotional intelligence that can help you navigate and learn to work with it.
What Is Emotional Intelligence?
Emotional intelligence, also called EI, is the complex ability to recognise, understand, and manage one's emotions while identifying and influencing the feelings of others and evaluating certain situations.
It plays a significant role in communication, decision-making, and conflict resolution in the workplace and everyday life. Many leaders with high emotional intelligence can quickly strengthen relationships, navigate challenges effectively, and create a work culture that promotes collaboration and trust.
Why Is It a Key?
Leadership is not just about making decisions and setting goals; it’s truly about people and the collective. Employees who are led by leaders who understand their emotions respond with empathy and insight.
Strong emotional intelligence allows leaders to:
● Build strong, trusting relationships with employees and between them as well
● Solve workplace conflicts with understanding and fairness, improve collective
● Motivate and inspire teams effectively, increases productivity
● Make informed and thoughtful decisions, create safe space and valued employees
● Maintain peace and resilience in stressful situations
Integrating emotional intelligence into leadership can create a productive and positive work environment, increase engagement, and improve company performance.
Essential Elements of Emotional Intelligence
If you want to be a good leader, it is crucial to develop and understand essential key elements of emotional intelligence, including:
Self-Awareness – Being aware of your emotions, knowing how you feel, describing them, and understanding how they impact your behaviour and decision-making. This can be called the foundation of emotional intelligence. Self-aware leaders easily reflect on their strengths and weaknesses; this allows them to lead more effectively while empowering stability in the collective.
Self–regulation involves managing your emotions in a way that positively influences those around you. Sometimes, it can lead to pushing and hiding your real feelings. Leaders who practice self-regulation stay calm under pressure, adapt to changes, and respond to challenges rationally instead of reactively. This creates a sense of stability and high authority for their employees, giving them a stable and safe workplace.
Motivation—Emotionally intelligent leaders are self-motivated and driven by a strong purpose. You have to believe in what you are doing; otherwise, you want to be seen as the "rock" for your employees. High-motivation leaders inspire others by demonstrating passion, importance, and commitment to their company goals. This increases the collective's productivity and performance.
Empathy—Understanding and sharing the feelings of others is crucial in leadership. Empathic leaders who listen actively and recognise employee concerns create a supportive and inclusive workplace. This ability can prevent employee burnout and improve relationships between leaders and employees, leading to higher trust in the employee.
Social Skills—Leaders with strong interpersonal skills know how to communicate effectively, resolve conflicts, and improve teamwork. This is important in terms of understanding your employees' needs. Leaders with excellent social skills build meaningful connections between employees and themselves and create a positive organisational culture. This impacts collective trust, collective health, and performance.
How to Start Making Changes?
Developing emotional intelligence takes time and effort, but small steps can lead to significant improvements. Some people might have it, as you say, ‘’in blood,’’ but for others, it might take time to control such ability, but it is not unreal to gain it. Here are some basic first steps.
You have to start with yourself before you focus on others. Conducting self-reflection is a crucial first step, helping leaders assess their emotions and understand how they impact their leadership. Focus on how you behave in different situations, and try to "watch" and analyse your behaviour and emotions. Journaling or seeking colleague feedback can provide valuable insights to help you understand yourself.
Active listening is another essential skill. It helps leaders pay close attention to employees’ motives and values, validate their feelings, and respond empathetically. You might try it with your family or friends first, and you will see how easily you can create a strong connection when you actively listen. Don’t judge, talk, or give them opinions; just let them finish and listen.
Managing stress effectively through techniques such as deep breathing, meditation, or time management can help maintain composure under pressure and allow you to control yourself. For once, try to work more rationally than emotionally.
Lastly, attend workshops or seminars that can help you deeply understand the topic and use of emotional intelligence in the workplace. You can ask your manager or attend something on your initiative.
Conclusion
Emotional intelligence is a powerful tool that can transform your leadership, build your career and improve your personal life. By controlling self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills, you can move and update your leadership abilities and create a workplace where employees feel valued, safe and understood. Nothing better can be. Although your way of being a good leader might be challenging, the goal is worthy.
Leadership is not about intelligence, power, profit and strategy—it’s about emotional intelligence, too. Are you ready to lead the whole team?
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