There are many important variables that make up effective leaders. One of the most important is emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is defined as the ability to identify, assess, and control the emotions of oneself, of others, and of groups.
As a leadership coach I work a great deal in the emotional intelligence domain. Personally, it is one of the most important skills a leader can develop and strengthen. Emotional intelligence impacts everything a leader does: how they show up (presence), how authentic they are in their engagement, how they influence others, how they collaborate and connect with people.
In my last post, I challenged leaders to get feedback from others about their leadership style and developmental areas. http://www.executiveleadershipperformance.com/uncategorized/reflection-and-new-beginnings-as-a-leader/
If you have received feedback that as a leader you are impulsive, have a command and control leadership style, are unaware of how your interactions impact others, have a difficult time developing relationships, appear emotionally unaware or immature; you may have low emotional intelligence skills.
If you want to know more and assess your emotional intelligence capabilities, I suggest taking an emotional intelligence assessment. I recommend the EQ-i 2.0. It is one of the most scientifically validated emotional intelligence instruments on the market today. This instrument measures the interaction between a person and his or her environment, and then presents results in both numerical and graphical form. The power of this instrument enables me as a certified EQ-i coach to accurately predict what behaviors a leader is most likely to exhibit and to pinpoint the motivations behind the behavior.
Great leaders have tremendous cognitive skills but it is the soft skills that make the real difference in overall leadership effectiveness. If you don’t believe me, meet with your team and have them think about a great leader they admire and then on a flip chart write down the characteristics that make up those leaders. I promise you; at least 2/3 of the skills identified will be emotional intelligence skills. Do you want to become a stronger leader? Then identify where you need to develop your emotional intelligence skills and commit to action!
To sign up to take the assessment and to receive two hours of coaching, go to my webpage go to www.executiveleadershipperformance.com