Emotionally Intelligent Leadership

06/20/2014

Emotionally Intelligent Leadership

The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it is the same problem you had last year.
John Foster Dulles

"What most influences your company's bottom line performance?" asked Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, and Annie McKee in their Harvard Business Review article, "Primal Leadership: The Hidden Driver of Great Performance (December 2001; hbr.org). Their answer: "It's the leader's own mood."

"Executives' emotional intelligence — their self-awareness, empathy, rapport with others — has clear links to their own performance. But new research shows that a leader's emotional style also drives everyone else's moods and behaviors — through a neurological process called mood contagion....

"Emotional intelligence travels through an organization like electricity over telephone wires. Depressed, ruthless bosses create toxic organizations filled with negative underachievers. But if you're an upbeat, inspirational leader, you cultivate positive employees who embrace and surmount even the toughest challenges.

"Emotional leadership isn't just putting on a game face for every day. It means understanding your impact on others — then adjust your style accordingly. A difficult process of self-discovery — but essential before you can tackle your leadership responsibilities."

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