Emotional Intelligence, the Superpower of Influential Leaders

38% of new leaders fail within the first 18 months. ~ Leaders Beacon

As we come upon 2021, and we discuss leadership traps to avoid, we have to talk about how leadership is so much more than making work schedules or managing projects, tasks, and people.  Leadership requires a particular set of skills and tools that go beyond what you learn in business school.  

Sometimes, this means doing things differently.

Leadership skills are often viewed as payroll processing, project management, and understanding the laws related to having employees.  Yes – leaders need specific skills to lead effectively, but in most cases, bad habits must also be broken to lead, motivate, and engage their teams successfully.  With this in mind, as we prepare to enter a new year, leaders must avoid two things.

1. Avoid underestimating the importance of Emotional Intelligence. 

According to the Harvard Business Review, Emotional Intelligence (EQ) accounts for nearly 90 percent of what sets high performers apart from peers with similar technical skills and experience.  Then why do some leaders and organizations struggle to incorporate this into their leadership style and corporate culture?  Because businesses have been built and operated on the idea that people can easily separate business elements from personal elements with ease.

Think about it.

Who hasn’t heard the adage, “Leave your problems at the door when you come to work.”  Ruskin Kwofie even goes as far as saying, “Leave your work problems at work and your home problems at home.  You will have one problem to solve at a time.” 

But the problem is, as human beings, no matter how skilled at compartmentalizing, it just doesn’t work that way.  Leaders must understand emotional intelligence, but it is also crucial to include it in their leadership approach.   

Sharpening EQ skills allows leaders to navigate pressure and decision making more effectively, resolve conflict successfully, and improve employee engagement and corporate culture due to their ability to treat others with empathy.  

As you work on deepening your EQ skills, here are four ways to focus your efforts:

• Work to accurately identify and perceive your emotions as well as other peoples.

• Use your emotions to help you assess and think through situations.

• Increase awareness around emotions, emotional language, and non-verbal signals used to convey them.

• Manage emotions through goal setting and the actions used to attain goals.

This will even help you work with those who aren’t easy to work with.

2. Avoid only defining success in terms of business and work.

One of the DREAM4 founding principles states, “When people have good things going on in their lives, they will have good things going on at work.”  We’ve seen it time and time again in working with participants.  So, it’s essential to acknowledge that we are whole beings with multiple well-being areas that need our attention, which means that success should not be limited to work outcomes.

 Leaders have a two-fold responsibility to avoid defining success in terms of business and work.  The first part is specific to their personal success.  Leaders must have goals that are not limited to business and a clear definition of success in those different areas.  The second part of that is to help those they lead to do the same. 

Here are a few ways to make sure that you are defining success in both personal AND professional ways:

• Set concrete personal AND professional goals

• Create a balance between work and personal passion

• Learn to celebrate victories no matter how large or small

Yes, we all have a job to do, but we are not machines.  While it sounds good to say leave home at home when you come to work, it never really works out that way.  Leaders need to understand that and work to develop the skills required to navigate this with and in their teams.  And unfortunately, these traits and skills are not usually taught in management classes, business courses, or even job training.

Are you struggling to navigate the importance of emotional intelligence? Do you struggle with limiting your success to the workplace?

If so, schedule a call today and let us help you close the gap between where you are and where you want to be.