If you are wondering how to make better relationships at work, you can turn to the power of emotional intelligence. It is a kind of intelligence that motivates and improves people’s relationships, and every leader should know how to practically implement this kind of intelligence at work.
Emotional intelligence in leadership is an increasingly important topic and that is why many leaders want to know the secrets of successful leadership through acquiring certain skills.
What Is Emotional Intelligence?
Emotional intelligence (EI) is most often defined as the ability to use, perceive, manage, understand and handle emotions. At the workplace, emotional intelligence is very important because organizations depend on people and their everyday actions.
Usually, these actions are the result of skills and feelings, and that is why each leader of the organization must develop good personal skills in dealing with different situations.
Emotional intelligence is a key aspect of team development, primarily because the actions of the people depend on their motivation, dedication to work, and social interaction.
Emotional intelligence and leadership should run parallel to chase success.
There are many examples of good implementation of emotional intelligence, and we show you some of the best emotional leadership examples below:
- People express themselves openly and without hesitations
- Flexibility in everyday work is always present
- Active listening in meetings is a standard
- The working environment is the one where people want to give their best effort for making success
The mentioned emotional leadership examples are the examples where people want to be involved in the success of the organization. You can apply these examples to any organization that wants to make success on the market.
Emotional Intelligence Importance in Leadership
Every leader would be aware of emotional intelligence’s importance in leadership. To improve your emotional intelligence skills, you must know the key aspects of this kind of intelligence.
There are five different aspects of EI and these are:
Self-awareness
Being self-aware means that you know your strengths and weaknesses. Only when you are aware of yourself can you motivate others to perform their best.
If you want to improve this skill, there are many ways to do it, and one of the best ones is to keep a journal. In this manner, you elevate your level of self-awareness every day by putting your thoughts and feelings on paper.
Motivation
Good leaders usually set high standards for everything they do. To improve your motivation, you should rethink why you do the job you do, and how it makes you happy.
If you are not satisfied or do not have enough motivation, keep asking questions to yourself to find the root of the problem. In this manner, you will find your true motivation for the exact job.
Self-regulation
In most situations, self-regulation is about staying in control. Leaders who have self-regulation rarely attack others or have verbal issues. They are calm and straightforward when it comes to emotions at work.
Ways to improve self-regulation are numerous, and most of them are based on practicing to stay calm in difficult situations. You can sit down and imagine the possible challenging situation, and you can imagine what would be the best action in this situation. In this manner, you practice your skills and become more reliable.
Empathy
Empathy is the ability to put yourself in their shoes. You can practice this skill by actively listening, acknowledging the key messages of a person you are talking to, and offering support when it is needed. Empathy is one of the most important skills in human relationships.
Social skills
Leaders with good social skills are good communicators and they set an example with their behavior. They want to be a building block of the company’s success, but they also give praise to others at the organization. As a result, success comes to the door.
Now, you can see what emotional intelligence and leadership are, and how to get the quality skills to manage a large group of people. If you practice your emotional intelligence, you can be sure that your working environment will change for the better.