Success Advice

The 5 Components of Emotional Intelligence for Great Leaders

Published

5 years ago

Apr 28, 2019

Nora Mork

Image Credit: Unsplash

Many believe that the characteristics that make a good leader are the traditional traits, such as charisma, drive, and vision. However, what’s more important than all the other characteristics and is present in all of the greatest leaders is emotional intelligence. The best and most successful leaders are considered emotionally intelligent, meaning they can understand their own emotions and those of others.

This term became popular in 1996 when Dan Goleman published his book “Leadership: The Power of Emotional Intelligence” and defined the five parts of emotional intelligence which are self-awareness, self-regulation, internal motivation, empathy and social skills.

Below are the 5 components of emotional intelligence critical to be a great leader:

1. Self-Awareness

Self-awareness is the ability to acknowledge in real-time your own emotions and passions and the effect those have on others. You know the impact your emotions have on your behavior and that they can be contagious. This means that an emotionally intelligent leader will keep a positive and inspiring tone to their emotions to motivate their team and keep a calm office.

Someone who has a short fuse and irrational reactions to certain things will undoubtedly affect the morale or their team. A leader who behaves in a calmer, more relaxed way, even in the face of unexpected obstacles or challenges will gain the respect of their team.

2. Self-Regulation

Understanding your emotions and their effect is one thing, but a truly important aspect of emotional intelligence is self-regulation, the ability to channel or refocus potentially negative emotions into constructive action. For example, fear doesn’t lead to a failure to act but inspires a leader to tackle the thing they fear.

Self-regulation can be defined as personal accountability or staying in control of your emotions. If you are tempted to let your frustrations out on someone else, instead of holding your breath and counting to ten, try writing down the negative comments on paper then shredding it – this can be really helpful for letting off steam and regaining your calm.

“Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else: you are the one who gets burned.” – Buddha

3. Internal Motivation

A key component of emotional intelligence is self-motivation. This means that a person does not need external validation or factors such as money or status to drive their work. A self-motivated person will have naturally high standards, optimism, and passion towards achieving their purpose. This, in turn, motivates individuals working under such a leader.

How can you become more self-motivated? Consider why you’re doing your job, and why you were passionate about it in the first place. It’s important to understand your purpose and remind yourself why you love your job. If you come across an obstacle in your work, try to find a positive from it, or a lesson learned.

4. Empathy

Empathetic leaders can relate to what other people are going through and can adapt their approach accordingly. Empathy in a leader means they listen to their team, both what they are saying verbally but also non-verbal cues such as tone and body language. This is critical for a good leader, as it creates an inclusive team with engaged and loyal members.

A leader without empathy won’t realize the impact their decisions or words have on others, which affects their ability to self-regulate. They may also ask too much of their team, or make unreasonable requests, whereas a leader with empathy will understand the individuality of each person’s situation and how that affects their work.

To improve your empathy, it’s as simple as putting yourself in someone else’s shoes. Seeing something from someone else’s perspective is invaluable for understanding their motivations.

“If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the other person’s point of view and see things from his angle as well as your own.” – Henry Ford

5. Social Skills

Social skills can include building rapport, team building, and networking. Social skills are important for dealing with awkward situations, conflict resolution, and motivating and praising team members.

These 5 components of emotional intelligence are important for any aspiring leader to understand. As an emotionally intelligent leader, you know how to manage your emotions and use these to motivate and inspire your team. The better a person becomes at managing these 5 aspects, the more chance they have of being a successful leader.

Which one of the emotional intelligence components described above do you find most important? Share your thoughts with us below!

Up Next

6 Reasons Why Working More Isn’t Optimal for Your Business

Don't Miss

6 Lessons From Design Thinking That Will Help You Rethink Success

Nora Mork

Nora Mork is a lifestyle journalist at Big Assignments and Australian help. She shares her knowledge by writing for online magazines and blogs, such as Paper Fellows.

Click to comment

Success Advice

How to Ignite the Spark Within for Future Success

All of us come to this world with our own reserve of magic unfortunately, not everyone can unleash it

Published

3 days ago

Dec 4, 2023

M.S. Rao

Image Credit: Midjourney

What is it that makes some people great leaders while others remain followers? What magic do they have that others don’t? What special blessing gives them the power to bring significant change? (more…)

Success Advice

How Your Beliefs Can Supercharge or Sabotage Your Success

Your life is dictated by beliefs and biases that drive your thinking, behaviors, and decisions

Published

2 weeks ago

Nov 20, 2023

Jane Frankel

Your Beliefs Can Supercharge or Sabotage Your Success (1)

Image Credit: Midjourney

Pause for a moment and ponder two pandemic-era beliefs: First, closing schools will control the spread of a serious virus. Second, the consequences of such school closures—particularly social interruption and the prevention of immunity—are worse than becoming sick with the virus. (more…)

Success Advice

How to Break the Cycles of Mediocrity and Manifest Your Greatness

There is no greatness without becoming and there is no becoming with authenticity

Published

3 weeks ago

Nov 16, 2023

Jamelle Sanders

Image Credit: Midjourney

In just a few weeks, we will be wrapping up 2023. Can you believe it? This year has been absolutely incredible for me.

I have seen amazing doors opened, new relationships formed and I am seeing dreams realized in my life. While this seems like the hallmarks of a great year, this has also been the most challenging year of my life. With all of the change happening in my life, I have been forced out of my comfort zone and challenged to grow in every area of my life.

I can truly say that I have made the most of my moments this year and I have used everything as a catalyst for maximizing my greatest potential.

As a revolutionary leader, I have the pleasure of consulting and advising leaders around the world to fulfill purpose, realize their greatest potential and make an impact.

I want to share some insights with you that will help you to break cycles of mediocrity and manifest your greatness.

Everything legal must come through the matrix

I am sure that some of you are wondering why I am using the term matrix. However, what you have to understand is that I am trying to make a highly complex spiritual principle practical to understand.

Regardless of your spiritual beliefs, every life has an origin and I believe that origin is divine and begins with eternity. You are birthed from eternity and into time to fulfill a unique purpose and assignment in your lifetime and generation.

The matrix is simply the portal or vehicle that brings something out of the invisible realm and into tangible form. The problem with much of the teaching today is that it excludes the matrix. We are told to believe that success is instantaneous and overnight.

Nobody talks about how a dream progresses through stages beginning with visualization and ultimately culminating in manifestation. Without a matrix or portal then everything that you attempt to birth and build will be illegal.

The matrix not only makes you legal but it gives you the authority and power to function as the greatest expression of who you were created to be.

Every matrix has an incubation process

While many people admire and respect me today, I remember a time when nobody knew who I was or the significance of my message. How did I get to where I am today? I got here through an incubation process.

In other words, everything that has been destined for your life is incubating and awaiting a set time of manifestation. The problem is that most people live their entire lives idle and never initiate the incubation process.

What do I meany by that? Most people are living reckless and very few people are living intentionally. I am amazed at the number of people I have conversations with that have no vision, goals or strategies for their lives. They show great promise and they have undeniable potential.

However, without development they will die with their dreams still in them.

Everything that has been destined for your life must be incubated and converted to become realities born to time.

“Visualize this thing that you want, see it, feel it, believe in it. Make your mental blueprint and begin to build.” – Robert Collier

You must give expression to that which is not yet born to time

When you think about a matrix or a prophetic incubation process, you have to understand that potential is often unrealized and untapped. In other words, your potential is in raw form and your potential cannot serve you as long as it is untapped.

The thing that makes me valuable is that I have the ability to convert potential into power. I have done it in my own life and I have empowered leaders around the world to do the same. How do you convert potential into power?

First, it is important to note that you have to perceive potential. If you cannot perceive your potential then you can never cultivate your potential. In addition, you must take the time to cultivate your potential. We often get excited about our capabilities; however, we never expand our capacity in order to realize our greatest potential.

In other words, the strength of your potential is only discovered through your willingness to stretch. The more we are challenged the more we are empowered to expand our capacity for greatness. Most of all, you must begin to express your potential. The expression of potential is different for every person.

For example, the expression of my potential is best demonstrated through the thoughts, ideas, products, services, books, etc.

For another person the expression of potential may look like a screenplay, artwork, sports, scientific discoveries, medical breakthroughs, etc.

Regardless of the form of expression, I know that you will live empty and unfulfilled until you make the decision to express your potential. The expression of your potential gives voice to your dreams, life to your vision, significance to your moments and activates your true power.

You must manifest your greatness

As a revolutionary thinker and leader, my work has impacted people around the world. I am grateful that my life is a source of empowerment to so many people. However, before anyone could ever benefit from my life, I had to make a non-negotiable decision to become who I was born to be.

I wish I could tell you that this journey is easy and that you will get there overnight. However, in a world that celebrates us for doing we are often criticized for being. As a result, I wasted a lot of time trying to be who other people wanted me to be instead of being who I was born to be.

There is no greatness without becoming and there is no becoming with authenticity. It is through our bravery to be vulnerable that we ultimately manifest our greatness. We do not bless the world by being a duplicate. We bless the world when we honor our difference. When you honor your difference you honor your potential.

Ultimately, your difference is how you manifest your greatness.

When you present anything but your authentic self to the world, you are playing small and you are robbing the world of your significance. Manifesting your greatness requires you to master your gifts.