Punctuality and efficiency are two aspects on which business leaders judge the performance of their employees. However, these parameters can hinder the productivity and development of the employees in the long run. It may also result in employees quitting the company and searching for new opportunities that promote independence and growth.
For this reason, it is necessary for business leaders to understand the importance of emotional intelligence. A lot of leaders resort to the core of emotional intelligence when evaluating their employees’ performance. These things help them comprehend their employees’ motivation and emotions toward their jobs, extending beyond punctuality, efficiency, and productivity.
Oftentimes, the concept of emotional intelligence is discussed and taught in leadership development workshops. If you wish to learn more about emotional intelligence and its impact on business leadership, you have come to the right place. Below, we discuss emotional intelligence and why leaders must develop it.
What is Emotional Intelligence?
Emotional intelligence is the ability of a person to understand and handle their own emotions, as well as identify and impact the emotions of the people around them. Essentially, emotional intelligence can be likened to a glue that keeps relationships between people tight and close in the long run. It promotes long-term relationships with partners, friends, and colleagues.
What does Emotional Intelligence Mean in Leadership?
In leadership, emotional intelligence is similarly referred to as the ability of a leader to understand and handle their own emotions and identify and control the emotions and perspectives of their team members. The relevance and significance of emotional intelligence in leadership were first highlighted by psychologist Daniel Goleman, who stated that the most effective leaders all commonly have a high degree of emotional intelligence.
These effective leaders believe that emotional intelligence is a crucial skill that enables them to identify and solve the problems of their team members. This is the reason why emotional intelligence is an essential aspect of many leadership styles. Interestingly, emotional intelligence is an incredible parameter for checking a leadership style’s effectiveness.
Why does Emotional Intelligence Matter?
According to experts, technical skills, communication skills, and intelligence quotient (IQ) are all irrelevant if a leader does not have emotional intelligence. While many leaders have abundant technical and communication skills, they usually lack the emotional intelligence necessary to foster a productive, efficient, and satisfying work environment. As leaders set the tone of the company, emotional intelligence becomes an unavoidable component of the skill set.
A company led by a leader who does not possess emotional intelligence is not likely to survive the complexity of the business industry. Here are some of the specific reasons why emotional intelligence is essential in business leadership:
- Emotional intelligence builds a positive work culture in the company, consequently increasing productivity and efficiency.
- Emotional intelligence encourages creativity, growth, and innovation in the company and team members.
- Emotional intelligence consistently motivates leaders and team members to do their best.
- Emotional intelligence helps leaders and team members make the right decisions during tough times.
- Emotional intelligence creates a solid bond between the leader and their team.
Conclusion
The growing significance of emotional intelligence has convinced many business leaders to learn and implement it into their leadership style in order to fuel job satisfaction, innovation, and a positive work environment in their company. Therefore, if you want your team members to be satisfied with their jobs and to promote the overall success of your company, you should definitely improve how you lead your team by learning and implementing emotional intelligence into your leadership style.
Learn more about emotional intelligence and how you can use it to your business’ advantage by enrolling in the leadership development training offered by StrengthsAsia.
At StrengthsAsia, we are committed to assisting businesses to achieve their goals with the help of our extensive and effective online corporate training courses and workshops. We will make sure to optimise your skills and enhance your emotional intelligence, so you can lead your company to definite success. For more information about the courses we offer, you can reach out to us here.
