John Gardener, who has authored several books on leadership, was credited with saying that next to God, the most misunderstood subject is leadership. Studies by various gurus in the past decades have helped understand leadership to some extent. Over the years, there is a general consensus on a few aspects related to leadership. One of them is that effective leaders have a high degree of emotional intelligence. Thousands of studies have shown that effective leaders consistently possess more emotional intelligence competencies such as self-awareness and self-management.
The good news is that all of us are endowed with a certain amount of emotional intelligence, and with some effort, we can substantially enhance the same and harness it to be an effective leader. Very few suffer from emotional blockages and have a hard time relating to people or expressing empathy.
Types of Competencies
Emotional leadership competencies can be discussed in two major clusters: Personal Competence and Social competence. Let us see what these clusters contain.
> Personal Competence : This has two distinct set of competencies:
The self-awareness cluster
Emotional self-awareness that helps us to recognise our emotions and their effects. Leaders with high emotional self-awareness are attuned to their inner signals and thus recognise how their feelings affect them and their job performance. They are in touch with their guiding values and can often intuit the best course of action.
Accurate self-assessment which includes knowing one’s strengths and weakness. Leaders who know their strengths and limitations, and exhibit a sense of humour about themselves, demonstrate a gracefulness in learning where they need to improve and welcome constructive criticism and feedback.
Self-confidence that shows a strong sense of one’s self worth and capabilities. Knowing their strengths allows leaders to play to their strengths. Self-confident leaders welcome a difficult assignment. Such leaders have a presence, and a sense of self-assurance that allows them stand out in the group
The self-management cluster
Adaptability : Flexibility in dealing with changing situations or obstacles. These leaders can juggle multiple demands without losing their focus or energy and are comfortable with the ambiguities of organisational life.
Emotional self-control : Inhibiting emotions in service of groups or organisational norms. They find ways to channeltheir disturbing emotions and impulses and make them useful. A leader with good self-control can stay calm and clear headed in high stress or emergency situations.
Initiative: Proactive, a bias towards action. They bring energy and focus to everything they do and accomplish the tasks they have set out to complete. These leaders cut through the red-tape, or even bend the rules, to create better possibilities for the future.
Achievement orientation: Here, striving to do better is the key behaviour for leaders. They are pragmatic and set measurable, but challenging, goals for themselves. They are also open to taking calculated risks so that their goals are worthy but attainable.
Trustworthiness: Integrity, or consistency with one’s values, emotions and behaviour
Optimism: a positive view of the life and the future. They can roll with the punches, seeing an opportunity rather than a threat in a setback.
> Social Competence : This also has two important sets of competencies, as under:
Social Awareness cluster
Empathy: Understanding others and taking an active interest in their concern. They listen attentively and can grasp the other person’s perspective. Empathy allows a person to get along well with people of diverse backgrounds or from other cultures.
Service orientation: Recognising and meeting the clients’ needs. They monitor customer satisfaction carefully and ensure they are getting what they want.
Organisational awareness: Perceives political relationships within the organisation
Relationship Management cluster
Inspirational Leadership: Inspiring and guiding groups as well as individuals. They create a sense of empathy and move people with a compelling vision or a shared mission.
Developing others: Helping others improve performance. They show a genuine interest in those they are helping by understanding their goals, strengths, and weaknesses.
Change Catalyst: They are able to recognise the need for change, challenging the status quo, and to champion the new order. They can be strong advocates for change even in the face of opposition.
Conflict Management: Leaders who manage conflict best are able to draw out all parties by understanding the differing perspectives and finding a common ideal that everyone can endorse.
Influence: Getting others to agree with you. They are persuasive and engaging while addressing group
Teamwork and Collaboration: They draw others into an active and enthusiastic commitment to the collective effort, and build spirit and identity. They spend time forging and cementing close relationships that are beyond just work obligations.
Looks like a tall order for leaders to imbibe and cultivate. Not all leaders excel in all these competencies, but effective ones are known to demonstrate a good number of them, and in good measure. Leaders who are able to regulate their own emotions are better equipped to provide a “holding environment” for the people who work for and with them, thus creating a culture where people feel at ease. This is a critical competence that leaders and aspiring leaders cannot afford to overlook if they wish to be effective.
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