{"id":4478,"date":"2022-01-18T16:57:25","date_gmt":"2022-01-18T16:57:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/co-creation.group\/?p=4478"},"modified":"2022-01-19T09:55:44","modified_gmt":"2022-01-19T09:55:44","slug":"co-creation-blog-five-steps-to-becoming-a-more-emotionally-intelligent-leader","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/co-creation.group\/co-creation-blog-five-steps-to-becoming-a-more-emotionally-intelligent-leader\/","title":{"rendered":"Co-Creation Blog : Five Steps to becoming a more Emotionally Intelligent Leader"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Why emotional intelligence matters in leadership, and how to develop it.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When was the last time you asked a team member to do something for you and you got \u2018that look\u2019?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you ever been in a meeting where a colleague has rolled their eyes in response to something someone else said?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you noticed that when you are about to deliver an important presentation your heart beats that little bit faster?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then you have spotted an indicator of an emotion. But what do you do with this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leaders who actively develop their emotional intelligence about themselves and others are more able to have strong and effective working relationships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being aware of our own emotions and the emotions of others is key to truly effective, authentic leadership. You may be aware of this being labelled Emotional Intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEmotional intelligence is the practice <\/a><\/em>of managing one\u2019s own personality to be both personally and interpersonally effective. It is achieved through the habitual practice of thinking about feeling and feeling about thinking, to guide behaviour.\u201d<\/em> (Tim Sparrow & Jolyon Maddox, 1998).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further to this, Lombardo and Eichinger\u2019s leadership success factors (2004) included: intelligence, motivation, technical\/operational knowledge, experience, learning agility and emotional intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Emotional Intelligence?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A helpful way to understand the parts of emotional intelligence is Tim Sparrow and Jolyon Maddox\u2019s model of emotional intelligence<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At its simplest level, the extent to which you love yourself and are aware of your feelings and how they impact your behaviour, is a fundamental part of how you conduct your relationships with others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why does it matter?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, bullying behaviour in the workplace often comes from a place of insecurity. A leader may seek to feel better about themselves by putting other people down and treating them like they are beneath them. It is often labelled as \u2018I\u2019m okay, you\u2019re not okay\u2019 type behaviour (Eric Berne Transactional Analysis)<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plus, it can also be seen as victim type behaviour, where a leader claims to be disempowered and self-critical, pointing out how they can\u2019t or won\u2019t do something, as they might fail. We tend to label this as \u2018You\u2019re okay, I\u2019m not okay\u2019 behaviour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interestingly, I often observe leaders dance between these two types of behaviour as they are both coming from a place of insecurity and low positive self-regard. If a leader struggles to accept and embrace who they are and how they are wired, then they are constantly comparing themselves to others to try to make themselves feel better. They can oscillate between victim and bullying type behaviour, depending on context. It can appear incredibly inconsistent to those around them who may feel, \u201cI never know what to expect!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may spot this in yourself, or you may know a leader who is like this. So what do you do about it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n