There are several types of intelligence that human beings are equipped - with some more, with some less. Most leaders believe that the logical-mathematical type of intelligence (the IQ rating that many people focus on) has the most impact on whether you have success in their leadership. That is absolutely wrong. If you want to do something that can really help you improve the quality of your leadership style (in every way) - there is one thing that comes first: strengthen and cultivate your emotional intelligence as much as you possibly can.
Many leaders know that certain things they should do in a better way, but too often they don’t know how - or do not get it done in reality. We all work against some barriers that somehow keep us from doing what is the best. Using ones Emotional Intelligence can help the managers and executives better understand and exploit their potential they carry within. It turns them into action mode – because they become conscious about how much they will gain from doing things in better ways. Increasing your Emotional Intelligence can truly help you improve in all areas of leadership; in all aspects of communication, negotiation, and objection handling as well as the important motivational abilities. A combination of classroom training and exercises will ensure that you will not just pick up skills; you will also practice what you have learned; to start turning skills into competencies.
How can you get started with Emotional Intelligence:
1. Start recognizing emotions - the ability to detect and decode emotions in faces, voices, movements, etc. - including the ability to identify one’s own emotions. Recognizing other people’s emotions presents a basic aspect of emotional intelligence, as it facilitates all other aspects of emotional intelligence.
2. Start understanding emotions - the ability to comprehend emotion language and to grasp complicated connections between emotions. For example, understanding emotions encompasses the ability to be sensitive to slight variations in emotions, and the ability to recognize and describe how emotions progress over time.
3. Start using emotions - the ability to exploit emotions to facilitate various cognitive activities, such as thinking and problem solving. The emotionally intelligent person can get the most out of his or her changing moods in order to best fit the task or challenge at hand.
4. Start managing emotions - the ability to regulate emotions in both ourselves and in others. Therefore, the emotionally intelligent manager or executive can control emotions, even negative ones, and use them constructively to achieve his goals.
Emotional Intelligence is truly a road worth traveling and I wish you luck and endurance in finding your way
Regards - Mark von Rosing
