Problem: You're on your way to motivating your team from a group perspective, but you're still having trouble connecting with your team as individuals. Your mentor reminds you of the concept of emotional intelligence and how it can enhance your leadership capabilities.
To recap, the five components of emotional intelligence, as described by Daniel Goleman are explained in the following:
1. Self-Awareness: The ability to recognize and understand personal moods and emotions. It includes self-confidence, realistic self-assessment, and a self-deprecating sense of humor.
2. Self-Regulation: The ability to control or redirect disruptive impulses and moods and the propensity to suspend judgment and to think before acting. It includes trustworthiness and integrity, comfort with ambiguity, self control, and openness to change.
3. Motivation: A passion to work for reasons that go beyond money and status. A tendency to pursue goals with energy and persistence. It includes a strong drive to achieve, optimism even in the face of failure, and organizational commitment.
4. Empathy: The ability to understand the EMOTIONAL makeup of other people. It includes expertise in building and retaining talent, cross-cultural sensitivity, and service to clients and customers.
5. Social Skills: Proficiency in managing relationships and building networks and an ability to find common ground and build rapport. It includes effectiveness in leading change, persuasiveness, and expertise in building and leading teams.
(Harvard Business Review. (November/December, 1998)).
Write an e-mail to your mentor covering the following:
- Evaluate your current or former manager on each of the five components of emotional intelligence.
- How can you apply the principles of emotional intelligence to your current situation?
- What can organizations do to help develop the emotional intelligence of their managers as well as other employees?