Business management and leadership - leading (u4db)

May 25, 2008 Dear Mentor: First of all, I would like to think you for reminding me of the concept of emotional intelligence and how they may play a vital role in solving the problem that I am having connecting with my team members as individuals. I truly believe that applying the principles of emotional intelligence will significantly enhance my leadership capabilities.
The five components of emotional intelligence are self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills. My current manager possesses some of these traits, but could use improvement in others. He possesses a weak sense of self-awareness, which is “ the ability to recognize and understand personal moods and emotions” (Goleman, 1998, pg. 1). He simply does not take people’s feelings into account over his own. His self-regulation skills are strong, which includes, “ the ability to control or redirect disruptive impulses and moods and the propensity to suspend judgment and to think before acting” (Goleman, 1998, pg. 1). His patience in this area is key. Another strong area of his is motivation, which is, “ a passion to work for reasons that go beyond money and status” (Goleman, 1998, pg. 1). He has always been persistent in pursuing his goals. Unfortunately, he is weak in the area of empathy, which is, “ the ability to understand the EMOTIONAL makeup of other people.” I believe that he oftentimes leaves employees out of important decision-making processes. Finally, his social skills, which are “ proficiency in managing relationships and building networks and an ability to find common ground and build rapport” (Goleman, 1998, pg. 1), could use help as well. Again, it ties into having a weak bond with employees as individuals.
The areas of emotional intelligence that directly involve the feelings and opinions of others should be addressed first in order to turn this situation around. Most likely, the employees in this scenario do not feel as if they matter very much to the company. First, it is imperative that I learn to recognize the feelings and emotions of the employees as individuals. It is also important that I learn to understand the emotional makeup of other people. Social skills will also be very important so that healthy relationships can be built within the workplace.
The areas that need less work are self-regulation and motivation. It is, however, crucial that these areas do not begin to slack off as the other areas of emotional intelligence are strengthened.
There are several things that organizations can do in order to help develop the emotional intelligence of their managers as well as their other employees. The first step is making sure that the management team and employees have the skills necessary to pull off such a feat. Strong communication skills are vital to this particular area of the scenario. If those skills are not already possessed by the employees, either they should be trained or perhaps even replaced to build a stronger organization.

The management team and employees should also be trained in the concept of emotional intelligence. They need to understand how these key concepts can make or break an organization. This could be accomplished by setting up training classes within the company.
Sincerely,
Me
Reference
Goleman, D. (1998, November/December). Harvard Business Review.