Emotional intelligence has long been thought of as critical to leadership. In 2004, in the Harvard Business Review, Daniel Coleman wrote about the common attribute of successful leaders:
"The most effective leaders are all alike in one crucial way: They all have a high degree of what has come to be known as emotional intelligence."
However, it has become more prominent as leaders have had to adapt to managing a multi-generational workforce.
For a long time, leadership and management have been confused and conflated; we've moved from command and control being the predominant style to leadership being more thought of as setting the direction and "driving" teams to reach ambitious goals through increasing pressure levels and, at times, encouragement.
Research has found that, along with new generations joining a growing multi-generational workforce, more experienced women are leaving post-COVID, and there is an increasing desire for people to have a better balance in their lives, which suggests a different approach is necessary.
People are responding to a new style of leadership where emotional intelligence trumps intellect, technical skills, and IQ.
Given that only some leaders possess high emotional intelligence, Executive Coaching can play a pivotal role in honing the right approach to maximise team potential and drive business success. It's a practical approach to enhancing leadership effectiveness.
What is Emotional Intelligence
There are five components of emotional intelligence.
Self Awareness
Self-awareness is critical to developing strong emotional intelligence. It is tough to help others manage themselves and unleash their potential if they are not acutely aware of their emotional responses and their strengths and weaknesses.
Understanding what motivates you and where you add value is vital. However, it is also crucial to be honest enough with yourself to know where you need help and support.
Leaders with strong self-awareness recognise how their actions and fluctuating moods can affect others in the team. In coming to terms with who they are, leaders with good emotional intelligence are confident in themselves and know how others perceive them.
Self Regulation
Managing your emotions is not about suppressing your feelings; it's more about controlling them. Knowing when and how to express how you feel when to stop and take a pause and possibly even take yourself out of a situation to get more perspective helps you set the tone and influence the mindset of those around you.
Being in control of this means you tend to be good at negotiation and able to defuse tension without letting emotions take over. Self-regulation also ensures you cope well with change and can adapt quickly.
Empathy
Leaders with good emotional intelligence will be empathetic to those around them. Being able to perceive and interpret the emotional state of others is essential in relationship building and is crucial to good leadership. You can’t know what another person is feeling, but you can try to see how they may feel or be affected by standing in their shoes.
Not everyone can see things from another's perspective, but in building inclusive workplaces, it is vital that everyone feels like they can be themselves and that their contribution has value. Therefore, empathy is a critical element of emotional intelligence.
Social Skills
Emotional intelligence requires leaders to be strong communicators. You need to communicate verbally and nonverbally to connect with your team emotionally and to build trust by acting on what you communicate and encourage.
Skills such as active listening, adapting your tone to suit the audience and the message, persuading, and negotiating help you communicate on a level that inspires those working for you.
Motivation
Leaders with strong emotional intelligence tend to be driven by an inner goal rather than the material prizes that often inspire others. They enjoy the journey and the challenges they face along the way. The lessons they learn in the ups and downs are vital to their personal growth, which is often more critical.
They are driven by a desire to improve their current situation and circumstances. They have an insatiable thirst for learning and tend to be very committed to whatever the goal is.
Very few leaders are strong in every area. Executive coaching can support your development in those areas that need improvement and help you become the leader you and your team need you to be.
Executive Coaching's Role in EI Enhancement
Executive coaching can make a massive difference to your emotional intelligence and, therefore, your team's performance. Here are a few ideas on how it might help you.
Tailored Strategies
Executive coaching is all about tailoring the programme of activities to the individual. Good coaches avoid a one-size-fits-all approach, taking into account the individual leader's strengths and weaknesses and working with the leader to develop strategies that will deliver effective results for them.
Executive coaching focuses on self-reflection and personal growth, supporting a deeper understanding of leaders themselves.
Self-Awareness Building
Self-awareness is critical to emotional intelligence. However, developing it takes work. Coaching will initially help you gain a far deeper understanding of your emotions, triggers, and responses.
Coaches will support you to build your self-awareness through coaching sessions and a series of strategies that will ensure it is an ongoing process.
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Empathy Development
The coaching approach here is to help leaders walk a day in another's shoes. Executive coaches will create scenarios to help leaders gain experience from the other side and understand the true impact of their actions and emotions.
Developing that level of empathy for the challenges others face will improve team cohesion and enhance relationships as the feeling of inclusion becomes real.
Feedback Loops
It is often difficult to understand the impact of your leadership without honest feedback from your team. Executive coaching will seek to compile 360-degree feedback from across your organisation to help you understand the effect of your current approach to communication and your emotional responses.
Action Planning and Goal Setting
A vital aspect of any executive coaching process is supporting the leader to develop an action plan with clear steps to help achieve measurable goals. This gives leaders a vision for the future and a guide to achieving it.
Having a plan with a series of objectives also drives accountability. Executive coaching to help develop emotional intelligence will only succeed if leaders take responsibility for their development. Along with this accountability comes regular support check-ins that will help leaders stay the course.
Reflection and Growth
Reflection is critical to the development of emotional intelligence. Nothing will change overnight, and things will not always go according to plan, so taking time to reflect will be essential.
Looking at your decisions and experiences after the process will help leaders better understand their current approach and craft different responses in the future.
A Culture of Emotional Intelligence
Driving a more positive organisational culture through emotional intelligence will support the development of a more inclusive business.
Encouraging your leadership team and your managers to understand their teams on an emotional level will improve team dynamics and help individuals bring their whole selves to work.
And creating this inclusive environment drives innovation, giving your business a critical competitive advantage in your market.
If you'd like to learn more about executive coaching that could help develop your emotional intelligence, get in touch with Kirsty and the team.
If you'd like to find out more about Executive Coaching, drop us a note.
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