The Power of Emotional Intelligence
why is emotional intelligence important in managing and leading?
Give examples of your personal failures and successes
What would you do differently?
Which aspects of emotional and social intelligence you could work on to become a better leader?
Solution
Introduction
Emotional intelligence (EI or EQ) originated in the 1990s from the work by psychologists Salovey and Mayer who described it as the ability to understand and manage one’s own feelings and emotions, as well as recognize and influence the feelings and emotions of others (Landry,2019; McFarland, 2018). It guides one’s thinking, decisions, and actions. Houston (2021), explained how EQ facilities our capacity to manage social situations and conflicts through resilience, motivation, communication, stress management, empathy, and reasoning. Therefore, once a person can understand and manage their own emotions, they will be able to effectively produce the behavior they want in themselves and on others. This ability can be used in intense “emotional work” such as management, service industry, social work, and nursing (see Houston,2021)
Why Is Emotional Intelligence Important In Managing and Leading?
Effective leadership “in emotional workplaces” requires putting employees’ needs first to make them happy, and more productive with the hope of reducing their turnover. This can be done by a leader with high emotional intelligence that can increase team productivity and retention.
High Emotional Intelligence in a person improves their performance at the workplace because they can understand their own emotions, stay calm, and lead and motivate others, to achieve goals (Houston, 2021). This also helps in building stronger relationships at the workplace, by understanding people’s feelings and communicating with them more effectively in ways they understand. Studies have found that managers with high EQ are better at managing conflicts, and sustaining relationships within the workplace compared to those with low to moderate levels of EQ. Moreover, organizations with the growing complexity of society and stakeholders have recognized the importance of EQ when it comes to communicating effectively to fellow workers and other important stakeholders (McFarland, 2018). Management involves sound decisions making and this depends on an understanding of how the leader’s feelings will affect the judgment, productivity, and attitudes of others. Leaders with high EQ improve the culture at the workplace through the stronger relationships built and easiness of communication (McFarland,2018)
Studies in the nursing profession have also shown that higher performers in leadership and clinical practice roles are those with high emotional intelligence scores. Means, that they have learned how to manage emotions — both their own and others — especially under pressure. This is because management roles require a person who can remain calm in stressful situations, who can communicate with others, and handle conflicts to achieve productive outcomes. With emotional intelligence, a manager can lead by example and show interest in employees’ needs and the lower employees will transfer these interests to the patients.
Examples Of My Personal Failures And Successes
One summer holiday, I had an opportunity to learn how to design and make artifacts. It took me a short time to master the skill, most people including my instructor regarded my design skills to be much superior to what they are used to seeing. As a beginner, I saw many people running for my designs to sell to their customers. People made money out of my work, but I kept telling myself that why can’t sell my designs since I was better than people who have been in the industry for years. I then decided to go out there and look for my own customers to sell to. Later, I found out that the hardest task was not to design and make but to convince people to buy the artifacts. I tried my best to sell but I sold little compared to others who have been there and I made some serious losses. I, therefore, felt stressed, annoyed, uninspired to continue with the whole business.
In another incident, I took up a volunteering role with my colleagues at a reputable organization hoping to land a good job at a middle-managerial level. We were given tasks and to compete in teams and prizes were to be given to the winning team. When I saw that my team members appeared not to be serious about the work, I took the initiative to perform all the key roles including coming up with ideas, writing, and presenting. My team performed well and I used that opportunity to request the job I wanted. Unfortunately, my application was rejected on grounds of not having managerial experience.
What I Would Have Done Differently
Self-awareness and self-management are key elements in people with high emotional intelligence. They allow an individual to take time to check in within themselves and investigate their emotions, the cause of those emotions, and how they affect people around them. I, therefore, would have first tried to understand why I was not successful in convincing people to buy my artifacts or why my team members were not motivated to work with me to achieve goals. I should have tried to understand my frustrations before those of others and I would have inspired many people through effective communication. In other words, I should have identified the cause of the negative emotions through reflection and analyzed them before responding rationally.
Hunt (2017) conducted a study on the characteristics of those leaders in history who have managed to bounce back to success after experiencing a setback or failure. The results were that leaders who have succeeded are those who have coped and adapted to feelings and thoughts and were able to also transition to a resilient state and behavioral changes that lead to bouncing back.
Aspects Of Emotional and Social Intelligence For Becoming A Better Leader
Emotional intelligence is said to be a dynamic aspect of one’s psyche and includes behavioral traits that can be learned or improved (meaning that EQ is flexible) to become a better leader with help of EQ, I would improve my leadership skills using the five pillars of emotional intelligence (Segal,2021). The pillars are self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management.
Self-awareness
This is my ability to recognize and understand my own emotions (negative or positive) and their impact on others (Landry, 2019; Houston, 2021). I can improve this skill by appraising myself using a 360-degree feedback mechanism. This will allow me to evaluate my performance across everyone, whether at the top, same level, or below. I will get a report with insights into my behavior and discover people’s perceptions of me (Landry,2019).
Self-management and Self-regulation
This is the ability to build on self-awareness by using the knowledge about internal emotions (particularly under stressful situations) to better manage them, improve own feelings and create positive social interactions. Self-regulation is an important skill for leaders to manage conflicts, adapt to change, and take responsibility (Houston, 2021). To improve this skill under stressful situations, I would do whatever it takes to manage my emotions – I may take deep breaths, take a walk, or collect myself up – so that my actions are not driven by my emotions.
Social awareness
In leadership, this is an important skill that allows a leader to recognize other people’s emotions and how they affect the organization (Landry,2019). This is done through empathy, another skill that allows a leader to understand what others are feeling and the dynamics at the workplace before responding to a social issue (Houston, 2021). I would improve my management skills by communicating with empathy, that is putting myself in the shoes of others, to make better decisions and consider their interests.
Relationship management
This is the skill of influencing, coaching, and mentoring other people while effectively solving conflicts (Landry,2019). I would improve this skill by working on my communication skills – active listening, non-verbal and verbal – to build rapport and connections with people (Houston, 2021). this will allow me to effectively solve conflicts and motivate people to achieve goals.
Conclusion
Reflecting Leadership and/or Management Implications in the Nursing Profession
Raghubir (2018) conducted research intending to understand the concept of emotional intelligence and its implications in nursing practice. The result was that emotional intelligence is central to nursing practice at all levels including leadership because it has the potential to impact the quality of patient care and outcomes, critical thinking, decision-making, and the well-being of practicing nurses. Stress can impact the quality of care given to patients and people working in the industry should have the ability to handle stressful situations, including the improvement of the pillars of emotional intelligence to facilitate other skills such as communication, empathy, motivation, and relationship building.
References
Landry, L. (2019, April 3). Emotional Intelligence in Leadership: Why It’s Important. Business Insights - Blog. https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/emotional-intelligence-in-leadership
Banerjee-McFarland, S. (2018). The Importance of Emotional Intelligence in a Leader. Berrett-Koehler. https://ideas.bkconnection.com/the-importance-of-emotional-intelligence-in-a-leader
Houston, E. B. (2021, February 12). The Importance of Emotional Intelligence. PositivePsychology.Com. https://positivepsychology.com/importance-of-emotional-intelligence/
Hunt, R. L. (2017), Richard Leo. Overcoming Failure: Characteristics of Leaders Who Have Successfully Recovered from a Significant Setback". Dissertations. Paper 126.
http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/diss/126
Segal, J. (2021, July 15). Good Leaders Use Emotional Intelligence. HelpGuide.Org. https://www.helpguide.org/articles/mental-health/good-leaders-use-emotional-intelligence.htm
Raghubir, A. E. (2018). Emotional intelligence in professional nursing practice: A concept review using Rodgers's evolutionary analysis approach. International Journal of Nursing Sciences. Volume 5, (Issue 2) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnss.
No comments:
Post a Comment