Emotional Intelligence And Leadership: The Incredible Duo
By Michael Lee

Emotional intelligence and leadership go hand in hand in many ways. If you want to become an effective leader, then you need to understand that emotional intelligence can help you in leaps and bounds.

These days, becoming a leader is not just about being the best in your field. More importantly, it is about knowing how to handle people as well as yourself. Having a high IQ can be an advantage, but having a high EI can boost your success even more.

Find out the correlation between emotional intelligence and leadership below.

Sensitivity Is Key.

By developing your EI, you are also developing your ability to sense what mood your team members are in.

They don’t have to tell you a single thing, but a twitch of an eyebrow or a sudden change in attitude already alerts you to the fact that something is going on. You'll be able to read body language accurately.

By knowing these small things, you are given the ability to predict how things might play out. As a leader, this is a very important skill to have.

Knowing When To Act.

Another benefit of combining emotional intelligence and leadership is that you get to know when to do something or when to stay back.

Timing is crucial. As a leader, it becomes your responsibility to know when to act. It’s tough, but with your already existing leadership skills and your emotional intelligence, you will soon perfect it.

Let’s say you are hoping to introduce a new member into your group. For some reason, the idea of adding someone to your unit does not sit well with your team. Equipped with high EI, you’ll now be able to deduce when the best time is to do this.

Making The Right Decisions.

When emotional intelligence and leadership fuse together, you’ll be guided to make the right decisions. Facts and figures may sway your decision; but ultimately, it is how you feel about something that decides things for you.

In fact, when you are being interviewed for a job by the head of the HR, you’ll be asked questions that gauge the kind of principles and morals you hold.

Interviewers want to know how high your level of emotional intelligence is. Will you panic when you meet a crisis? Will you be a good leader or will you be better as a follower?

Emotional intelligence and leadership cannot be separated. You can look at these two concepts on their own; but when combined, these two hold a lot of important lessons for any aspiring leader. Don’t be so quick to disregard emotional intelligence because one day, it can be the ladder to your success!