The Secret Skill of Incredibly Resilient Leaders

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

What if emotions were driving our decisions more than we thought they would at work?

Emotional intelligence is a key skill in the workplace, regardless of who is using it as an asset.

However, this is especially relevant for leaders. The skill allows leaders to recognize their emotional state, but also the needs of their employees.

As leaders, we far too often assume our team finds communication easy - yet, with more and more people working from home and barriers expanding, it’s important to be proactive as leaders in the process of developing and encouraging emotional intelligence.

Now more than ever, emotional intelligence is crucial, to become better leaders.

What is emotional intelligence in the first place?

Emotional intelligence allows us to understand great skills when it comes to self-regulation, empathy, and social skills, which we can tap into when it comes to leadership. This can support our team by being able to lead by example, being inspired, focused, and motivated.

Emotional intelligence accounts for 67% of the abilities necessary for superior leadership performance, according to Daniel Goleman’s book ‘Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ’.

It includes a high level of self-awareness, directly correlated to confidence. Very important is the element of self-regulation: be clear and intuitive as a leader, both in our decision-making and for the interest of our team. As an example, leaders that are good communicators and who can listen to others also show great emotional intelligence.

Last but not least, empathy is a key element of emotional intelligence, as it allows leaders to be more influential and develop better social awareness skills, and tap into the needs of their team without having to ask.

How leaders can harness emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence can be used in three ways, especially when it comes to leadership in the workplace:

• First of all, it can help leaders better control themselves.
• Secondly, it can help lead us to better lead others.
• And finally, overall, it can help leaders lead the direction of the company and organisation

When it comes to controlling your own emotions as a leader, to the key aspects of emotional intelligence that can be used our self-regulation and self-awareness: as a leader, you’ll be able to make clear decisions, be consistent in your choices as well as in your feelings.

Now more than ever, leaders need to tap into their emotions (remember the idea of ‘listening to your gut’?) and fully understand the reasoning behind their choices. To be able to support their team, their company and their customers tapping into self-awareness is no longer a luxury, or something just relegated to personal brands.

Pro tip: recognize your stressors. What are some of the situations or triggers that can affect your mood and overall efficiency? Become an emotional scientist to bring more self-awareness into your decision-making process.

Leading others is also essential when it comes to emotional intelligence. As a leader, you need to work on your social skills, as well as an element of empathy. Especially right now, after the pandemic, we can see

how leaders who have been able to support and understand their team needs have made them a lot more approachable.

Instead of waiting for people to come to you for help, asking your employees simple questions such as “how are you really doing?” or “how can I help you right now?” and letting them openly answer without any expectation or pressure, proves to be a powerful way to build a more emphatic and open communication, which will then become an inspiration for how the team communicates among each other.

Pro tip: Becoming a better listener will also help when it comes to suggesting effective ways to support your team in ways that maybe they wouldn't be able to express themselves. Seeing issues how others see them can help you gain valuable perspective.

Being able also to become a good communicator that is approachable, and invite the team to become proactive is key. Teams with leaders with higher emotional intelligence are happier.

Last but not least, you also need to be able to lead your organization by making tough choices, pivot quickly, and creatively find solutions to change the outlook and potentially even save an organization during a crisis.

Pro tip: push yourself out of your comfort zone to learn to react to adversity. How you react to challenges is what determines your ability to thrive under pressure.

Relevant changes made to keep up with the uncertain times we live in, as well as clear communication, will make the team part of the journey, instead of being the mere spectators of the experience. The support you provide to them as a leader is that extra motivation that will fuel their passion for making it through any change or hardship you’ll experience as a company, together.

Emotional intelligence matters

Overall, emotional intelligence is quite a powerful skill, and it includes a different variety of facets. As I mentioned, these include motivation, self-awareness, empathy, social skills. Emotional intelligence can be improved, and just like any other skill, it can be refined.

However, by starting with this, you will be able to build a much more emotionally intelligent, team, company and overall even become a much more approachable and empathetic leader.

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