Emotional Intelligence Leadership Development Improves Your Business Skills

By Scott Gibson


Newer findings have enabled an easier job in determining what makes the best of business skills. One of the newest, most touted concepts is emotional intelligence leadership development. It is a new concept, and has even more recently become applied to business. Two professors first coined the phrase as applied to business in 1990, in a research paper. The scientific explanation is that it is the ability to understand emotions, including yours and others. It includes understanding how it involves relationships, and being able to manage all emotions, both yours and others. It is an essential ingredient in business leadership.

Even a person who had the best business training, enjoys plenty of ideas, and has a strong business mind, will not make the greatest business leader without these skills. It requires an understanding of all these skills as identified. It also requires the ability to use all the components of emotional intelligence. This newly discovered talent involves five components that enable a person to learn from both their own mental states and that of others. Self-awareness, self regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills are involved in understanding the mental states. Even the absence of one of these components means a less than understanding of emotional intelligence.

Self-awareness is the ability to see oneself plainly, with confidence. We enjoy creativeness, and can make sounder decisions. Communications and relationships are stronger. Lying, cheating, and stealing are less likely. We get more promotions, and our leadership is stronger, give more and better employees and better companies.

Another component is self-regulation. This means controlling negative emotions and impulses, thinking before acting, and being in control of oneself. One must know and control emotions. One need to motivate oneself and manage relationships. They must be calm and flexible with working with colleagues. They must calm down easily and be able to calm others by taking charge of situations.

Motivating is another component. It helps the leader encourage the subordinate, as well themselves, to follow plans in their lives. It pushes an individual to work hard at achieving plans. However, there is no specific plan for motivating. As a leader, one should be aware of subordinates needs. Knowing different needs of subordinates will certainly make the decision-making process easier.

Another important is empathy. This simply means being able to recognize their emotions. One must look at things beyond oneself, and look at it from another perspective, understanding that they are probably not acting with agreeableness or unreasonableness. They are probably responding based on the knowledge they have about the situation.

Being able to use excellent communication skills with everyone is the component of social skills. It also involves having good conflict resolution skills, both for self and others. Those with this skill are able to give appropriate praise to others and to get them to accept a new project.

Good leadership skills means looking at the own attitudes, listen to others and seeing things from their perspective. The person must be able to ask what the other person desires about a situation, instead of trying to figure it out on their own. Showing empathy means rewarding the other person in a way that means something to them. If praise doesn't address something they desire, it is not praise and means nothing.




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