HOW EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AFFECTS LEADERSHIP ABILITY

When deciding to pursue a career as an effective leader, it is important to determine the current level of my emotional intelligence. This is because I can then take steps to further develop any competencies that may be weak. The reason that I will need to further develop these in order to become a more effective leader is because emotional intelligence is needed to recognize “our own feelings and those of others, for motivating ourselves, and for managing emotions well in ourselves and our relationships.” Therefore, the overall purpose of this paper will be to discuss what competencies of emotional intelligence I would like to further develop over the next two years, why this is important based on career goals, and how previous emotional intelligence literature may be used to meet these goals (Goleman. 1998. Presentation 1. Slide 2).  

What Area of Leadership I Want to Develop Over the Next Two Years

One test that can be used to determine my overall level of emotional intelligence is called the Emotional and Social Competency Inventory - University Edition (ESCI-U). This is because it “describes 14 competencies that differentiate outstanding from average performers” which are categorized under five clusters of ability. These include: Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social-Awareness, Relationship Management and Cognitive (Hay Group. 2013. p. 1).

After recently taking the ESCI-U, I have determined that I do exhibit strength within all of these competencies, but 3 out of 14 are low, so they will need to be further developed. The first cluster where this occurred is called “Relationship Management” and it has five competencies that include: Conflict Management, Coach and Mentor, Influence, Inspirational Leadership and Teamwork. Four of the scores that were acquired are adequate, but I did receive a low score for influence with a 3.2. This is important because having an optimal level of influence “is the ability to persuade, convince, or impact others in order to get them to go along with or support the speaker’s agenda” (Hay Group. 2013. p. 1).

The second cluster where this occurred is called “Cognitive” and it has two competencies which include: Systems Thinking and Pattern Recognition. The score that I received for each is a 3.6. This is important because systems thinking is the ability to understand “a situation by breaking it apart into smaller pieces, or tracing the implications of a situation in a step-by-step way.” While, pattern recognition is the ability “to identify patterns or connections between situations that are not obviously related and to identify key or underlying issues in complex situations. It includes using creative, conceptual, or inductive reasoning.” The reason that these scores are considered low and must be further developed is also because the ESCI-U measures results based on a high score of 5.0 (Hay Group. 2013. p. 1).

Why This Area of Leadership is Important Based on my Own Career Goals

Further development of the above competencies is extremely important to consider because I plan to pursue a future career as a leader. With this, comes the responsibility of always being able to manage emotional intelligence in an adequate and professional manner. Therefore, if these 3 competencies within 2 specific clusters are not at the appropriate level, then it could cause issues when trying to carry out certain emotionally related demands that are required as an effective leader. One other thing that could occur is that the lack of strength within these 2 clusters and 3 competencies will negatively affect the other 3 clusters and 11 competencies. Furthermore, if I don’t develop the overall level of emotional intelligence that is needed to be an effective leader than I may never accomplish my future career goal in a truly successful manner. Therefore, it is important to take proper steps that are needed for further development.

How Emotional Intelligence Literature May be Used to Meet My Goal

Even though these scores are presently low, previous research has determined that there are steps that can be taken to further develop these specific clusters and competencies. The first step is to review the results and/or feedback of the ESCI-U in an open-minded, positive and optimistic manner. This is because it may initiate a higher level of overall willingness to take the steps which are needed to further develop these competencies. Secondly, I can ask myself probing questions that teach me why I exhibit weakness with these particular competencies.

The third thing that I can do is devise a future plan that develops all competencies that are associated with emotional intelligence. The main things that can be included in this plan will be to implement approaches that develop my ability to effectively impact, convince or persuade others to willingly follow my demands, further understand a situation by breaking it down via step by step analysis, identify elements between situations that are not related, along with underlying issues that may be causing complex situations. This can also be accomplished by utilizing conceptual, inductive and/or creative reasoning. Furthermore, I am also confident that if this plan is practiced on a regular basis, that my overall level of emotional intelligence will improve over time (Hay Group. 2013).

Conclusion

When deciding to pursue a career as an effective leader, it will be necessary to determine the overall level of current emotional intelligence. This is because steps can then be taken to further develop any competencies that may be weak within this overall area of development. This is important because higher emotional intelligence can help a leader become more effective.in understanding the feelings that are exhibited by ones’ self and others, how to motivate others, and better manage emotions within one’s self and others. Therefore, the overall purpose of this paper was to discuss what competencies of emotional intelligence I will further develop within myself over the next two years, why this is important based on my future career goals, and how previous emotional intelligence literature may be used to meet these goals (Hay Group. 2013).

References:

Hay Group. (2013). Emotional and Social Competency Inventory - University Edition (ESCI-U). Retrieved on September 27 2013 via the World Wide Web at https://surveys.haygroup.com/resultDetails.asp?session=0qagznafjvhz4055lk1o0qat&instrID=ESCI_U

TCS Online Power Presentation. (2013): Succeeding with emotional Intelligence. Retrieved on September 29 2013 via The Chicago School Library.