Empathy. In addition to self-management skills, emotional intelligence requires a facility for dealing with others.
F R O M T H E H A R V A R D B U S I N E S S R E V I E W
A to define the ideal leader, many would emphasize traits such as intelligence, toughness, determination, and vision. Often left off the list are softer, more personal quali- ties—but recent studies indicate that they are also essential. Although a certain degree of analytical and technical skill is a minimum requirement for success, what is called “emotional intelligence” may be the key
attribute that distinguishes outstanding per- formers from those who are merely adequate. For example, in a 1996 study of a global food and beverage company, where senior managers had a certain critical mass of emotional intelli- gence, their divisions outperformed yearly earnings goals by 20%. Division leaders without that critical mass underperformed by almost the same amount.
What Makes a Leader?T H E I D E A I N B R I E F
T are five components to emotional intelligence: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skill. All five traits sound desirable to just about everyone. But organizations too often implicitly discour- age their people from developing them.
Self-management skills
1. Self-awareness. Emotional intelligence begins with this trait. People with a high degree of self-awareness know their weak- nesses and aren’t afraid to talk about them. Someone who understands that he works poorly under tight deadlines, for example, will work hard to plan his time carefully, and will let his colleagues know why. Many executives looking for potential leaders mistake such candor for “wimpiness.”
2. Self-regulation. This attribute flows from self-awareness, but runs in a different direc- tion. People with this trait are able to con- trol their impulses or even channel them for good purposes.
3. Motivation. A passion for achievement for its own sake—not simply the ability to respond to whatever incentives a company offers—is the kind of motivation that is essential for leadership.
The ability to relate to others
4. Empathy. In addition to self-management skills, emotional intelligence requires a facility for dealing with others. And that
starts with empathy—taking into account the feelings of others when making deci- sions—as opposed to taking on everyone’s troubles.
5. Social skill. All the preceding traits culmi- nate in this fifth one: the ability to build rapport with others, to get them to cooper- ate, to move them in a direction you desire. Managers who simply try to be sociable— while lacking the other components of emotional intelligence—are likely to fail. Social skill, by contrast, is friendliness with a purpose.
Can you boost your emotional intelligence? Absolutely—but not with traditional training programs that target the rational part of the brain. Extended practice, feedback from col- leagues, and your own enthusiasm for making the change are essential to becoming an effec- tive leader.
