There’s a lot that’s been written and said in recent years about emotional intelligence, and for good reason. There is a lot of great new research showing that emotional intelligence is not only a real thing but that it’s something that is very important when it comes to healthy relationships and working environments. The past few years I’ve been doing a lot of my own research into the issue and wish someone had taught me the importance of emotional intelligence long ago. This episode is the first of a group of episodes that I’m going to produce to teach you about emotional intelligence for leaders. Today we’ll get a wide view of the subject and dive into what I consider to be one of the most important qualities of an emotionally intelligent leader - self-regard.

What is emotional intelligence and why is it important?

When you think of emotional intelligence it may be helpful to simply think of it as a gauge that indicates how adept or skilled you are at dealing with issues that involve emotional assessments or responses. Naturally, as with any skillset, each of us will fall onto the assessment scale at different places. But research is showing that leaders especially need to be on the highly skilled end of the scale - and that makes sense. Leaders are dealing with a number of people on an emotional level, regularly. If they are going to lead well they’ve got to be good at those relationships. On this episode, I want to show you how important emotional intelligence is for leaders by telling you a story from my work history - and challenging you to do a quick exercise to assess the impact leaders have had on you.

Emotional intelligence matters more the higher you climb in your career.

Put yourself in this scenario: You’re a middle-level employee who’s just been promoted to a management role. Your first one. Suddenly you are responsible for the morale, productivity, and teamwork of 10 people. What kind of emotional intuition and flexibility do you think you’ll need to do your new job well? Now imagine that you move up one more leadership level in the organization. Then one more. How do those steps upward impact your need to be emotionally intelligent in the way you interact with and lead those underneath you? It’s pretty obvious, isn’t it? You’ve got to be quite intelligent in an emotional capacity when you are responsible for more people. On this episode, I’m going to start you on that growth journey. Are you ready?

Here’s a fun exercise to help you notice the importance of emotional intelligence.

Think back over your working life. Can you remember a boss or manager who you did NOT enjoy working for? Can you pinpoint the things about their style, approach, or personal skills that cause you to feel that way? Now do the same thing again, but remember a boss you DID enjoy working for. What did they do (or not do) that caused you to have those feelings? As you can see, emotional intelligence is vital for those who are going to lead others. It’s one of the make or break things for good leaders. Find out more about how to grow in your capacity to deal with your subordinates in an emotionally intelligent way, on this episode.

Are there things you can do to increase your level of emotional intelligence?

We all have a basic level of emotional intelligence that is built on many foundations - the way we were raised, interpersonal skills we’ve developed throughout life, the way we’ve learned to communicate, and many, many more. And whether you feel you are good with people or not, the good news is that you can grow in your capacity to deal with people well. In other words, your emotional intelligence can grow over time as you devote yourself to growing it. On this episode I’m going to outline the very first step I address with most of my clients when it comes to growing their emotional intelligence.

Outline of This Episode

• [0:34] Why learning about emotional intelligence is such a passion for me.
• [1:35] Stats and research regarding emotional intelligence.
• [3:40] What is emotional intelligence?
• [6:32] The 5 categories and 15 skills of E.I.
• [8:45] A fun exercise to help you assess the importance of Emotional Intelligence.
• [14:00] How your team takes its cues from you, the leader.
• [15:13] Focusing in on the quality of self regard.
• [19:20] How you can begin to improve your own self regard.
• [22:12] How to reinforce the positive of what you’re doing.

Resources & People Mentioned

• BOOK: The Millionaire Mind
• www.SuccessCompassStrategies.com/emotional-intelligence
• StrengthsFinder