In my book, Ultimate Leadership: 10 Rules For Success, Rule Number 1 is “never allow your emotions to dictate your actions”.

And I learned this rule the hard way because I allowed my emotions to dictate my actions. This affected my leadership credibility, my reputation, for almost a decade until I was able to get out from under that cloud.

So when we think about the importance of leading with emotional intelligence in our job. It’s one of the skills that leaders maybe don’t always put into their leadership toolbox.

Well, today we’re going to talk about leading with emotional intelligence and the importance of that skill to successful leadership.

Dr. Judith Wright is Professor of Transformational Coaching and co-founder and Chief Academic Officer of the Wright Graduate University for the Realization of Human Potential.

A pioneer in the field of human development, she sought‐after speaker, respected leader, best-selling author, coach, educator, and corporate consultant,

A media favorite, Judith’s work has been covered in over 1,000 media appearances, including ABC’s 20/20, Oprah, Good Morning America, the Today show, radio and television shows around the country, and magazines and newspapers around the world.

This episode is packed with insight, so I hope you enjoy.

On today’s show:

* How important is it for a leader to have a high degree of emotional intelligence (EQ) when leading their workforce?

* How does emotional intelligence affect productivity?

* When it comes to EQ, what is the biggest misconception leaders have?

* Is there any relationship between EQ, and having a foundation of Servant leadership?

* How important is self-awareness to your leadership success?

* Advice for developing EQ

* If you have allowed emotions to dictate your actions, how do you heal the problems with your workforce that result?

* Where to learn more about Dr Wright and the work she does?

Links:

* My book: Ultimate Leadership: 10 Rules For Success

* http://judithwright.com/

* http://wrightfoundation.org/

* Dr Wright’s book: Transformed!: the Science of Spectacular Living

 

How important is it for a leader to have a high degree of emotional intelligence (EQ) when leading their workforce?

EQ is critical. It’s actually one of the most important factors in a leader’s success.

The ability to have your followers trust you, to be able to lead with inspiration, your ability to build rapport, to build loyalty, even productivity, are all tied directly to your EQ.

The more complex your job is, the more important emotional intelligence is. And as leaders, we have the most complex jobs in our companies.

How does emotional intelligence affect productivity?

It seems counter-intuitive because we assume that our emotions get in the way of productivity – that we have to control them in order to be productive.

However, the studies show the opposite. They show that productivity can be up to 127% higher with those that have a high level of emotional intelligence. Particularly for complex jobs.

This is because you can be more in touch with what is going on around you, you can be clearer, more present, and have the wisdom of your emotions rather than allowing them to control you.

So they are not something to suppress. Your emotions provide you with situational wisdom to guide you to take clear and decisive actions.

When it comes to EQ, what is the biggest misconception leaders have?