Over the past few years, emotional intelligence (EI) has become one of the most popular leadership theories in the workplace. It looks at how well you control your emotions and what kind of feelings you have for others.

Some believe that it is an essential part of leading people and achieving success. Others think it is a myth or even harmful to lead. No matter what side of the argument you are on, there is no denying that EI can play a crucial role in career success.

This article will talk about some of the ways that emotional intelligence affects leadership. We will also look at some studies that prove the link between EI and leadership effectiveness.

Emotional quotient – sometimes called EQ- as I like to call it – is a very important factor in leadership. If you do not feel much empathy and sympathy for other people, then you will struggle to inspire them to work hard for you.

On the other hand, if you are always aware of and understanding human emotions, then you will be able to motivate those around you. You will know when someone does not seem fully focused on their job and may try to help them get back into gear.

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The opposite of empathizing with others is being emotionally detached. This would mean ignoring what other people’s situations are and only thinking about yourself.

It is impossible to achieve leadership status if you do not care about other people.

Emotional intelligence is a big one

Over the past few years, emotional quotient or EQ has become very popularized. It’s typically grouped into two main components: motivation and emotion regulation.

Motivation refers to someone’s desire to do something – they want to perform their job well and feel motivated to show up every day.

Emotion regulation means being able to control your emotions in stressful situations so that you can respond effectively.

Both of these qualities are important for leadership. After all, no one wants to follow a leader who isn’t interested in his/her job, nor one who doesn’t manage his/her emotions.

So how does emotional intelligence affect leadership?

Well, first off, it helps as individuals. If you really know how to motivate others by giving them what they need, and if you are good at managing your own emotions, then you will succeed as a leader.

The impact of emotional intelligence on leadership

Over the past few years, there has been an explosion of interest in what is now called “emotional literacy or EQ”. Some refer to it as "The Newest Form Of Literacy" because it is considered to be just as important as reading and writing.

A growing body of research demonstrates that having high levels of emotional intelligence (EI) can have significant impacts on your career and life beyond work.

This includes effects on how well you lead others, increase employee engagement, reduce turnover, boost organizational performance, strengthen relationships and more.

It also shows that being smart about emotions helps us achieve higher levels of happiness.

So why aren't we investing in our own emotional skills?

Many of us are not very good at recognizing our own feelings and those of other people. We may even lack basic knowledge about emotion regulation strategies like relaxation or mindfulness.

Leadership is a process

Being an effective leader depends on your willingness to put in the work, continually developing yourself as a person and leader. While there are many theories about what makes someone a good leader, one factor that has been shown time and time again to be important is emotional intelligence (EI).

Research shows that people who have higher levels of EI are more likely to succeed in leadership roles. This seems counter-intuitive because we often hear about how “leaders” make others feel stressed out or overwhelmed.

But research also reveals that when individuals with high EQ feel stressed or challenged by something they do not immediately enter into battle mode, instead seeking ways to solve the problem. They may even use this challenge to strengthen their own self-confidence.

When you add these qualities to the fact that most successful leaders were once considered non-leaders, it becomes clear why EI is linked to success.

Skills you need for leadership

Being able to read people is one of the most important skills to have as a leader. You will probably need to do this every day, which makes it an extremely valuable asset.

Being able to recognize what emotions other people are feeling and why is also very important. This is emotional intelligence (EI).

Having high EI doesn’t make someone a good leader, but being aware of how your actions affect others and using that information to motivate them is essential.

Most leaders don’t really understand the effect they have on their colleagues and subordinates, which can be both positive or negative depending on whether those people feel respected and valued.

If you want to be considered a successful leader, investing in your emotional literacy is a must. Here are some things you should know about EQ.

1. It’s not just about being sentimental

Some people seem to think that having ‘emotions’ means showing signs of sadness, anger, or joy at appropriate times.

This isn’t quite right. Having feelings is much more than that.

Research has shown that there are six main components to human emotion.

Treat people with respect

As mentioned earlier, emotional intelligence is also referred to as interpersonal skills or empathy. It’s important to be aware of your emotions so you can identify what makes you feel good about yourself and others and then use that information to make positive changes.

It’s easy for us to get distracted by things we don’t like about someone else and forget how much time they spent baking a cake for our event or how many conversations they had invested in us, but these are actually ways they showed their love and devotion.

By investing in other people, they displayed an understanding of what it takes to make others happy and this is a key leadership skill.

So next time you see someone doing something nice for you, give them a round of applause and say “thank you!” Then ask why they did it. Was it because they wanted your praise? Or was it because they loved you?

You may find that they didn’t know you very well yet, but over time you’ll learn more about their personal strengths and weaknesses. Either way, invest in those who treat you nicely and believe in their abilities – you’ll enjoy working with them.

Treating people with respect means being honest even when you don’t want to be. We all have days where we might feel tired, stressed or overwhelmed, but never underestimate the power of honesty.

Think about your actions and their consequences

One of the most important functions that emotional intelligence has is what we call thinking about or reflecting on one’s own actions.

This can be done either in real time, in present situations, or ahead of time when planning future activities.

By thinking about the decisions you make, how they affect others, and if these effects are positive or negative, you can learn something from each experience.

You will also recognize when someone else makes a good decision or bad one by the way they act. You may even find it funny because of how they behave towards you.

Emotions play a big part in this type of self-reflection. For example, if you made a mistake at work, you might think about why you made that error before moving on with your day.

You could wonder whether there was something about that person that made you feel threatened or insecure, so you automatically assumed they were wrong instead of finding out if there was truth to their claim.

If you noticed them complaining about you, maybe you should have done things differently, but you didn't, and now you're feeling guilty for being who you are. It's easy to get stuck in a vicious cycle like this!

That isn't okay and won't help you in the long run. You need to address your emotions, but only after you've addressed the situation and yourself.

Be honest with your peers

As leader, you will need to be able to tell people things that may not make them happy or feel comfortable. This is especially true in the workplace where there are sometimes difficult conversations to have.

Your colleagues will put up walls when they find out you’re telling them something that doesn’t agree with their view of the world. They might even go as far as to contradict you directly or try to talk over you. Or they could decide it’s time to quit and look for another job.

Emotions can get in the way of leadership at times. But being a good leader means knowing how to manage others’ emotions. You must develop your empathy so that you understand what makes other people feel strong or insecure about certain situations.

You also have to be aware of how your actions may influence someone else’s emotional state. If you want to lead, then you have to know how to motivate others and inspire them to do their best work.

There’s an old saying which goes like this: ‘A person who has no sense of humour is probably a bad leader.’ Having a sense of humor helps you relate to other people and removes some of the barriers between them.

It also gives you confidence because you realize that everyone else around you is just like you – human.

Be consistent

Consistency is one of the greatest traits you can have as a leader. People look to your leadership for things that they believe they will get consistently delivered with quality and excellence.

Consistently good quality leadership creates an environment where people feel comfortable, able to speak their mind and be challenged without fear.

It also creates trust in those around you who know what standards are expected and how you will handle situations.

Everyone has different levels of emotional intelligence (EI), but most agree that being aware of your own emotions and ability to identify and manage others’ emotions is important.

As a leader, you should strive to develop your EI so that it impacts your career positively. You’ll find there’s a lot you can do to improve yours through training and practice.

Here are some ways that having high emotional literacy can help you be a better leader.

1) You'll learn when to take breaks

A few years ago, we would have thought impossible to survive a workday without checking messages or emails every couple minutes.

Now, staying focused on a task requires even more effort – we're surrounded by distractions almost everywhere we go.

And when we're distracted, we lose focus and efficiency on what we were doing before. This costs us time and energy which could be used for something else.