Over the past few years, emotional intelligence (or EQ as it is commonly referred to) has become one of the most popular leadership theories. It looks at how well you manage your own emotions and those of others to achieve effective communication and workplace relationships.

Many believe that having high levels of EQ can only be learned, not naturally occurring. This theory suggests that developing your EQ takes effort and practice, but doesn’t come easily to some people.

Some even suggest that there are times when being emotionally intelligent could be a bad thing.

But research shows that high levels of EQ actually have significant benefits for employees and employers alike. And while these may seem like strange claims, they make sense.

This article will talk about the many ways EQ impacts leadership. If you’re looking to develop yours, we have lots of tips here! Read on for more information.

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Disclaimer: The content in this article should not be used as medical advice or considered as professional diagnosis or treatment. As with any health topic, please do your research and consult with a doctor before changing your lifestyle or habits.

How does emotional intelligence affect leadership?

Emotional intelligence comes down to two main factors: understanding your own feelings and ability to identify and understand those of other people.

It also includes using your emotions effectively to motivate yourself and others. Let’s look into some examples of each.

Factors that affect emotional intelligence

First, we can determine what affects emotion regulation by looking at the three major domains of emotional intelligence. These are understanding emotions, identifying your own feelings, and controlling or altering how you feel.

Understanding emotions refers to being able to identify what emotions people around you are experiencing. This includes being aware of their moods as well as knowing which emotions are in relation to each other. For example, if someone is angry, could they explain why they are angry?

Knowing your own emotions means being able to recognize yourself as an individual and having self-awareness. This is also referred to as ego functioning because it focuses on yourself rather than on others.

Controlling your own emotions involves recognizing when you’re feeling something emotionally charged and then choosing whether to act upon those feelings or not. You may be able to avoid talking about difficult things or doing things that will usually make you feel bad, but still have trouble holding back tears once you've made a promise.

How emotional intelligence affects leadership

A leader is someone who inspires people to follow you. They are not appointed by others, but instead earn their respect through their actions. As we know, being a good leader requires more than just being charismatic or having a knack for politics.

It’s about inspiring trust, giving accurate information, encouraging growth, motivating individuals, handling conflict, etc.

All of these things require some level of emotional intelligence (EI).

Emotional intelligence is your ability to recognize, manage, and use emotions for effective performance in everyday life and workplace settings. It is considered one of the most important non-cognitive skills you can develop because it impacts how well you interact with other people, and thus, your career.

Leadership and the mind

Being a leader is not only about being someone who sets goals and strives to achieve them, it’s also about motivating others to join you in those goals. It’s inspiring people to work with you, instead of against you.

It’s understanding that there are always other people out there who have more experience than you, and using that knowledge to their benefit.

It’s knowing when to ask for help and how to use that help to succeed. And it’s ensuring that everyone around you feels like they can come to you with questions or concerns without fear of judgement or criticism.

All great leaders understand one thing – emotions play an important part in success. In fact, some experts say that emotional intelligence is just as significant as IQ.

Emotions such as joy, gratitude, sadness, anger, hope and fear all play crucial roles in helping us function effectively at home, at work and in life.

Without these things we would be unable to survive or thrive.

But while many think that feelings come later, developmental psychologists believe that our level of emotional maturity comes from early development.

We develop motivational and emotional skills during childhood and adolescence through interactions with parents, teachers and friends.

In this article we will look at five ways that emotional intelligence helps in leadership.

Emotional intelligence and the body

Recent developments in psychology have focused heavily on how emotions influence us as individuals. However, what many do not realize is that our emotional wellbeing is also crucial to leadership effectiveness.

Research shows that when leaders are able to manage their own emotions effectively, they are more likely to achieve success and lead effective teams.

This understanding of the importance of emotion for leadership has led to a growing interest in what we refer to as “emotion literacy” or “EMOLIA” (effective management of emotions).

It looks at different strategies individual leaders can use to regulate their own emotions and motivate others. These include things such as thinking about past successes, talking about your feelings, using humor, and having conversations with closed questions.

There are now several courses and programs which offer certification in EMOLOGY.

Emotional awareness

A key part of emotional intelligence is being aware of your own emotions. You are not necessarily feeling these feelings, but you know what they mean. This is what makes it possible to be more conscious of your reactions to things around you and yourself.

This can go both ways. If something makes you feel bad or angry, you should be able to recognize that as negative energy and let it run its course before responding to it.

But at the same time, you need to acknowledge and accept your positive emotions.

You should enjoy what you do for a living and feel grateful for the opportunities you have been given. Plus, it is important to recognize success and give credit where credit is due.

Other people contribute to your success, so acknowledging their efforts and giving them praise can boost your own self-confidence.

Leadership style

As we have seen, being able to read other people’s emotions is an important part of emotional intelligence. It also means being aware of your own feelings so you can identify what makes you feel good about yourself and what doesn’t.

With that in mind, how someone else feels about you can play a big role in whether or not they give you leadership responsibilities or not. If they don’t trust you, it may be difficult for them to work with you.

As a leader, you must develop relationships that are strong and dependable if you want to advance. You will need their support, and they will need to believe that you can handle the job.

At the same time, you should make sure that they do not perceive you as too powerful because of who you are — you would like them to share responsibility with you, but they might not agree.

If you lack empathy, then you won’t know what others are feeling, which again could hurt your progress. You would probably prefer having no one take credit when something great was done, but there are times when a colleague deserves some praise.

Determining your leadership style

One of the most important things that leader’s with less experience must learn is their leadership style. What kind of leader you want to be comes down to how you feel about yourself, what you believe in, and who you think others view you as.

If you are a take no prisoners manager then that is okay! You know what you need to get done and you make sure it gets done.

But if you never stop working and thinking about ways to improve then you will burn out quickly. This can have an adverse effect on those around you including friends, family, and colleagues.

In addition to this, you will pass up opportunities to advance because you do not want to risk being demoted or fired. Either way, you lose!

It is very important to understand your own strengths and weaknesses, but also for people to perceive you as a strong leader.

Taking control of your emotions

It is obvious that someone with high emotional intelligence is better at leading others, developing relationships, and staying motivated. But what if we took it one step further? What if having higher EQ actually helped you lead more effectively?

There are several theories about why being emotionally intelligent is important for leadership. One theory suggests that people who have higher levels of EI understand how their peers and superiors feel, and thus know how to motivate them.

Another idea is that individuals with higher EQ are less likely to get distracted by emotion when working with others. They may also be able to identify some of the underlying causes of mood swings in colleagues or superiors so they can deal with them more effectively.

Yet another possibility is that people with higher EQ are less likely to use power as a way to achieve their goals. Rather than taking advantage of weaker members of the team, they will instead work towards achieving those goals through collaboration, communication, and understanding of other’s needs.