Emotional intelligence is a relatively new leadership trait that has been on the hot seat in regards to its importance to the study of leadership. It has been around since the early 1990’s, so there isn’t a vast amount of research on the topic, but there are some that swear by it, and others, that cast doubt on its usefulness in leadership.
Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize, understand, and manage one’s own emotions as well as the emotions of others. As it relates to the trait approach of leadership theory, emotional intelligence may be a key aspect to becoming a great leader, and those that have the ability to read others emotions will be successful in a leadership role and beyond. It has become so popular that schools are teaching forms of it and many companies have placed it in their training regimens. Some believe that emotional intelligence is as important as IQ is for success in leadership and other constructs.
“Some researchers, such as Goleman, suggested that emotional intelligence plays a major role in whether people are successful at school, home, and work”(Northouse, 2016, pg.28). Goleman also indicated that EI accounted for 67% of the abilities deemed necessary for superior performance in leaders, and mattered twice as much as technical expertise or IQ. (Goleman, 1998)
Many great leaders use emotional intelligence to stir up the emotions of their followers. Take Donald Trump for example. Trump’s fiery speeches and obnoxious behavior was a way to use his emotional intelligence to sway voters in his favor, ultimately winning the election. There must be some truth to the fact that it is important to leadership- Trump is the new leader of the free world. “As a leadership ability or trait, emotional intelligence appears to be an important construct” (Northouse, 2016, pg. 28)
Being able to read the emotions of others, and speak intelligently to those emotions will help to motivate people, but this trait may only be successful in certain workplaces. Mainly those that deal with the emotions of people on a daily basis. If a leader is attempting to motivate his accounting staff or his group of architects, do you think that emotional intelligence is going to be his go to method? Probably not because their work doesn’t lend itself to an outpouring of emotions, or the necessity of a leader to read into their emotions. Their work is cut and dry with formulas, numbers and the correct angles. This differs from the leader that is trying to get better performance out of the sales staff or those that are in the customer service department, then emotional intelligence is a valuable trait to have.
The scientific community also has problems with the views of Goleman. There are detractors that believe that emotional intelligence can’t be measured, and so it may not lead to valid claims on whether or not it can be used effectively in leadership. According to Grewal and Salovey, “The biggest problem one faces in trying to use an ability-based measure of emotional intelligence is how to determine correct answers. Unlike traditional intelligence tests, emotional intelligence tests can lack clear right or wrong solutions” (Grewal & Salovey, 2005, pg.8). It is also not proven that emotional intelligence testing can predict success in job performance. Lastly, it has been said that emotional intelligence can be learned, but this is also under much scrutiny. Some believe that it can be taught, but others believe that it is innate and those that are skilled in emotional intelligence are born with it.
If it could be learned, then not only would it fit into the trait approach of leadership, but would also be viewed as a skill that would be in high demand. What do you think about emotional intelligence? Is it a vital trait/ skill in leadership or is it just a trivial quality that has little to no value on leadership potential. You be the judge.
Goleman, D. (1998). Working With Emotional Intelligence. New York, NY. Bantum Books.
Grewal, D., & Salovey, P. (2005). Feeling Smart: The Science of Emotional Intelligence. American Scientist. Retrieved fromhttp://www.americanscientist.org/issues/pub/feeling-smart-the-science-of-emotional-intelligence/8
Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership: Theory & Practice. (7th ed). Los Angeles: Sage
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Brian C Van Aken says
Great articleGreat article! I feel you’ve done a very thorough job examining the concept of emotional intelligence, and how it has been applied by a very recent leader in our country, but you still leave it up to a question as to whether it’s of trivial importance, and my answer is no. I feel that whatever the leadership role, the ability to recognize, understand and empathize with others emotions while acting as a leader is of vital importance, whether it’s motivating a group of sales people or directing accountants. And I’ll explain why.
You used Donald Trump as someone who’s demonstrated a keen sense of emotional intelligence, but I’ll actually argue to the contrary that he’s possessing a strong EI. The modules defined emotional intelligence as the ability to recognize one’s own feelings and those of others (Salovey and Mayor, 1994) The fact is that Donald Trump did incite a lot of emotions throughout the election, but of those who supported him and the desire for change to our current political system, and those who oppose him and the values he stands for. One could argue that his high IQ and ability to understand how to manipulate people is more what drove his ability to provoke so many voters to support him, but not his true awareness of how his feelings and how he expresses them is able to motivate his constituents. Even the most ardent of Trump supporters I know question why the man still has a Twitter account. Even though the concept of Social Intelligence is still debatable by some scholars, it’s still been recognized by Goleman (2006) as an add on to the concept of emotional intelligence, and providing more focus on the interactions of people in their environments. And though it’s been acknowledged that it’s very hard to measure EI, or for that matter, social intelligence, it can be said that Donald Trump is lacking most in this capacity as a natural leadership trait and is his biggest detractor as a president. There are many that would state that his use of coercive power is more prevalent in his past business tactics, and his short span as president and as Northouse pointed out, “using coercion runs counter to working with followers to achieve a common goal” (Northouse, 2016) and therefor is an almost anti-leadership trait.
I didn’t intend to use a counterpoint on my belief of Trump’s lack of EI as the validation of my opinion that EI is vital to the success of any leader, but that’s how it played out. But I will also follow with this thought process. Goleman (1995, 1998) categorized a set of personal competencies and social competencies as the two main components of emotional intelligence. Goleman wrote that the social competencies included social skills including communication and conflict management, which are vital to be a good leader, whether one who is leading an emotional and competitive group of sales reps, or one who is leading a meticulous group of accountants. Without strong communication from leaders, and the ability to navigate conflicts, issues that exist in either of those two work communities (or in our nation right now) will not only continue to fester, but can create an environment where even the best intentions to move forward only create more conflict and disdain for those with alternate view points.
Goleman, D. (1998). Working With Emotional Intelligence. New York, NY. Bantum Books.
Goleman, D. (2006). Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships. Bantam Dell
Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership: Theory & Practice. (7th ed). Los Angeles: Sage
Publications