This informal CPD article ‘Self-Awareness and Emotional Intelligence in Leadership’ was provided by London Optimum Training & Consultancy (LOTC) , a UK-based training and consultancy provider committed to professional development and organisational performance.
To think as a leader, you should look to your self-awareness, as well as your awareness of the outside world. Leading from within is not just about being true to your own principles; it also brings results. When you embrace the values by which you live and apply them to your role as a leader, people will respect your sincerity, acknowledge the stake you have in your work and in your team, and sense that you wish others to succeed (1). Growing self-awareness means analysing your thoughts and emotions, seeking as much feedback from others as possible, and developing keen listening skills.
Understanding Thinking Style
People don’t all think in the same way. Understanding your own thinking style and the styles of others around you will give you some valuable leadership tools. The term “thinking style” does not refer to your IQ, but how you process information. Broadly, we can distinguish between three styles: tactical, operational and strategic.
Tactical accepts direction and focuses on how to achieve a goal, operational sees opportunities for action and improvement, and strategic redefines problems and confidently challenges upwards. Most people tend to get stuck using one of the thinking styles, but by recognising your own thinking style you begin to ask different questions and think about problems in a fresh and exciting way. By doing this you work more effectively with your team because you can understand how they think and communicate, and you can talk to people in their own way.
Benefits of self-knowledge
The benefits of self-knowledge in the workplace may not be immediately apparent when set alongside other, more practical and cognitive skills, but its value has been acknowledged by psychologists for decades. The term Emotional Intelligence was coined to describe an ability to identify, discriminate between, and use one’s own and others’ feelings to guide your thoughts and actions (2). The importance of Emotional Intelligence cannot be overstated – there are many studies that indicate that Emotional Intelligence is a far better indicator of leadership potential than standard measures of intelligence such as IQ (3). The emotions that leaders experience affect the culture of an organisation, shaping employee satisfaction, loyalty, and productivity, and so have a real influence on results (4).
Final thoughts
At a basic level, it is easy to see that understanding and controlling your inner self has some real applications that benefit you and the organisation. Being able to control your temper, to elevate yourself from boredom, or to turn dejection into positive energy are all desirable abilities.
Recognising that sad or negative moods tend to bring your focus onto details, while happy moods direct you to new ideas and solutions, and improve your productivity and help time management. Confronting and analysing your fears may illuminate a problem you are facing, thereby saving your time. Expertise in the key competencies of Emotional Intelligence opens the door to more sophisticated ways of forming and sustaining productive relationships. It’s interesting to note that these competencies can be learned through training and practice so you can change your behaviour in a genuine, sustained manner (5).
Good leaders understand themselves and bring out the best in other people. When you’re aware of your own feelings and values and use that understanding in how you work with people, you build trust and your business goes from strength to strength.
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REFERENCES
(1) George, B. (2007). Authentic Leadership: Rediscovering the Secrets to Lasting Value. Jossey-Bass.
(2) Salovey, P., & Mayer, J. D. (1990). Emotional intelligence. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 9(3), 185–211.
(3) Goleman, D. (1998). What makes a leader? Harvard Business Review, 76(6), 93–102.
(4) Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R., & McKee, A. (2001). Primal leadership: The hidden driver of great performance. Harvard Business Review, 79(11), 42–53.
(5) Boyatzis, R. E., Stubbs, E. C., & Taylor, S. N. (2002). Learning cognitive and emotional intelligence competencies through coaching and computation of the self-directed learning process. The Learning Organization, 9(5), 419–434.
