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Leadership and Performance Development

Archives for November 2023

Mastering Emotional Intelligence: A Guide for Modern Leaders

Informative

Emotional Intelligence is a skill set that is developed with purposeful intention. All great leaders possess a distinct level of emotional Intelligence that allows them to navigate the workplace environment. Leaders in education, business, government, coaching, and other professional areas must develop their leadership strategy. They should display empathy, regulate their emotions, and build through effective communication. These qualities produce leadership with the ability to manage a team and implement change over time.

Projection

Modern leadership requires those in charge to develop their craft continually. Self-awareness in leadership is the ability to reflect on emotions, thoughts, and behaviors to act accordingly. The change process requires leaders to keep an inventory of their internal processes, which are projected into the world through outward emotions, relationship-building, effective communication, team management, and conflict-resolution skills. There must be order within, not a raging storm, to inspire a team. Self-awareness calms the storm and tactfully prepares one to lead.

Emotionally Charged

Assistant Professor Mohammed Issah of the University of Bahrain reflectively wrote about emotional Intelligence in his article “Change Leadership: The Role of Emotional Intelligence.” He makes several powerful points regarding EQ, as it is also known. He points out that when leaders are in the change process, they deal with emotions on both sides. Changes create an emotional paradox, where the leader acts on emotion, and the follower reacts with emotion. It is easy to overlook the other when standing on one side of the fence. Great leaders can navigate the fence and be in two places at once. They feel the energy radiating from the follower and appreciate their needs and desires.

Predictor of Performance

Psychologist Daniel Goleman popularized Emotional Intelligence in his New York Times #1 Best Seller, “Emotional Intelligence.” The Harvard Business Review was told by Goleman, “The most effective leaders are all alike in one crucial way: They all have a high degree of what has come to be known as emotional Intelligence. It’s not that IQ and technical skills are irrelevant. They do matter, but…they are the entry-level requirements for executive positions.” The Harvard Business Review also mentions how EQ provider TalentSmart’s research reveals that EQ is the strongest predictor of performance (Landry, 2019).

Regulators

When leaders with high emotional Intelligence are in emotional situations, they may use emotional regulation strategies to down-regulate or even increase their emotional response depending on the situation. According to the authors of the article “Integrating Emotion Regulation and Emotional Intelligence Traditions: A Meta-Analysis,” emotion regulation is the process where people modify the trajectory of one or more components in their emotional response (Pena-Sarrionandia et al., 2015). This can be done consciously or subconsciously. Every leader can learn emotional regulation (ER) strategies, such as breathing exercises, practicing mindfulness, exercising, and prayer to decrease their emotional response. They can also reframe cognitive ideas to increase their emotional response to situations requiring empathy and care, like remembering a similar circumstance they or a loved one experienced to raise emotional levels.

Empathy in leadership is a critical factor in determining the success of a change or initiative. Issah defines empathy as the ability to understand the emotional makeup of others (Issah, 2018). Leaders take into account the needs and values of others, which leads to a standard course of action. This is only achieved through effective communication. They take the time to understand the perspectives of others before offering direction, advice, or support (Issah, 2018).

Maintain the Upward Trend

The culture and atmosphere of the workplace are greatly influenced by the leader’s day-to-day reliability and actions. Do the actions reflect the values and mission the leader attempts to instill? There must be consistent respect and fairness across the board. When emotions rise, the leader must have the social and conflict resolution skills to navigate the difficult moments of uncertainty. Great leaders can articulate their emotions to direct change and tap into others’ emotions and desires. This allows any team or organization to maintain its upward trend to success.

Add On’s

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References

Issah, M. (2018). Change Leadership: The Role of Emotional Intelligence. SAGE Open, 1–6. 

Landry, L. (2019, April 3). Emotional intelligence in leadership: Why it’s important. Harvard Business Review. https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/emotional-intelligence-in-leadership

Pena-Sarrionandia, A.,  Mikolajczak, M., & Gross, J. J. (2015). Integrating emotion regulation and emotional intelligence traditions: a meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychology.

Grueling Transformations: Strategies for Success

Informative

Transformation efforts are grueling in every circumstance. Personal transformations require discipline and persistence over time to complete the desired outcome. Intellectual development requires great effort and sacrifice through hours of research and study. Physical development requires intentional exercise and diet. There will always be a degree of investigation to develop and train successfully. Intellectual and physical development requires commitment and patience. Leaders who successfully transform their area of influence exhibit the same fundamental competencies.

Kotter’s Plan

John Kotter, retired Harvard Business School professor and author of the book Leading Change, offers eight critical success factors for transformation efforts. He pinpoints the importance of having a sense of extraordinary urgency, creating short-term wins, to changing culture. Every leader can execute Kotter’s game plan to maximize their transformation efforts. Each step is dependent on the last and can not be marginalized. Many leaders strive for fast success but need to respect the required process to establish long-term success. Great leaders appreciate the journey to betterment through the narrow road that brings generational change.

Ideavirus

The road to transformation starts with a sense of urgency. Leaders who begin a transformational effort must first research and identify areas for growth. Day one for a new principal begins with communication, relationship building, and data assessment. These frequent interactions and studying data will ensure that all deficiencies are addressed. Once the problem areas have been identified, the leader should act with a significant sense of urgency. This transformation program requires the aggressive cooperation of many individuals. The leader should identify like-minded individuals who are influencers within their area. Seth Godin calls these individuals “sneezers,” who will likely tell and persuade friends and colleagues of well-structured and needed initiatives. They are the heart of an ideavirus (Godin, 2009). In theory, transformation efforts must become ideavirus that spreads throughout an organization to create initial change.

Powerful Coalition 

Once the ideavirus has been communicated and established, a powerful guiding coalition accelerates its spread. Kotter explains that major renewal programs often start with a few people. The coalition must grow and include the head of the organization, who is an active supporter. Successful coalitions include powerful members in terms of title, information and expertise, reputations, and relationships (Kotter, 2007). Within the ideavirus, there must be a clear vision that is easily communicated and receives a reaction that signifies understanding and interest. The coalition must have a desired outcome that others can rally around. People will not join the transformation if they do not believe useful change is possible. There must be consistent and credible communication to capture the hearts and minds of the people.

Overcome Obstacles 

Top leaders should embed messaging into their routine activities to capture hearts and minds. In the typical conversation or frequent meeting, the leader articulates how each proposed solution supports the bigger picture. Leaders are creative with their communication strategies through verbal interactions, written updates, and artistic work. They are also consistent in how they operate. Great leaders live out the mission and vision, where they are living symbols of the new culture. Followers want to experience an authentic leader who removes obstacles to the new vision. Obstacles will kill a transformative quest. Most people, by nature, will take the path of least resistance. If they are obstructed in their pursuits, they will retract into a comfort mode and not push forward. Great leaders identify obstacles through communication and eliminate them individually so people can be creative and produce.

Small Wins

Kotter makes a powerful point when he says, “Sometimes compensation or performance-appraisal systems make people choose between the new vision and their self-interest (Kotter, 2007).” When leaders are out of touch and do not consider compensation or performance appraisal systems, transformation efforts will die. When individuals, teams, or organizations perform at a high level and achieve milestones, leaders must celebrate these “short-term wins.” Momentum will continue to gather, and initiatives will build support through the small successes. It is vital to note that leaders and coalitions must not celebrate too soon. They must be the voice of reason and remain even, encouraged, and hopeful. There must be a continual search for areas of needed improvement and encourage the team to remain determined. When we do this, the corporation’s culture will sustain itself for generations.

Additional Resources

If you enjoyed this post and thirst for more, swing by the Youniversalife Archive.

References

Godin, S. (2009). Purple Cow. Penguin Publishing Group. 

Kotter, J. P. (2007). Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail. Harvard Business Review.