Sunday, 18 November 2012

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional Intelligence (EI) accounts for the difference between outstanding leaders and their more average peers.

So, what is EI?

I suggest that EI is the ability to effectively manage ourselves and our ablity to effectively manage our relationships with others.

In taking a closer look at the self management aspects of EI, the 3i Leader must:
  • be self-aware, reading their own emotions and recognising their impact upon others
  • keep disruptive emotions and impulses under control
  • have the drive to improve performance to meet inner standards of excellence
  • display honesty, intergrity and trustwrothiness
  • accurately assess their own strengths and weaknesses
  • possess a healthy self-confidence and a sound sense of their own self-worth and capablities
  • demonstrate flexibility, adapt to changing situations and overcome obstacles
  • be ready to act and seize opportunities
  • be optimistic and see the positives in events
Taking a closer look at the relationship management elements of EI, the 3i Leader must:
  • possess empathy, be able to sense others' emotions, understand the perspectives of others and take an active interest in the concerns of others.
  • possess an ability to recognise and meet the needs of others through a willingness to serve
  • proactively invest in peoples development through guidance, mentoring, coaching and feedback
  • possess the ability to read groups and organisations, understand the politics and the informal factors influential in key decison making
  • be tactful but assertive in order to influence and persuade for the benefit of others and the wider good
  • healthily cultivate and maintain a network of realtionships
  • guide, motivate and inspire through communicating a compelling vision
  • judge events and situations and know when it's time to lead in a new direction
  • foster cooperation, collaboration and building the ''team''
  • resolve disagreement and damaging conflict in a timely manner
In my own journey to be seen by others as a 3i Leader I regularly reflect upon my performance against the list  - or competencies - outlined in the bullets above.

No comments:

Post a Comment

I welcome observations, comments and queries relating to blogs and previous comments.