It was Daniel Goleman
who first brought the term “emotional intelligence” to a wide audience with his
1995 book of that name, and it was Goleman who first applied the concept to
business with his 1998 HBR article, reprinted here. In his research at nearly
200 large, global companies, Goleman found that while the qualities
traditionally associated with leadership—such as intelligence, toughness, determination,
and vision—are required for success, they are insufficient. Truly effective
leaders are also distinguished by a high degree of emotional intelligence,
which includes self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social
skill.
These qualities may
sound “soft” and unbusinesslike, but Goleman found direct ties between
emotional intelligence and measurable business results. While emotional
intelligence’s relevance to business has continued to spark debate over the
past six years, Goleman’s article remains the definitive reference on the
subject, with a description of each component of emotional intelligence and a
detailed discussion of how to recognize it in potential leaders, how and why it
connects to performance, and how it can be learned.
Every businessperson knows a story about a
highly intelligent, highly skilled executive who was promoted into a leadership
position only to fail at the job. And they also know a story about someone with
solid—but not extraordinary—intellectual abilities and technical skills who was
promoted into a similar position and then soared.
Such anecdotes support the widespread belief
that identifying individuals with the “right stuff” to be leaders is more art
than science. After all, the personal styles of superb leaders vary: Some
leaders are subdued and analytical; others shout their manifestos from the
mountaintops. And just as important, different situations call for different
types of leadership. Most mergers need a sensitive negotiator at the helm, whereas
many turnarounds require a more forceful authority.
I have found, however, that the most effective
leaders are 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 mainly as “threshold capabilities”; that is, they are the
entry-level requirements for executive positions. But my research, along with
other recent studies, clearly shows that emotional intelligence is the sine qua
non of leadership. Without it, a person can have the best training in the
world, an incisive, analytical mind, and an endless supply of smart ideas, but
he still won’t make a great leader.
In the course of the past year, my colleagues
and I have focused on how emotional intelligence operates at work. We have
examined the relationship between emotional intelligence and effective
performance, especially in leaders. And we have observed how emotional
intelligence shows itself on the job. How can you tell if someone has high
emotional intelligence, for example, and how can you recognize it in yourself?
In the following pages, we’ll explore these questions, taking each of the
components of emotional intelligence—self-awareness, self-regulation,
motivation, empathy, and social skill—in turn.
source : hbr blog
