In the previous article, we said emotional Intelligence is a critical part of the qualities of a good leader. We also looked at the meaning of emotional Intelligence and why it is important for leadership.
We also looked at some emotional intelligence skills for leaders, such as Self-Awareness and Self-Regulation. Therefore, in this concluding part, we shall take you through the remaining emotional Intelligence skills for leaders.
Motivation
Motivation is an essential part of emotional intelligence. It involves the ability to be motivated by personal desires or external influences such as rewards. People always want to work with leaders who are highly motivated and effective at achieving their goals.
Motivation is the ability to inspire both yourself and others to action. Self-motivated leaders take the lead, set goals, rise to the challenge, and stay positive in the face of trouble.As a leader, the more positive you are, the more confident your team will feel.
Ways to Become More Motivated
Set goals and make them visible
Take time to set goals and share your ideas or goals with trusted and right people. You may get words of encouragement from them, and they offer you good suggestions on how best to achieve them.
Hang the goals in a strategic and conspicuous place at home or in the office, seeing the goals often keep you motivated and to stay on course.
Protect your Time
Avoid unnecessary outings, events, or meetings, things that do not add value to you or have a positive impact on your goals.
When someone asks you to do something you are not sure you want to do, don’t say, “Yes, I am free.” Instead, give yourself time to think over it, consider it, and politely decline if the activity is not right for you. Try, “Let me check and get back to you”.
Use your Connections
Discuss your goals and aspirations with your friends and family. Tell them what you are working to achieve. You might get to know how to go about it in a better way that will give you good results.
The more you talk about your goals and how you are working to accomplish them, the more likely you are to see your desired result.
Empathy
This refers to the ability to understand another person’s experiences, beliefs, and emotions. It helps leaders to understand feelings, values, cultural diversity, and different life experiences and help on how to interact with people.
Empathy helps to understand the perspectives and feelings of those around you. It is also an important skill in decision-making as it develops a sense of empathy that can help you understand the perspectives and potential reactions of others.
Social Skills/Awareness
Social skills are concerned about how you perceive emotions, interact, and communicate with others.
A leader who is in tune with his emotions will be able to assess others easily. If you can assess others’ feelings, you can easily build and maintain relationships.
Ways to Improve Your Social Awareness
Observe Body Language
People communicate or pass messages to you through body language without saying anything verbally. Being well-versed in understanding body language helps you to know what is happening around you without being told. It will help you to understand the message being passed and adjust accordingly.
Give Focused Attention
Minimize distractions and multi-tasking, and pay rapt attention when engaging with people. Concentrate on what is happening in front of you.
People get to know you when you are not paying attention and tend to change the tone of their conversation as they sense you are not fully engaged in the conversation.
If you don’t pay attention, you might as well miss key points that can make or break a conversation.
Develop Cultural Awareness
This has to do with understanding actions through context and culture, national or organizational culture.
You will learn so much when you interact with people from different backgrounds and cultures. This will assist in relating with people and build your social awareness.
Emotional intelligence is an important skill that every leader or aspiring leader must possess. To be an effective and competent leader, learn or acquire emotional intelligence skills and be a leader that everyone desires to work
