emotional intelligence, effective leadership,

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The Role of Emotional Intelligence in Effective Leadership
Introduction
Recent researches now point to emotional intelligence as the critical factor that sets star
performers apart from the rest of the workers because its principles provide a new way to
understand and assess people‟s behaviors, management styles, attitudes, interpersonal skills and
potential. It is a recent behavioral model that came into being with Daniel Goleman‟s 1995
Book called „Emotional Intelligence‟ but the theory was developed in the 1970s and 80s through
the writings and works of psychologists Howard Gardner of Harvard University, Peter Salovey
of Yale and John Jack Mayer of New Hampshire (TalentSmart Inc., 2013).
Objective of this paper
The objective of this paper is to highlight the importance of emotional intelligence in effective
leadership and the need for leaders to learn how to develop such and use it in everyday activities. It will
demonstrate that emotional intelligence is the strongest predictor of performance and will mention
some great leaders that have fallen due to their inability to manage or control their emotions. Finally, it
will proffer some strategies that can help leaders to develop their emotional intelligence for effective
leadership and productivity.
Statement of Problems
Many a leaders have failed to carry their followers along for one reason or the other based on
their attitude or remain in a state of incompetence for many years due to some factors that are not
known to them but they are working and have nothing to show for their efforts, this problem
necessitated the reason why the study is on Emotional Intelligence because, it has been found to be a
predictor of performance and professional success.

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Definition of Emotional Intelligence
Bradberry, T and Jean Greaves in Emotional Intelligence 2.0 say “Emotional intelligence
is your ability to recognize and understand emotions in yourself and others, and your ability to
use this awareness to manage your behavior and relationships.” How we manage our emotions,
that is, feelings like anger, jealousy, feeling slighted, feeling misunderstood, feeling under-
appreciated, resentment, hopelessness, insecurity, fear, anxiety, feeling isolated, feeling
powerless, etc at work can make all the difference to our career and daily work life. Therefore,
as leaders we must take note of our emotional intelligence because it does have an impact on our
professional success. In simple words, Emotional intelligence is about understanding our
emotions and the emotions of those around us which will help us to learn how to manage and
handle them in the workplace as well as in other areas of our lives.
In TalentSmart.com, it was stated that “emotional intelligence is the “something” in each
of us that is a bit intangible. It affects how we mange behavior, navigate social complexities, and
make personal decisions that achieve positive results”. (www.talentsmart.com,). It is an
important consideration in human resources planning; job profiling, recruitment interviewing and
selection. It is also relevant to organizational development and developing people.
Emotional Intelligence and Job Performance
Emotional Intelligence (EI) is also known as Emotional Quotient (EQ), it is different
from Intelligence Quotient (IQ). According to the literatures, there is no known connection
between IQ and emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is a flexible set of skills that can
be acquired and improved upon with practice since it is a balance between rational and emotional

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brain (limbic system). Someone with a low IQ but high EQ is better as a worker than someone
with a high IQ and low EQ (www.talentsmart.com,). According to the Consortium for Research
on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations, “success requires more than IQ (Intelligence
Quotient), which has tended to be the traditional measure of intelligence, ignoring essential
behavioral and character elements.” All around us are people who are academically brilliant but
are socially and inter-personally incompetent. According to a study carried out by TalentSmart
Incorporation, emotional intelligence alongside 33 other important workplace skills like decision
making, presentation skills, accountability, stress tolerance, anger management, trust, flexibility,
social skills, customer service, communication skill, customer service, and among others, found
out that emotional intelligence is the strongest predictor of performance. This is so because; it is
the foundation for a host of many critical skills that are needed at the place of work. It is the
building block on which most of the activities of the day are built on, so leaders need it to
function effectively and to perform greatly. The study also revealed that 90% of top performers
are also high in emotional intelligence which also impacts their annual income.
Two Primary Competencies of Emotional Intelligence
There are two aspects or competencies of EQ which are Personal and Social
Competencies. The Personal competence is made up of self-awareness and self-management.
Self-awareness deals with one understanding himself, his intentions and behavior while self-
management deals with one being able to use the knowledge of himself to control his emotion
and direct his behavior. The Social aspect is made up of Social awareness and Relationship
management. Social awareness deals with understanding people and their feelings while

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Relationship management deals with one being able to use the knowledge of his own emotion
and other people‟s moods, behavior and motives to manage interactions successfully.
Theories Connected to Emotional Intelligence
There are a number of behavioral, emotional and communication theories that support
Emotional Intelligence, some of them are, Transactional Analysis, Neuro-Linguistic
Programming (NLP), Multiple Intelligences Theory, Love and Spirituality in Organization
Theory and Ethical Business and Socially Responsible Leadership Concept to mention but few.
Further readings can be done on these to learn more on EQ and how it can be used to better our
leadership to more productivity.
Effective Leadership and Emotional Intelligence
Good leadership in the 21 Century requires attitudes and behavior which are virtues of
humanity. It requires deep human qualities, beyond conventional notions of authority; it builds on
serving the organization or group and the people within it, therefore, it demands emotional strengths
and behavioral characteristics which can draw deeply on a leader’s mental and spiritual reserves.
Leadership is about behavior first then followed by skills. Leaders need to be able to make tough
decisions when required but most importantly they should concentrate on enabling the team to thrive,
this is a “serving” role, not the dominant “leading” role commonly associated with leadership.
Meyer (1997, p.8) has it that our emotions won’t disappear and go away therefore; we must not
deny their existence or feel guilty because of them but to channel them in the right direction. As
leaders, we need the ability to balance them, that is, showcase them when they are positive and helpful
and to control them when they are negative and destructive. For example, the Holy book even allows
the exhibition of the emotion of anger to some extent, this can be found in the book of Ephesians 4:26

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where it stated “Be ye angry, and sin not: Let not the sun go down upon your wrath.” As leaders, we can
be angry with our subordinates or colleagues but must not allow the emotion of anger to destroy us and
our career.
The spirit of perfectionism is another emotion that leaders need to be careful about. Mayer
(1997, p. 212) recorded that “it sets a leader for inferiority complex”, usually, when a leader fails in one
of his responsibilities or unable to meet his goals or keep his schedule as planned, he starts thinking,
thus the spirit of perfectionism and neuroticism set in and these lead to “self-hatred, which opens the
way to all kinds of deep physical, mental, emotional and spiritual dangers.” (Mayer, 1997). Mayer
posited that a leader should determine “to reject the roots of bitterness, shame, negativism and
perfectionism and nourish the roots of joy, peace, love and power,” and to continue to praise the Lord
and confess His words over our lives and careers. (Mayer 1997, p.213).
Harrell (2005) advice that “attitude is paramount in achieving personal fulfillment” therefore, a
leader should build the “right team, with the right attitude” to form the supportive relationships that are
needed to achieve personal and professional success, such team which may comprises a number of
friends, and co-workers, should be able to give constructive criticism or feedback. He further says “do
not let petty office or school politics have power over your personal or professional success. Monitor
what you hear, what you read, and what you say.” (Harrell, 2005, p.167).
Tracy (2005) says “when you face an unexpected problem or crises discipline yourself to stay
calm, to focus on the solution rather than the problem”, as leaders; we are to learn the emotion of
calmness when things go wrong because things must go wrong occasionally for growth and
advancement to happen. He further states that “top people realize that every problem is an
opportunity to grow in self-control and personal confidence, therefore, cultivating the ability to remain
calm, relaxed and clear-eyed is very important since the “height of the problems you are capable of

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solving” determines the height we attain in life (Tracy, 2005, p.203). It is recommended that leaders
should learn how to accentuate the positive in the people and not the negative. Praise loudly and blame
softly. Never publicly blame another person for a failure. Always give your people the credit for your
achievements and successes.
Consequences of Uncontrolled Emotions
Literatures have it that many leaders have fallen throughout the ages for not cultivating the
ability to control their emotions either in the time of sadness or happiness. Below are some highlights.
The Bible recorded that Moses was one of the world’s greatest leaders; he led the Israelites out of
bondage in Egypt, Goodall (2010) has it that “one day the pressure got to him and he “lost” it all. His
anger and disappointment with the constant criticism from people he was leading boiled to the point
where he exploded.” The price he and Aaron paid was so severe the Lord said to Moses and Aaron.
“Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not
bring this community into the land I give them” (Number 20:12). What a price? As leaders, we need to
be careful of power intoxication and heed to what the book of Proverb 29:11 says, “A fool gives full vent
to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control”, may we not lose the fruits of our labor
through uncontrolled anger.
Another great leader did a similar thing and fell unredeemable, according to the narration of
Goodall (2010), Alexander the Great had problem with his temper. “On one occasion, Cletus, a
childhood friend and general in his army, became intoxicated and ridiculed the emperor in front of his
men. Blinded by anger, Alexander snatched a spear and hurled it at Cletus, he had intention of scaring
the drunken general, the spear took his friend’s life” (Goodall, 2010 p. 75). What a lesson to the leaders
of the 21st
Century. Alexander was able to conquer many nations, but he was unable to control his own
anger. Power over appetite is another skill we need to learn as leaders.

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Sexual harassment continues to be one of the primary problems facing leaders in the workplace
and it exists at all levels within an organization in relationships categorized as male-to-female, male-to-male,
female-to-male, and female-to-female. In many cases, the harassment occurs because the harasser is in a
position of leadership or authority that provides the necessary power to facilitate the harassing
behavior. When power is used unethically, as in the case of sexual harassment, the leader and the
organization may face serious consequences. The unethical use of power results in employees
submitting to unwelcome sexual advances, verbal or physical abuse, or requests for sexual favors in
exchange for continued employment. For example, an Army drill sergeant was tried and convicted for
sexual assault and rape, notwithstanding the fact that many of the victims admitted that they consented
to the sexual encounter, found the defendant sexually attractive, and in some cases enjoyed the
encounter (Odom, L. Green C., Hodgson, N.S., Fenton, K. and Calvert, D. p. 3). However, the court ruled
that the defendant used his position of power and influence over the trainees to effectively negate their
consent, therefore, he was fired.
Advantages of Developing Emotional Intelligence
As leaders and managers, the development of our Emotional Intelligence and the understanding
of the five EQ domains as identified by Goleman can help us to become more productive and successful
at what we do, and also be of help to others. Other advantages of developing our Emotional Intelligence
are reduction of stress for individuals and organizations, reduction in conflicts among workers,
improvement in relationships and understanding which will result in personal and social harmony at
work place.
Emotional Intelligence helps a leader to develop and appreciate the connections between self,
others, purpose, meaning, existence, appreciate the world as a whole. A leader with such will also be
less insecure and be more open in his dealings. As identified by Goleman the five domains of EQ are: 1)

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Knowing your emotions. 2) Managing your own emotions. 3) Motivating yourself. 4) Recognizing and
understanding other people’s emotions and 5) Managing relationships, i.e. managing the emotions of
others for productivity and harmony.
In an Excellent 30 minute BBC Radio 4 Discussion about Modern Leadership broadcasted on
September 2, 2006 as stated on www.businessballs.com., “there is the need for effective modern
leaders to have emotional strength and sensitivity, far beyond traditional ideas of more limited
autocratic leadership styles.” For leadership to work well, people (employees and interested outsiders)
must be able to connect their expectations, aims and activities to a basic purpose or philosophy of the
organization.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it has been found out that when leaders say that the people are not following, it’s
the leaders who are lost, not the people, because, it is not possible for a leader to understand and lead
people when the leader’s head is high in the clouds, therefore, loyalty to leadership relies on the leader
having a connection with and understanding of people’s needs and wishes and possibilities. Leaders
have great responsibilities therefore, the need to have great discipline over their emotions since
uncontrolled emotions can destroy the work of many years and even brake a relationship of a lifetime,
let us learn to develop our Emotional Intelligence for posterity sake.
Recommendation
This paper is not able to address all kinds of emotions that are being exhibited at the work place,
I therefore make a recommendation of this book – “Why Great Men Fall: 15 Winning Strategies to Rise
Above it All” written by Goodall, Wayde, and published by Still Waters Publications, Ibadan in 2005 to
complement what has been written so far.

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References
Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations. (2012). www.businessballs.com.
Accessed 24-3-13.
Goodall, Wayde. (2005). Why Great Men Fall: 15 Winning Strategies to Rise Above it All. Ibadan: Still
Waters Publications.
Harrel, Keith. (2005). Attitude Is Everything. USA: HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
Maxwell, John C. (2007). Leadership Principles for Graduates. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Meyer, Joyce. (1977). Managing Your Emotions: Instead of Your Emotions Managing You. New York:
Warner Books Inc.
Odom, L., Green, C., Hodgson, N.S., Fenton, K, and Calvert, D.(2003). "Leadership, Power and Sexual
Harassment: An Ethical Perspective," Kravis Leadership Institute Leadership Review.
TalentSmart Inc. (2013). www.talentsmart.com/about/emotional-intelligence.php. Accessed 12-03-13.
Tracy, Brian. (2010). No Excuses!: The Power of Self-Discipline. Nigeria: Beulahland Publications.
www.businessballs.com/leadership.htm. Excellent 30 Minute BBC Radio 4 Discussion about Modern
Leadership. Accessed 24-3-13.