Emotional intelligence: The in-demand skill for great leaders

By Elizabeth A. Wilson, CPA

Authentic. Courageous. Honest. These are a few traits that many would use to describe the leaders they admire and try to emulate.

It is not difficult to state in a few words the traits admirable leaders have that are noticeable; it is much harder to identify the below-the-surface components of their leadership style that contribute to their success.

Focus, or directing attention, is a key component to ensuring success. Leaders do not have the luxury of getting things done without distraction, therefore focus is less about task completion and more about allocating attention. As a leader, one must strive to balance the call for attention in two areas –from oneself and from others – in the daily need to address challenging or triggering situations. Proper handling of these situations requires acknowledging and handling one’s own emotions as well as helping others handle theirs.

In managing oneself there are two key components: self-awareness and self-control. Self-awareness is a skill that allows one to tune into one’s own feelings, thoughts, and needs. What is useful here is “open awareness,” which means approaching situations with fresh eyes and letting go of your habitual reactions and expectations. Self-control, or more specifically “cognitive control,” is commonly referred to as willpower. This ability keeps one on track with goals despite emotional distractions.

Empathy and the ability to build social relationships are two important skills for focusing on others. Leaders who do both well bring out the best in their teams and inspire people to come together for a common cause. Empathy is expressed in three different ways:

• Cognitive empathy is the ability to perceive and understand the emotions of another.

• Emotional empathy enables one to share the feelings of another person.

• Empathic concern moves one to action by sensing what another person needs.

A leader who is good at picking up on social context is usually more effective at building solid relationships.

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence became a popular term in the early 1990s, but the buzz over the concept has only continued to grow over the past 30 years. Much evidence has been collected that supports a direct correlation between emotional intelligence and career satisfaction, job performance, relationship success, and mental health. Leaders who possess high levels of emotional intelligence are likely to be more effective communicators and problem solvers because they have a deeper understanding of themselves, their team, and how words and actions impact success.

Emotional intelligence is defined as the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one’s emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically. Components include being aware of one’s own emotions, effectively managing one’s own emotions, recognizing and identifying others’ emotions, and building meaningful relationships with others. Those with high levels of emotional intelligence effectively tap emotions; this isn’t about suppressing one’s own or others’ emotions. It requires feeling, recognizing, and acknowledging emotions in real time and having the skills to not let those emotions dominate and get in the way of effective decision making.

Components of Emotional Intelligence

As the COVID-19 pandemic taught us all, crisis can strike without warning and formulated contingency plans do not always apply. When the best laid plans don’t pan out, intelligently handling the emotions associated with crisis is paramount to survival. Emotionally intelligent leaders typically handle any size crisis better than their less-skilled counterparts by using self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management.

Calling upon the qualities that contribute to each specific component, leaders can control emotional reactions across the board and make decisions with fewer unintended consequences.

Self-awareness – This is the ability to understand one’s own emotions and act with authenticity and conviction. Honesty is vital to truly knowing who you are and what you believe in. Being aware of one's own feelings--not emotions--puts you in charge and allows for objective reflection. Beyond just recognizing your emotions, self-awareness includes understanding the effect your actions, moods, and emotions have on other people. An important aspect of self-awareness is assessing and understanding your limitations. Ask yourself who you are currently and who you want to be. Effective, resonant leaders have clear insight into what they are good at, what is difficult for them, and what they need to learn and do in life to be at their best. To lead authentically, be honest with yourself and use shortcomings as learning opportunities. Effective leaders solicit feedback for the benefit of the team and their own development. Be prepared to not always like what you hear but be willing to learn from it.

Self-management – Awareness of one’s own emotions is the starting point, but managing those emotions and the reactions they evoke is equally important. Self-management, or the ability to manage positive and negative emotions and act with mental clarity and concentrated energy, allows leaders to hold emotions in check and channel focus into creating positive outcomes and effective solutions. Self-management contributes to the development of mindfulness and vice versa. As one grows in mindfulness,

it becomes easier to manage oneself and one’s responses to pressure, stress, and negativity. Mindfulness doesn’t eliminate or reduce emotional experience, rather it creates a present-moment awareness and an acceptance of the emotion, which allows for detection and intervention before emotions spiral out of control. The benefits of mindfulness in the workplace include stronger work relationships, increased productivity, higher levels of team trust, and positive performance feedback.

Social awareness – The ability to understand people, groups, and organizational cultures and to act on one’s understanding of others’ needs and desires is social awareness. With social awareness, a leader can accurately pick up on the emotions of others, understand what is really going on with them, and communicate with them in a way that is intended to meet their needs. Social awareness is all about looking outward to learn about and appreciate others to recognize and understand others’ feelings. By living in the moment, practicing active listening, and keeping eyes, ears, and mind open for observation, an emotionally intelligent leader can understand a situation from another person’s perspective and practice empathy. Leaders who can empathize are often known for their people skills, have profound influence, are good communicators, and have a high capacity for handling difficult people and tense situations with tact and diplomacy.

Relationship management – Relationships are at the foundation of leadership. The ability to guide the emotional tone of a group, build common bonds, mentor and develop others, and manage conflict are all part of building sustainable, successful relationships. Relationship building is most effective if a leader has interest in individual and team development, shows confidence in others’ abilities, and provides the team with the tools needed to overcome obstacles. An important component of being an effective leader is to build a support team. Leaders cannot succeed on their own; even the most outwardly confident executives need support and advice. An emotionally intelligent leader invests time in building relationships and making connections, shares information and power, and recognizes the importance of teamwork in success. By linking people, ideas, and resources, connections are forged and value is created.

Leading others is a privilege, not a right or a guarantee. Likewise, following is a choice that is not handed out freely and without merit. Leading others effectively boils down to creating meaningful relationships, which takes time, effort, and focus. A good relationship is built upon trust, respect, self-awareness, and open communication. Trust allows team members and leadership to be open and honest in thoughts and deeds. Respect means valuing others’ input. Self-awareness (focusing inward) and taking responsibility for your words and actions means others are more likely to be supportive. Without open, honest, and effective communication, relationships will fail. Leaders who actively exercise their emotional intelligence skills can recognize the needs and emotions of others and build positive relationships by meeting those needs.

Conclusion

Effective leadership evolves over time through insight and experience, and one’s leadership journey should be viewed as a work in progress that is likely to go through many iterations. Successful leaders need to continually upgrade their skills to effectively collaborate and meet the needs of an ever-evolving workforce. Emotional intelligence is at the forefront of in-demand skills for effective leaders. If you are looking to achieve this level and succeed should take the time to work on self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship building to increase your emotional quotient. It is a currency you can’t afford to be without.

Reprinted with permission from the Pennsylvania CPA Journal, a publication of the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Elizabeth A. Wilson, CPA, is chief financial officer of Valley National Financial Advisors in Bethlehem and is a member of the Pennsylvania CPA Journal Editorial Board. She can be reached at esvizz13@gmail.com