How can you develop emotional intelligence as a leader?

Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to understand and manage your own and others' emotions, and to use them effectively in different situations. As a leader, EI can help you communicate better, build trust, motivate your team, handle conflicts, and cope with stress. Developing EI is not a one-time event, but a continuous process that requires awareness, practice, and feedback. Here are some tips on how to improve your EI as a leader.

1 Assess your current level

Before you can improve your EI, you need to know where you stand. There are various tools and tests that can help you measure your EI, such as the Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i) or the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT). You can also ask for feedback from your colleagues, peers, or mentors on how they perceive your EI skills. Be open and honest with yourself, and identify your strengths and areas for improvement.

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Sarah Farmer

The Executives Coach 🔆 Developing Brilliant C&D Suite Execs & Senior Leadership Teams Skills To Lead Brightly 🔆Imposter Syndrome Specialist 🔆#1 Best Selling Author🔆 Keynote Speaker 🔆 Mum 🔆 F1 Nut
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Every leader needs to do a robust 360 that is purely based on EI behaviours… without this they will never know what they are great at already and how they could do even better. The 360 ideally would be repeated every 12 months…. It’s like a staff satisfaction survey at its finest.

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Nhung Hoang

HRM at VCcorp/ Career Advisor
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I believe that every individual should have an understanding of their own emotional intelligence, especially leaders. In addition to academic tests like MSCEIT or ESCI, you can gather personal feedback and assessments from colleagues, family, friends, customers, or partners based on the five elements: Self-awareness, Self-regulation, Motivation, Empathy, and Social skills.

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2 Learn the four domains

According to the model developed by Daniel Goleman, EI consists of four domains: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. Self-awareness is the ability to recognize your own emotions, triggers, values, and goals. Self-management is the ability to regulate your emotions, impulses, and behaviors. Social awareness is the ability to empathize with others, understand their perspectives, and appreciate diversity. Relationship management is the ability to communicate effectively, collaborate, influence, and resolve conflicts. To develop your EI, you need to learn and practice the skills and competencies related to each domain.

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3 Reflect on your emotions

One of the key ways to improve your EI is to reflect on your emotions regularly. You can do this by keeping a journal, meditating, or talking to someone you trust. The goal is to become more aware of your emotions, how they affect your thoughts and actions, and what triggers them. You can also use this opportunity to label your emotions accurately, express them appropriately, and challenge any negative or irrational thoughts. By reflecting on your emotions, you can increase your self-awareness and self-management.

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4 Listen actively and empathetically

Another important way to improve your EI is to listen actively and empathetically to others. This means paying attention to not only what they say, but also how they say it, their body language, their tone of voice, and their emotions. You can show that you are listening by maintaining eye contact, nodding, paraphrasing, asking questions, and giving feedback. You can also show empathy by acknowledging their feelings, validating their concerns, and expressing support. By listening actively and empathetically, you can enhance your social awareness and relationship management.

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Eduardo S. Alarcon

Certified Educational Leader | Growth-Mindset Strategist in Andragogy and Pedagogy | Owner and Operator of The Poynt Creative Studios
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Although leaders are responsible for the success of their teams, they must be multifaceted while focusing on critical traits that build, enrich, and sustain positive relationships. Leaders who listen to their team members gain opportunities to make connections, which allows for more effective mentorship as they can address specific personal or professional needs. Moreover, these conversations can allow for leader vulnerability as honest and relatable experiences can reveal the insecurity, struggle, and uncertainty that all leaders manage throughout their careers. Leader vulnerability cultivates empathetic leadership, yielding genuine stakeholder respect and trust while strengthening teams to enhance organizational success.

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5 Seek feedback and learn from mistakes

A final way to improve your EI is to seek feedback and learn from mistakes. You can ask for feedback from your team members, peers, managers, or mentors on how you can improve your EI skills and behaviors. You can also use tools such as 360-degree feedback or performance reviews to get a comprehensive and objective view of your EI. Be open to constructive criticism, and use it as an opportunity to grow and improve. Moreover, when you make mistakes, don't be afraid to admit them, apologize, and learn from them. By seeking feedback and learning from mistakes, you can demonstrate humility, accountability, and resilience.

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Nhung Hoang

HRM at VCcorp/ Career Advisor
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Our brains often remember mistakes better than the things we've accomplished because they require improvement. In work, no one is immune to making mistakes; what we need to do is how to handle our current mistakes and learn from them to avoid repeating them in the future. By learning from our mistakes, we can grow quickly. So, when you make a mistake, don't try to hide it. Instead, find out the reason behind it and figure out how to fix similar situations in the future.

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Khadija Usman

Founder at Grit - Fast-Growing Platform in MENA with Coaches from 10+ Countries | NLP Master Practitioner | ICF PCC Pathway | Personalized Coaching & ICF-Accredited Training Provider |
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While, the foundation of Emotional Intelligence is keen self awareness, but one thing that often gets overlooked is active listening, not just listening to what's being said but picking up on what's not being said, through observing facial expressions and body language. Second would be taking feedback from others on how they would rate you on emotional intelligence. As we all like to believe we are pretty high on empathy, self regulation etc. but how do others perceive us that's the most important in cultivating emotional intelligence as a Leader. Inviting your subordinates or team members to openly share their feedback, if they feel hesitant then you probably need to work a bit more on yourself.

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6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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How can you develop emotional intelligence as a leader?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 Assess your current level

2 Learn the four domains

3 Reflect on your emotions

4 Listen actively and empathetically

5 Seek feedback and learn from mistakes

6 Here’s what else to consider

Staff Development

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How can you develop emotional intelligence as a leader?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 Assess your current level

2 Learn the four domains

3 Reflect on your emotions

4 Listen actively and empathetically

5 Seek feedback and learn from mistakes

6 Here’s what else to consider

Staff Development

Rate this article

Thanks for your feedback

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