Becoming a leader is never a smooth sailing for everyone.
Leading takes courage and authority for a person to become efficient and to be respected by his constituents.
It requires more of his emotional quotient (EQ) rather than his intellectual quotient (IQ) because IQ are just “entry level.”
But having more EQ means to have more of an emotional empathy and emotional intelligence, which the leader will be needing in the long run.
The emotional quotient is the sine qua non of every great leader.
It is much more important than being a know-it-all because how he uses his knowledge and how he executes it will greatly affect the efficiency of his people and the task that needs to be executed. Here are 5 emotional intelligence skills an effective leader must have:
- Self-Awareness
An effective leader is self-aware. It means that he knows his strengths and weaknesses. He knows the areas he’s good at and the areas he needs to improve in. To become an effective leader one must know himself in order to equip himself to becoming the best version he needs to be for the job. It takes courage to accept the things he is not good at which will benefit him in the future.
- Self-Regulative
Having self-control is also a key skill to becoming an effective leader. It means that a person is capable of controlling his tendencies either emotionally or physically. Self-regulation results to being highly productive because the person learns to prioritize what needs to be done than procrastinating and become unproductive if the person doesn’t have self-control. Having this skill means the person is capable of directing and redirecting impulses.
- Motivated
To be an efficient leader one must have the drive to become one. One must have the motivation to lead the pack. Having a motivation directs the person to greener pastures as oppose to having none at all. It is essential that person looks forward to something so that he doesn’t lose his interest. This skill is synonymous to becoming goal-oriented.
- Emphatic
Leaders know how to understand other people. They know how to communicate well with their constituents which is why they are followed by them and they tend to listen to him. An effective leader is objective yet understanding of his people’s emotions. He is sensitive, he knows his boundaries and limitations to where he can only stand as a leader. It is important that the leader have more empathy than sympathy.
- Social Skills
Nothing important is done alone which is why effective leaders have great social and communication skills. They know how to be friendly but having a purpose while they’re at it. They are adept at managing team and expert persuaders.
We can strengthen our emotional intelligence with persistence, practice, feedback from others and commitment. It is essential to know that before we become leaders we must know ourselves and we must become followers and as the old saying goes you cannot give hat you don’t have.
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