The Impact of Emotional Intelligence on Leadership Success

If the world of over 8 billion people today didn’t have a leader, it most likely wouldn’t be able to successfully function. Leaders are everywhere, more specifically, leaders are in schools. Students learn different skills related to leadership at school, and apply them in different ways, such as student-led volunteer organizations or other extra curricular activities. In fact, unlike the stereotypical ideas about leadership (such as experience or skill level), emotional intelligence has such a big impact. Leadership is much more than having intelligence, taking charge, and being intelligent. It consists of the ability to acknowledge and understand the feelings of others, and themselves. Defined as having the skills to manage both your own emotions and understand the emotions of people around you, emotional intelligence is such an important concept to leadership, as it allows to further build skills such as overcoming conflicts, effective communication, and strengthening relationships in all different types of environments. No matter what, the ability to be emotionally intelligent plays a big role in becoming a successful leader. 

Emotional intelligence is typically broken down into 4 categories- self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. These categories emphasize how the use of emotional intelligence can be seen in many different environments.  According to a Harvard Business School director, Lauren Landry states that “lacking critical emotional skills can lead to workplace conflict, such as misunderstandings due to an inability to recognize or understand emotions” (Landry, 2019). Landry advances the idea that conflicts rise constantly in a workplace, making it even more important that a leader has good conflict management skills to be able to de-escalate situations. Decision making also plays hand in hand to this, as empathizing with others and using emotions to make logical decisions can help overcome conflicts. Landry further elaborates how “leaders set the tone of their organization.” This demonstrates how the importance of setting good examples for others, and incorporating ideas of emotional intelligence into daily life, can lead to success. For example, knowing when to manage your own feelings, having the ability to read a room and read a person , and maintaining relationships positively are all examples of the use of emotional intelligence. 

A faculty member at Center for Creative Leadership, Shelley Thompkins, explains that she had the most satisfaction in her job with managers that displayed high emotional intelligence. Her input explains that having emotional intelligence doesn’t only impact one person, it can impact so many others that may be closely related to your position. When people recognize emotional intelligence in others, they see them as role models, and strive to build that same amount of emotional intelligence. 

These are just a few examples of how emotional intelligence: the ability to manage both your own emotions, and understand the emotions of people around you, will continue to play a crucial part in a role as a leader. Now take time and consider, what does emotional intelligence mean to you?

Works Cited

Haydn, Ric. “Developing Emotional Intelligence - Part 7 - Social Responsibility.” Learning Cog, 14 Feb. 2018, www.learningcog.com/developing-emotional-intelligence-part-7-social-responsibility/.

Jain, Vipin, and Dan Ackerson. “The Importance of Emotional Intelligence in Effective Leadership - Semaphore.” Semaphore CI, 5 July 2023, https://semaphoreci.com/blog/emotional-intelligence-leadership. Accessed 17 November 2023.

Landry, Lauren. “Emotional Intelligence in Leadership: Why It's Important.” HBS Online, 3 April 2019, https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/emotional-intelligence-in-leadership. Accessed 17 November 2023.

Thompkins, Shelley. “Emotional Intelligence and Leadership Effectiveness | CCL.” Center for Creative Leadership, 28 August 2023, https://www.ccl.org/articles/leading-effectively-articles/emotional-intelligence-and-leadership-effectiveness/. Accessed 17 November 2023.