Above intelligence, experience, and technical training, emotional intelligence is becoming a must-have skill for executives—regardless of the industry. As the workplace continues to rapidly change, those who can create a feeling of safety and stability will be the most successful in leading their teams. Leaders who prioritize mental health in the workplace are more likely to have employees who feel supported and engaged.

Emotionally intelligent leaders create healthy and productive workplaces, attract and retain top talent, and unlock the skills and potential of their team members.

Below, read more about the importance of emotional intelligence in leadership and practical tips on how to increase your emotional intelligence as a leader.

What is Emotional Intelligence?

​Emotional intelligence (sometimes referred to as EI or EQ) is the ability to recognize and understand one’s emotions, the emotions of others, and how they affect behavior—and use that knowledge to influence and motivate other people. As Andrea Archibald, Athena member and board member of Tribal Planet puts it:

“…Emotional intelligence, from a psychological perspective, generally refers to one’s own self-awareness, one’s ability to regulate [one’s] own emotions. But also to empathize and be able to be perceptive of those around you, their emotional state, and how to respond to their emotional state appropriately – depending of course, on the setting. The ability to motivate others, and general social skills; they’re all important to effective leadership in the C-suite or at the board level, but [also] in our everyday lives.”

Why Emotional Intelligence is Important in Leadership

EQ is indispensable in any organization for the following reasons:

1. Fosters a Workplace Culture that Doesn’t Become Toxic

Experts say leaders set the tone for the emotional state of an organization. In other words, whatever state they are in influences everyone else—and when a leader does a poor job managing their emotions, the workplace can become toxic. A leader with EQ prevents these outcomes.

2. Motivates and Influences People

Being able to recognize your emotions and others’ emotions, and how they affect behavior, gives you a better chance of motivating and influencing others. Considering that a leader without influence cannot achieve much, this truth makes EQ a key trait in a leader. Motivation, on the other hand, makes employees do a better job and work harder.

3. Leaders with High EQ Can Celebrate Team Balance and Diversity

In an increasingly diverse workplace, leaders high in EQ are better placed to successfully combine their emotional intelligence with cultural intelligence (CQ) to communicate better. It helps them to charge the workplace environment with the right balance of emotions and set the tone for interactions that transcend common courtesy. Ultimately, everybody wins.

4. Lack of Emotional Intelligence Could Result in Lower Employee Engagement and a High Turnover Rate

Lower employee engagement and high turnover are closely related. According to SHRM, a leader who doesn’t manage their emotions well sets the stage for a toxic work environment that breeds high turnover and low employee engagement.

High turnover invites decreased productivity, a spike in costs for recruiting new employees, lost time in new training, and lost revenue.

Also, the employees left in the organization have to do more to make up for the labor gaps.

How Leaders Can Show Emotional Intelligence

Leaders can best exhibit emotional intelligence in the following ways:

1. Connecting with Employees on a Personal Level

Connection on a personal level creates a readily available and constant contact point between a leader and their employees. Through connection, a leader can communicate effectively, motivate their teams, and give them opportunities to provide authentic feedback.

It also creates the ideal environment for them to identify their teams’ emotions, show empathy, and act accordingly.

2. Unlock Motivations

Motivated employees are more productive, more engaged, and more likely to stay with an organization.

Motivation works in more ways than one. For instance, you can motivate someone to pursue an idea that revolutionizes your workplace, find a quick solution to an urgent or emerging concern, etc.

Motivation also improves relations between executives and their teams. With a good leader-follower relationship, followers are less likely to oppose changes when they come.

3. Seek to Understand Employees Better

To understand employees better, you need to get to know them better. This requires spending time with them through various unstructured activities.

For example, make time to play games together, go for lunch, or do something as simple as asking staff to introduce themselves in meetings.

You also need to choose to manage them from a mentor-mentee relationship. This way, they feel safer talking to you and expressing their truths.

5. Set Agreements versus Expectations

Expectations are a one-way street while agreements are a two-way street. Also, agreements get your employees to buy into the project and what you hope to achieve at the end of it.

While you may have to compromise on the deliverables, it reduces the pressure on the employee and creates a better mental and relational environment for them to strive to do a good job.

5 Key Elements of Emotional Intelligence and How to Improve Them

EQ is comprised of five building blocks:

1. Self-awareness

If you’re self-aware, you have a good grasp of your strengths and weaknesses, are attuned to your feelings, and understand how your emotions and actions affect the people around you.

To get better at self-awareness:

• Start by journaling your thoughts and feelings. It helps you track your emotions so you’re more self-aware.
• When you feel a surge of emotions, slow down, find out where they are coming from, and choose the best way to act rather than letting your emotions drive you.

2. Self-regulation

Self-regulation demands three things:

• Understanding yourself deeply. Knowing your values helps you know your deal breakers according to your ethics and worldview.
• Being accountable. Make it a habit of admitting your mistakes instead of engaging in blame games.
• Staying calm under pressure. Your emotions don’t have to lead you. No matter how emotion-provoking your situation may be, breathe in and slow down—and if need be, write down what you wanted to say and throw away the paper.

3. Motivation

People with high EQ have intrinsic motivation. It’s the same kind of motivation that causes a new leader to go beyond the orientation given when onboarding yourself to your role to learn more on their own for better performance. You can grow your motivation, too, by:

• Evaluating your motivation. What motivation is behind your job and tasks? If you feel unfulfilled, get to the root of the problem so you can create room for the right motivation to thrive.
• Acknowledging how motivated you are for your leadership journey. Determine how much you want to lead and find sources to increase your motivation when you have low morale to lead.
• Practicing optimism. Even when things are not right, find something to be thankful for and be hopeful for a better outcome next time.

4. Empathy

Being able to understand and feel what others feel is vital to improving emotional intelligence in leadership. To become more empathetic:

• Practice walking in someone else’s shoes. Doing this often will help you understand people and their perceptions better.
• Read non-verbals and body language. Learn what different non-verbal cues mean so you can gauge people’s real feelings even when they won’t voice them.
• Acknowledge others’ feelings. It’s easy to brush off the accompanying feelings of regret or remorse when an employee has done something wrong. Instead, recognize them and encourage them to do better next time.

 5. Social Skills

People with great social skills form meaningful interactions with others and gain a better understanding of themselves and others. Here’s how to grow your social skills:

• Learn how to resolve conflict. Different personalities will clash from time to time. A leader is expected to resolve these conflicts, but you can’t do it until you practice and learn conflict resolution skills.
• Build your communication skills. Learn how to develop a good rapport, what to say, how to say it, and the right time to say it so you can communicate effectively.
• Learn how to genuinely appreciate others. Learn how to give a deserved pat on the back to everyone. It not only motivates your employees to do better, but it also builds loyalty.

Finally

Leaders who depend solely on intelligence jeopardize the effectiveness of their leadership because their low emotional intelligence does little to motivate or inspire others, resulting in decreased morale and poor performance among employees.

If you’re already in a leadership position, improving your emotional intelligence is one of the best decisions with far-reaching positive results that you’ll make for yourself and your company.

Athena is passionate about helping women executives succeed in their roles. We offer the executive education, supportive network, powerful coaching, and access to opportunities women leaders need as they become stronger, more impactful leaders. Learn more here.