Emotional Intelligence in Leadership

Emotional Intelligence in Leadership
Learning How to Be More Aware
When you think of a "perfect leader," what comes to mind?
You might picture someone who never lets his temper get out of control, no matter what problems he's facing. You might think of someone who has the complete trust of her staff, always speaks kindly, listens to her team, is easy to talk to and always makes careful, informed decisions.
These are qualities of someone with a high degree of emotional intelligence.
Look at why emotional intelligence is so important for leaders – and how you, as a leader, can improve yours.
What Is Emotional Intelligence?
Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to understand and manage both your own emotions, and those of the people around you. People with a high degree of emotional intelligence usually know what they're feeling, what this means, and how their emotions can affect other people.
For leaders, having emotional intelligence is essential for success. After all, who is more likely to succeed – a leader who shouts at his team when he's under stress, or a leader who stay in control, and calmly assesses the situation?
There are five main elements of emotional intelligence:
1.     Self-awareness.
2.     Self-regulation.
3.     Motivation.
4.     Empathy.
5.     Social skills.
The more that you, as a leader, manage each of these areas, the higher your emotional intelligence. So, let's look at each element in more detail and examine how you can grow as a leader.
Emotional Intelligence in Leadership
 
1. Self-awareness
If you're self-aware, you always know how you feel. And you know how your emotions, and your actions, can affect the people around you. Being self-aware when you're in a leadership position also means having a clear picture of your strengths and weaknesses. And it means having humility.
So, what can you do to improve your self-awareness?
• Keep a journal – Journals help improve your self-awareness. If you spend just a few minutes each day writing down your thoughts, this can move you to a higher degree of self-awareness.
• Slow down – When you experience anger or other strong emotions, slow down to examine why. Remember, no matter what the situation, you can always choose how you react to it.
 
2. Self-regulation
Leaders who regulate themselves effectively rarely verbally attack others, make rushed or emotional decisions, stereotype people, or compromise their values. Self-regulation is all about staying in control.
This element of emotional intelligence covers a leader's flexibility and commitment to personal accountability.
So, how can you improve your ability to self-regulate?
• Know your values – Do you have a clear idea of where you absolutely will not compromise? Do you know what values are most important to you? Spend some time examining your "code of ethics." If you know what's most important to you, then you probably won't have to think twice when you face a moral or ethical decision – you'll make the right choice.
• Hold yourself accountable – If you tend to blame others when something goes wrong, stop. Make a commitment to admit to your mistakes and face the consequences, whatever they are. You'll probably sleep better at night, and you'll quickly earn the respect of those around you.
• Practice being calm – The next time you're in a challenging situation, be very aware of how you act. Do you relieve your stress by shouting at someone else? Practice deep-breathing exercises to calm yourself. Also, try to write down all of the negative things you want to say, and then rip it up and throw it away. Expressing these emotions on paper (and not showing them to anyone!) is better than speaking them aloud to your team. What's more, this helps you challenge your reactions to make sure that they're fair!
 
3. Motivation
Self-motivated leaders consistently work toward their goals. And they have extremely high standards for the quality of their work.
How can you improve your motivation?
• Re-examine why you're doing this – It's easy to forget what you really love about your career. So, take some time to remember why you wanted this job. If you're unhappy in your role and you're struggling to remember why you wanted it, try the Five Whys technique to find the root of the problem. Starting at the root often helps you look at your situation in a new way.
• And make sure that your goal statements are fresh and energizing.
• Know where you stand – Determine how motivated you are to lead. Our Leadership Motivation Assessment can help you see clearly how motivated you are in your leadership role. If you need to increase your motivation to lead, and it then directs you to resources that can help.
• Be hopeful and find something good – Motivated leaders are usually optimistic, no matter what they face. Adopting this mindset might take practice, but it's well worth the effort. Every time you face a challenge, or even a failure, try to find at least one good thing about the situation. It might be something small, like a new contact, or something with long-term effects, like an important lesson learned. But there's almost always something positive – you just have to look for it.
 
4. Empathy
For leaders, having empathy is critical to managing a successful team or organization. Leaders with empathy have the ability to put themselves in someone else's situation. They help develop the people on their team, challenge others who are acting unfairly, give constructive feedback, and listen to those who need it.
If you want to earn the respect and loyalty of your team, then show them you care by being empathic.
How can you improve your empathy?
• Put yourself in someone else's position – It's easy to support your own point of view. After all, it's yours! But take the time to look at situations from other people's perspectives.
• Pay attention to body language – Perhaps when you listen to someone, you cross your arms, move your feet back and forth, or bite your lip. This body language tells others how you really feel about a situation, and the message you're giving isn't positive! Learning to read body language can be a real asset when you're in a leadership role because you'll be better able to determine how someone truly feels. And this gives you the opportunity to respond appropriately.
• Respond to feelings – You ask your subordinate to work late – again. And although he agrees, you can hear the disappointment in his voice. So, respond by addressing his feelings. Tell him you appreciate how willing he is to work extra hours, and that you're just as frustrated about working late. If possible, figure out a way for future late nights to be less of an issue.
 
5. Social skills
Leaders who do well in this element of emotional intelligence are great communicators. They're just as open to hearing bad news as good news, and they're experts at getting their team to support them and be excited about a new mission or project.
Leaders who have good social skills are also good at managing change and resolving conflicts diplomatically. They're rarely satisfied with leaving things as they are, but they're also not willing to make everyone else do the work. They set the example with their own behavior.
So, how can you improve your leadership by building social skills?
• Learn conflict resolution – Leaders must know how to resolve conflicts between their team members, customers, or vendors. Learning conflict resolution skills is vital if you want to succeed.
• Improve your communication skills – How well do you communicate?  
• Learn how to praise others – As a leader, you can inspire the loyalty of your team simply by giving praise when it's earned. Learning how to effectively praise others is a fine art, but well worth the effort.
Key Points
Thanks to the many challenges and opportunities that arise when working with others, leaders must have a solid understanding of how their emotions and actions affect the people around them. The better a leader relates to and works with others, the more successful he or she will be.
Take the time to work on self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills. Working on this will help you excel in the future!

Este es MI MEDICO...! (Anónimo)

El Dr. Paulo Ubiratan, de  Porto Alegre, Río Grande del Sur, en una entrevista de la TV local, fue cuestionado sobre  varios consejos que siempre nos son dados...
 
Pregunta: Ejercicios  cardiovasculares prolongan la vida, es verdad? 

Respuesta: Su corazón fue hecho para latir por  una cantidad de veces... no desperdicie esos latidos en  ejercicios. Todo se gasta eventualmente. Acelerar su corazón no va a hacer que usted viva mas: Eso es como decir que usted puede prolongar  la  vida de su auto dirigiendo mas de prisa. Quiere vivir mas? Duerma una siesta !!!

P: Debo dejar de comer   carnes rojas y comer mas frutas y vegetales? 

R: Usted precisa entender la logística de la  eficiencia... .Que come la vaca? Pasto y maiz. Que es eso? Vegetal.  Entonces un bife nada mas, es  un mecanismo eficiente de colocar  vegetales en su sistema. Precisa comer  granos? Coma pollo.
 
P: Debo reducir el consumo  de alcohol?

R: De ninguna manera. El Vino está hecho de fruta. Brandy es un vino destilado, lo que significa que, ellos tiran el  agua de la fruta de modo que usted saque mayor provecho de ella. Cerveza también  está hecha de cereales. Puede tomar!

P: Cuales son las ventajas de un programa  regular de ejercicios?

R: Mi filosofía es: Si  no tiene dolor...está bien!

P:  Frituras son perjudiciales?

R: USTED NO ME ESTÁ  ESCUCHANDO!!! ... Hoy en día la comida se fríe en aceite vegetal. La  verdad es que quedan impregnadas de aceite vegetal. Como puede mas vegetal ser  prejudicial para usted?

P:  Flexiones ayudan a reducir la gordura?

R:  Absolutamente no! Ejercitar un músculo hace apenas que él aumente  de tamaño.

P: Chocolate  hace mal?

R: Está loco? !!!! Cacao!!!! Otro  vegetal!! Es un alimento bueno para ser  feliz !!!

Y recuerde: La  vida no debe ser un viaje para la tumba, con la intención de llegar   sano y salvo, con un cuerpo atractivo y bien preservado. Mejor emprender el camino - Cerveza en una mano - papas chips en la otra - mucho sexo y  un cuerpo completamente gastado, totalmente usado, gritando: VALIO LA PENA !!!  QUE VIAJE!!!

P D.: Si CAMINAR FUESE SALUDABLE EL CARTERO SERIA  INMORTAL.....!

LA BALLENA NADA EL DIA ENTERO,  SOLO COME PESCADO, SOLO  BEBE AGUA y ES GORDA....!

RECUERDE: 
 
EL CONEJO   CORRE, SALTA Y  VIVE 15 AÑOS, LA TORTUGA NO CORRE NO HACE NADA Y VIVE 450 AÑOS

Existen cuatro cosas en la vida que no se recuperan:
1. Una piedra, después de haber sido lazada
2. Una palabra ,después de haber sido dicha
3. Una oportunidad, después de haberla perdido
4. El tiempo... Después  haber pasado...