Emotional Intelligence and Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Emotional Intelligence and Leadership - Essay Example When leading others, a good leader will be willing to express emotions that are well aligned to the objective. This is either meant to encourage the subjects or to stress a point and show its importance. If the leader is also capable of reading other people’s emotions, he or she will be in a better position to deal with them knowing how well they accept the plans or how they perceive the project or the leader. This can be important in planning and motivating the subjects. This paper will analyze the five main elements of emotional intelligence and their application in leadership skills.Self-awarenessThis is the first element of emotional intelligence. With emotional intelligence, a leader is capable of being self-aware. This means that he or she knows and understand what he or she feels. This also encompasses the knowledge of the emotions and their effects on other people. To develop this kind of competence, a leader should be ready to put more focus on self-development aiming at making it possible first to know self before seeking to know others. This is the aspect of emotional intelligence referred to as action-based (Antonakis et al. 2009, pp. 247–261.). For this, three steps model is used. In this model the leader is supposed first to know self, be aware of his or her reactions to various situations. Then, the leader should be able to choose himself or herself. This means that the leader shifts the reactions from unconscious to intentional responses guided by competencies and optimism. Through the choosing.