Emotional Intelligence in Leadership

Baltas Group

Leadership is a concept that has been the subject of many studies and has been addressed from different perspectives. What is leadership, what should be the personality traits of a leader, what are the qualities a person must have in order to be a good leader, and many other questions are answered in these studies.

In line with these definitions, when we look at the common denominators of different approaches to leadership, a leader is defined as a person who has the ability to influence others towards the realization of the main goals of the organization, who inspires and motivates people to achieve these goals.¹ Most definitions focus on two main components: influencing a group to achieve a common goal and developing a vision.² On the other hand, three basic approaches are put forward as the trait approach, behavioral approaches and situational approaches to leadership.¹ The new leadership approach is later added to these concepts.

New leadership approach and the role of emotions

The most important factor in the addition of the new leadership concept is that leadership requires more emotional activities in changing times and that the individual in the leadership position is constantly surrounded by the emotional demands of his/her subordinates, customers and higher-level managers.

Being able to recognize, evaluate and respond appropriately to emotional demands has become an indispensable condition for effective leadership.¹ The results of a study conducted by the Hay/McBer consulting firm with more than three thousand managers show that no single leadership behavior can ever be determined as the best.¹ In relation to this, another study states that the effectiveness of leadership behavior, regardless of style, will emerge with the adequacy of the leader's emotional intelligence abilities.¹

Definition of emotional intelligence

The concept of emotional intelligence, first introduced by Mayer and Salovey in 1990, is defined as a subset of social intelligence that includes the ability to monitor one's own and others' emotions, to discriminate between them, and to use this information to guide one's thoughts and actions, thus emphasizing the importance of people being able to perceive emotions not only in themselves but also in those around them. Emotional intelligence also includes the ability to regulate and change the emotional responses of others.³ Mayer and Salovey include the regulation of emotions in the structure of emotional intelligence because it can lead to more harmonious and empowering mood states.

People who have developed skills related to emotional intelligence understand and express their own emotions, recognize emotions in others, regulate their emotional states, and can use moods and emotions to motivate adaptive behaviors.³ Emotions and moods provide information that can be used to motivate and assist performance on complex tasks. ³

Leadership performance and emotional intelligence

Goleman emphasizes that emotional intelligence is a must for leadership as a result of his research and states that without emotional intelligence, a person cannot be a good leader even if they have the best education, an analytical mind and an endless source of ideas.⁴ Other researchers confirm that emotional intelligence not only distinguishes extraordinary leaders but can also be linked to strong performance.⁴ Although emotional intelligence was a good asset for leaders in the past, it was not considered necessary, but today it is considered a mandatory element that a leader must have.⁴

Leadership achievements

Individuals with emotional intelligence can have significant knowledge about the attitudes, goals, and interests of other members of their team, and with this knowledge, they can positively influence them by identifying, understanding, and addressing their needs. This influence contributes to the emergence of emotionally intelligent individuals as leaders in teams.⁵

In this context, Gardner states that a person's level of emotional intelligence also indicates their ability to understand other people, what motivates them and how to work collaboratively with them.⁶ In a study, general emotional intelligence and the ability to perceive and understand emotions, measured by an aptitude test, were found to be significantly and positively related to the emergence of leadership.⁵

The relationship between emotional intelligence and personality

Emotional intelligence plays an important role in leadership; however, the level of this skill may vary among individuals. In studies aimed at explaining these differences, the effect of the concept of personality draws attention, and the relationship between the personality dimension and emotional intelligence stands out as an important explanatory element in this field. The findings on the relationship between emotional intelligence and personality revealed by the studies offer new perspectives in understanding leadership behavior.

Petrides notes a strong relationship between emotional intelligence and the big five personality model. In another study, Bracket and Mayer find that emotional intelligence is highly correlated with extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, and cautiousness, but less so with openness. Sala finds a strong link with extraversion, cautiousness, and openness to experience. Other studies have also found that personality traits such as extraversion and cautiousness generally have positive relationships with emotional intelligence. On the other hand, when considering the impact of personality dimensions on emotional intelligence, emotional attunement stands out as an important factor in individuals effectively managing their emotional intelligence.

Through the eyes of Baltaş Personova

Emotional harmony, one of the six main dimensions of the Baltaş Personova personality inventory, reveals a basic personality dimension that increases the applicability of emotional intelligence in leadership. Because management stress is a common phenomenon in leadership. In this context, a leader with high emotional harmony can manage the process more easily thanks to his composure in the face of stress or uncertainty. This situation can also contribute to the leader in terms of giving confidence to his team.

The point to be noted is that the leader should not lose sight of how his approach may be interpreted within the team. While his composure during times of crisis may be seen as an admirable calmness by some within the team, it may be considered as an indifferent attitude by others. At this point, it is necessary to establish a healthy communication channel. The necessity of a good leader to be a competent communicator who can direct the communication in the desired direction and also have an emotional impact on those who interact with him becomes important at this point.⁶

Conclusion

Emotional intelligence in leadership is not only a preferred feature today, but is also considered a basic requirement for effective leadership.⁴ In addition to emotional intelligence competencies, it is also important to develop the personality traits that support these competencies for effective leadership.

While emotional intelligence increases the capacity of leaders to influence and guide their teams, personality traits are also among the elements that determine the effectiveness of this intelligence. Personality dimensions such as emotional harmony affect leadership performance by improving the leader’s ability to manage his/her emotional intelligence. A leader who makes a difference in corporate life is the one who can manage moments of crisis. This requires being an individual who can control his/her own emotions, understand the emotions of the other person and change the outcome positively with the impact he/she creates. This understanding, which is frequently emphasized in the emotional intelligence development programs carried out by the Baltaş Group, highlights the emotional intelligence dimension of professionalism.

To obtain more comprehensive information on this subject, you can access the Emotional Intelligence publication of our Kaynak Magazine from the link https://kaynakbaltas.com/dergiler/duygusal-zeka/, and review Prof. Dr. Acar Baltaş's article "Emotional Intelligence in Business Life" and more topics on emotional intelligence.

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