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WA7. Assignment 7

Statement

Your task is to create a research paper that synthesizes the concepts covered in this unit alongside your own insights. Specifically, conduct additional research beyond the course readings, focusing on the following three areas.

Part 1: Emotional intelligence in effective leadership

  • Discuss the importance of emotional intelligence in effective leadership.
  • Provide examples showcasing how emotional intelligence can contribute to effective leadership.

Part 2: Case studies or examples of emotionally intelligent leaders

  • Identify and discuss at least 2 leaders that exemplify emotional intelligence.
  • Provide case studies or specific examples of these 2 specific leaders.

Part 3: Role and impact of emotionally intelligent leadership

  • Explain how emotional intelligence fosters a positive work environment.
  • Provide examples and techniques for fostering a positive work environment.

Answer

Introduction

Emotional Intelligence (EI) is the one’s ability to identify, comprehend, manage, and handle their own emotions and those of others effectively. There are four main components of EI: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management; and all of them are equally important for leaders.

In professional settings, all people in the same field have the same technical skills and maybe IQ; hence, what makes the difference is the emotional intelligence (Scarborough, 2023). People with high EI/EQ are more likely to commit more to their career goals, manage themselves without supervision, organize their time and tasks, communicate effectively with their colleagues and managers, and more likely to help them.

Due to all previous factors, people with high EI are more likely to be promoted to leadership positions, but they need to constantly develop their EI skills to be effective leaders and achieve their organization’s goals.

Part 1: Emotional Intelligence in Effective Leadership

Effective leadership is a shift from traditional leadership styles where leaders give orders to their subordinates and followers. The shift is to a more collaborative and inclusive approach. Leaders are expected to lead by example, be more accountable, and create a positive work environment. This shift requires leaders to have high emotional intelligence (EI) to understand their teams and direct their powers in the right direction (Sehgal, 2023).

“Emotional intelligence is a critical component of leadership because it helps leaders to communicate effectively, build strong relationships, manage conflicts, and inspire their teams to achieve their goals” (Ackerson, 2023). There are many leadership functions that can directly benefit from high EI, such as communicating effectively, building strong relationships, managing conflicts, making decisions, and inspiring teams.

Leaders with high EI can communicate effectively with their teams reducing misunderstanding and the size of internal messages; build strong relationships that preserve organizational unity and harmony; manage conflicts by understanding the emotions of all parties involved and keeping everyone happy; make better decisions that guarantees best outcomes; and be an inspiration for the next generation of leaders by being a role model and mentor.

Part 2: Case Studies or Examples of Emotionally Intelligent Leaders

All successful leaders show signs of high EI that shows high self and social awareness, strict self-management, and effective relationship management. However, each figure implements their own interpretation of EI in their own way; with some being humorous, some being strict, and some being friendly.

Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, is known for his emotional intelligence and empathy. He crated a culture of inclusion that encourages innovation and does not penalize failed experiments. A particular story told by Morey (2018) is about Nadella’s response to a team member who created an intelligent Twitter bot that went horribly wrong as people took advantage of it in spreading hate speech. Instead of blaming the employee, Nadella took the time to understand the situation and offered support with his message reads: “Keep pushing, and know that I am with you… (The) key is to keep learning and improving”.

Jacinda Ardern, the former Prime Minister of New Zealand, is another example of an emotionally intelligent leader. She is known for her inclusive leadership, authenticity, effective crisis management, and compassion. One particular example is the crises of the Christchurch mosque shootings in 2019, where Ardern showed her emotional intelligence by responding with empathy and compassion. She immediately reached out to the Muslim community, offering support and solidarity. Her intelligent response have saved the country from a potential hate crises and helped to unite the nation in the face of tragedy (Nelson, 2023).

Part 3: Role and Impact of Emotionally Intelligent Leadership

Leaders represent their organizations; hence, their decisions are crucial. Leaders with high EI can make better decisions by considering the emotional impact on stakeholders, inspiring their teams, and promoting a positive work environment (Kargeti, 2021).

When leaders lack EI, negative outcomes such as lower employee engagement, higher turnover, and reduced productivity were observed (Landry, 2019). Leaders with high EI can thoughtfully anticipate the effects of their decisions on every stakeholder group, evaluating direct and indirect consequences, weighing the pros and cons, and making informed choices.

Leaders with high EI empathize with subordinates, ignoring their small mistakes as they learn and grow. While leaders with low EI may criticize those mistakes creating more tension and stress. Leaders with high EI understand the person in front of them very well, giving them an advantage in negotiations and conflict resolution. While leaders with low EI may use non-flexible strategies that they learned from books or courses.

Conclusion

Leaders need to have high EI to understand their teams and hence direct their powers into the right direction. Also, a leader can properly communicate his team’s successes to the right places which makes them all more productive. Many leadership functions can directly benefit from high EI, such as communicating effectively, building strong relationships, managing conflicts, making decisions, and inspiring teams.

Nadella and Ardern are two examples of leaders with high EI who have shown their ability to make big difference in their organizations and communities. Leaders with high EI can inspire and mobilize their teams to focus on a specific future goal, while leaders with low EI may fail in such a task degrading morale and productivity.

References

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