“What Makes a Leader?”

Summary:

The title of the article is “What Makes a Leader?” by Daniel Goleman. According to Daniel Goleman, that what distinguishes great leaders from good ones are isn’t the IQ or technical skills but rather the emotional intelligence. It is a group of five skills that enable the best leaders to maximize their own and their followers’ performance. He was the first to bring the term “emotional intelligence” and applied to business through this article.
Most large companies have employed trained psychologists to develop competency models. Their objective was to determine which personal capabilities drove outstanding performance within the organization and to what degree they do so. Psychologists asked senior managers to identify the capabilities of the organization’s most outstanding leaders. Wherein, they grouped it into 3 categories: purely technical skills, cognitive ability and Emotional Intelligence.
Upon interviewing and evaluating their performance, intellect or cognitive was a driver of outstanding performance but when he calculated the ratio of these 3 categories, EI proved to be twice as important as the others for jobs at all levels.
The EI skills are:
• Self-awareness—knowing one’s strengths, weaknesses, drives, values, and impact on others
• Self-regulation—controlling or redirecting disruptive impulses and moods
• Motivation—relishing achievement for its own sake
• Empathy—understanding other people’s emotional makeup
• Social skill—building rapport with others to move them in desired directions
We’re each born with certain levels of EI skills. But we can strengthen these abilities through persistence, practice, and feedback from colleagues or coaches.
He believed that intelligence, toughness, determination and vision are not enough to be a good and effective leader. There should be self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and interpersonal or social skill. He wants to emphasize the importance of the goodness of the heart combined with the brightness of our brain.

The author believed that the intelligent quotient and technical skills are “threshold capabilities” which is that these are the entry-level requirements for executive positions. And according to his research, the EI is the sine qua non of leadership meaning EI is indispensable and essential action, condition, or ingredient.

Daniel Goleman, author of the bestseller Emotional Intelligence, explores the power of EQ in leadership and shows how we can apply these proven principles to excel not just through skill and smarts, but by connecting with others. Studies of star performers have shown that 85% of the difference in success is attributed to emotional intelligence factors rather than cognitive abilities like IQ or technical abilities. In today s competitive world, the art of relationships is more indispensable than ever.
Reflection in this Article:

This article is awesome!!!! I have been a unit manager for almost 3 years and this article was the best thing I ever found. I always new leading people emotionally was a much better way of managing them and getting the best out of my subordinates but this article really brought it home and helped me focus on how to do it properly so as not to seem week or get walked on. It also showed me how to teach other nurses to do the same. I recommend this book to all my co workers.

I like the concept of this article; it is really a good and helpful one. I agree with Daniel Goleman, the author of this article, that it is really a heart does matter to be successful in anything we do. Above all else, our heart dictates what will our future will be. It is follows where our heart is.

The authors show that great leaders-whether CEOs or managers, coaches or politicians-excel not just through skill and smarts, but by connecting with others using Emotional Intelligence competencies like empathy and self-awareness. The best leaders, they show, have resonance-a powerful ability to drive emotions in a positive direction to get results-and can fluidly interchange among a variety of leadership styles as the situation demands. Groundbreaking and timely, this article reveals the new requirements of successful leadership.

If one doesn’t t grasp the concept of emotional intelligence and how to use it in day to day life (not just for work) this is the article for you.