EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE ASSIGNMENT

“Understanding of EI may be especially important for various fields, including clinical,

educational, and industrial. Organizations and managers need employees who accomplish their
formal work tasks efficiently and also foster team spirit, communicate well with others, and form an
emotional commitment to the organization (Matthews, Roberts, and Zeidner, 2011)”

Emotional intelligence is basically the ability to recognize and regulate, all the emotions
effectively, people with this skill are often referred to as having “people” or “social” skills.
The emotionally intelligent individual is personally resilient and with the power of his mind
could easily influence people opinions, which is especially important for leaders to be
successful and effective. In the work settings a great leader needs to motivate the follower to
commitment, dedication and persuading him/her to achieve company’s common goal.
Many believe that “people” skills are something an individual either has or does not have.
Emotional intelligence researchers assert that this is not true. As people mature, they gain
valuable life experience and build skills associated with emotional intelligence. Unlike
general intelligence, emotional intelligence can grow and develop as people mature. Further,
emotional intelligence skills can be developed through learning and training and building it
can be a valuable skill for all individuals, regardless of their leadership role. (Morton, 2012)
Emotionally intelligent individuals are resilient, confident, optimistic, inspirational, and
successful, these claims alone should encourage a careful consideration of the topic.

Leadership theorist and political scientist James MacGregor Burns (1978) stated that, “We
must see power –and leadership –as not things, but as relationships” (p. 19) therefore a
clever manager should influence positively all the employees, his power shouldn’t be seen
as a bad thing but as a way to lead the company to the success.
Most people have worked for a leader who is toxic for the all company: belittling,
micromanaging, and failing to recognize follower needs will negatively affect all the
organization. To promote solid organizations composed by a great team of employees,
emotional intelligence is needed to build motivation, dedication and skills. Hence the most
successful leaders demonstrate competencies associated with emotional intelligence.

A good leader knows how to manage is own personal emotions, therefore he should:
 Identifying all the negative emotions before they impact work activities

 Expressing feelings appropriately, not trying to express frustration or disappointment

with a subordinate, but using the opportunity to provide insight and develop the
individual’s skill in order to do a better job in the future

 Control all the bad impulses, allowing time for reflection and to gain control of
emotions when situations become highly emotional

 Cultivate self-awareness, taking time to accurately recognize his own emotions and
understand why you are feeling these emotions

Managing other’s emotions is another important point that a good leader should have:
o Use empathy, for example take the opportunity to let subordinates and coworkers know
that you understand their emotions and can appreciate their perspectives

o Build strong relationships, actively cultivate and maintain mutually rewarding

relationships

o Be collaborative and cooperative, promoting participation and respect both

individual and group relationships

However, much of the research utilizes self-report or consensus measures for emotional
intelligence. To clarify and advance the construct of emotional intelligence more
experimental research is needed.
Emotional intelligence must be used as a variable in laboratory research in order to provide a
comprehensive, practical theory. There have been advances in the theory and in the
measurement tools, but the research is still lacking in the empirical evidence.

Emotionally intelligent individuals are a strong point in any organization, whether it is a

family, a business, or a social group. Building these skills could be an asset both for students
and workers, to successfully manage the emotional world we live in. While the science of
emotional intelligence may not be exact, the theory certainly has merit. By building skills in
social awareness, relationship management, and using emotions to improve reasoning, the
individual will be able to more effectively deal with others. Those individuals that are
intuitively able to promote cooperation, collaboration, understanding, and increase motivation
make the workplace more satisfying and effective. (Morton, 2012)

Burns J. M. (1978). Leadership. New York: Harper & Row. Retrieved form
https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/amr.1987.4306717

Goleman D, Boyatzis R, McKee A. (2016). Primal Leadership: Unleashing the Power of Emotional Intelligence, UK
Harvard Business Reviw Press.

Matthews, G., Roberts, R. D., & Zeidner, M. (2011). Emotional Intelligence 101. New York: Springer Publishing
Company

Morton, W. (2012). Everything You Need to Know About Emotional Intelligence & Leadership. [Newmarket, Ont.]:
BrainMass Inc. Retrieved from
http://search.ebscohost.com.hult.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=529753&site=ehost-
live&scope=site

MATTEO MANCINI
MIB 2