Leadership and Emotional Intelligence

Social Awareness. As defined by Nelson and Low (2011), this skill is the “ability
to affect others positively and develop trust and rapport in relationships” (pp. 74-75).
The emotional development focus is to learn “how to feel more comfortable relating to
others” (p. 74). The social nature of leadership requires “leaders [to] use EI skills to
connect with employees, and employees [to] use their perception of a leader’s EI skills to
make decisions about what kind of leader they are working with and to decipher the
climate within their workplace” (Shuck & Herd, 2012, p. 172). Therefore, social
awareness has first and second order effects on not only the leader, but also the followers
(employees) (Shields, 2009). Developing behavioral changes in leaders through activities
such as coaching, meditation, and journaling were found to be effective in a study
conducted by Shields (2009).
Empathy. As defined by Nelson and Low (2011), this skill is the “ability to
accurately understand and constructively respond to expressed feelings, thoughts, and
needs of others” (p. 80). The emotional development focus is “feeling better about
accurately understanding others” (p. 79). Empathy means carefully considering the
feelings of others, along with other applicable factors, in order to make responsible
decisions (Goleman, 1998, 2004). Relational influences inherent with empathy are
developed through mentoring, networking, support groups, coaching, developmental
supervision, and effective leadership (Hall, 2004). Feedback from myriad sources (e.g.,
stakeholders, supervisors, peers) is also crucial in honing this EI skill (Riggio &
Reichard, 2008).
Decision Making. As defined by Nelson and Low (2011), this skill is the “ability
to complete meaningful goals that provide personal satisfaction and positive feelings” (p.