ability to understand the feelings of others by experiencing those feelings oneself,
without necessarily having had the same experience. When a person is empathetic,
they treat others in a kind and considerate manner. Finally, social skills are the
“culmination of emotional intelligence,” (Goleman, p. 36) and are the result of
engaging in the other four components. Conversely, only social skills allow
managers to effectively use their emotional intelligence.
Goleman’s concept of EQ explains why highly intelligent managers with out-
standing training fail, while others who possess average intelligence and solid but
by no means outstanding technical skills are able to climb the corporate ladder.
Emotional intelligence is indispensable for successful leadership because only
individuals who understand the feelings of others in the way that they understand
their own can accurately steer employees in the right direction. According to
Goleman, managers with high EQ exceed the annual sales targets of lower EQ
managers by over 20%.
Goleman’s work was monumental for the growth of high-quality leadership, but
has been underutilized for the most part. In my opinion, EQ is the most important
contribution to leadership approaches and practice in the past 10 years. Further-
more, EQ can be trained and acquired, but it is a difficult and lengthy process.
Typical seminars and training programs focus on specialized knowledge, logical
thinking and leadership techniques; they do not tend to facilitate the development of
EQ. However, new methods of developing EQ, social skills, and relationships skills
are evolving (see Chaps. 3 and 4).
2.2.5.1 Achieving Emotional Intelligence
Manfred Kets de Vries has also intensively explored the topic of emotional intelli-
gence and contends that emotional intelligence is just as important in the business
world as logical mathematical intelligence. “A high EQ frequently triumphs over
high IQ” (de Vries 2002, p. 37). He refers to the origin of the term “emotion” as
deriving from the Latin wordmovere(“moving down”), and feelings do move
people in the workplace as well as in other areas of life: to paraphrase, numerous
organizations understand that a gram of feelings is worth more than a ton of facts.
Unlike our IQ, which remains relatively stable from age 20 until old age, the EQ
develops over our lifespan as we gain experience. People can therefore increase
their EQ by the following steps. The first step on the way to emotional intelligence,
and thus to effective leadership, is introspection. “A person who knows himself or
herself is not impulsive and does not constantly blame others,” Manfred Kets de
Vries states (see de Vries 2002, p. 39). In his seminars, Kets de Vries encounters
time and time again managers who have lost touch with their own feelings, as in:
“I don’t know how I feel. My wife tells me.” Such managers’ behavior and level of
adjustment have blurred the border between genuine feelings and feelings expected
by others. When this happens, the authenticity of a manager can diminish and be
replaced by a caricature of the perfect manager. These managers become blind to
their own feelings and do not notice what is obvious to others.
2.2 The Leader 65