Improve Your Leadership Skills with Higher Emotional Intelligence

Dori Meinert, editor of HR Magazine writes about how emotional intelligence is a crucial element to be a better leader in this article on the Society for Human Resource Management website.

It’s extremely important to understand how emotions affect your own and others’ behavior. Once you truly understand that, you can use that knowledge to inspire and uplift others. That is emotional intelligence. There are four crucial skills, or tools, that affect the understanding of emotions. These are; self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, and relationship management.

The article explains the four skills with examples and inputs from experienced professionals. As a leader, you should always seek honest feedback to improve your self-awareness. You should take the time to ask your team members how a particular project is going for them and acknowledge their feelings as if you were in their shoes.

Most companies expect their executives to concentrate on emotional intelligence during leadership development programs so it’s a skill that is appreciated and valued by recruiters.