Over the past few decades, leadership has undergone tremendous changes. In today’s business landscape, technical skills alone cannot guarantee success. Therefore, individuals who aspire to be in a leadership role must possess an emotional element to excel in their position. That is what will help them successfully build, coach, and manage teams, regulate stress, deliver constructive feedback, and collaborate with others.
Emotional intelligence could be defined as the ability to recognize and process one’s emotions and identify and influence others’ emotions. This term was first conceived in 1990 by eminent American social psychologists John Mayer and Peter Salovey but was later mainstreamed by researcher Daniel Goleman.
More than a decade ago, Goleman emphasized the significance of emotional intelligence in leadership. While giving an interview to the Harvard Business Review, he said that the world’s top-most influential leaders share one critical trait. They all possess a higher degree of emotional intelligence than most people. It is not that a high IQ and command over technical skills are entirely irrelevant. These things do matter, but they are instead the entry-level requirements for most executive positions. What makes a leader stand out in the crowd is the degree of emotional intelligence they possess.
Over the years, emotional intelligence has evolved into a must-have skill in business. A study conducted by EQ provider TalentSmart reveals that emotional intelligence is considered the strongest performance predictor. Hiring managers have also taken note of this crucial piece of information: over 70% of employers contacted by CareerBuilder stated they valued EQ over IQ. This is because employees with higher emotional intelligence are far more likely to stay composed under pressure, effectively resolve conflicts at work and treat colleagues with empathy and respect.
Several business leaders have connected higher emotional intelligence and increased productivity at work. However, not many have applied it to the cybersecurity industry. American seasoned cybersecurity expert Christian Espinosa has ventured into this domain. A Managing Director at Cerberus Sentinel, Christian Espinosa, believes that the current cybersecurity infrastructure is inadequate at addressing the complex threats the digital world faces. In his view, a high IQ should no longer be the only criterion to judge whether an individual is a suitable choice for building and enhancing the digital defenses of an organization. Instead, people with higher emotional intelligence are far more capable of identifying and resolving complex cybersecurity threats.
In his book, “The Smartest Person in The Room: The Root Cause and New Solution for Cybersecurity,” Christian Espinosa educates people about the evolving nature of the cybersecurity industry. He also suggests that a high IQ is a lost power when awareness and effective communication are not embraced and valued at a company. Christian Espinosa’s book guides leaders and business owners to build their team members’ interpersonal skills to help them become better professionals and human beings.
There are five aspects of emotional intelligence: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills. The first step to becoming emotionally intelligent is understanding one’s emotions and the physical manifestations associated with those. The next step is to practice control over these emotions and healthily channel them. An emotionally intelligent person can also motivate themselves by setting concrete goals and striving hard to achieve those objectives. These skills then generate empathy and tolerance towards others.
Developing one’s team’s emotional intelligence could seem like a daunting task. But, there are several steps to go about the process.
First and foremost, the team leader should introduce the concept of emotional intelligence to their team members if they have not heard of it before. They should explain the importance of emotional intelligence for better work performance, conflict management, and overall self-development of an individual. To make things easier for their team members, the leader could also suggest relevant books or articles to read on the topic. This would ensure every team member has some foundational knowledge on emotional intelligence and are on the same page.
Next, the team leader should also encourage their mentees’ social responsibility. An excellent way to promote this is through participation in volunteer events or donations to charitable organizations. The leader should also think of positive social changes to introduce to the team. In case they face trouble in promoting such ideas, they could also reach out to respective organizations to seek their help in this regard.
As a team leader, one cannot teach anything they do not have a good grasp over. So, if one feels that their own emotional skills are lacking, one should work on those first before inculcating them in their team.
Emotional intelligence is rapidly revolutionizing the business landscape, and technical skills are no longer considered the only guarantor of success. As every industry tends to become increasingly competitive, only those organizations would thrive that foster a culture of collaboration and support in their teams and encourage individuals to become better versions of themselves.
