The Critical Impact of Emotional Intelligence in Executive Coaching
The Role of Emotional Intelligence in Executive Coaching
Executive coaching covers a number of technical and soft skills that support aspiring leaders to move into leadership roles. There are many important skills that people associate with being an effective leader, such as communication, negotiation, conflict resolution, decision making, problem solving, and influencing. However, there is one other quality that is less talked about in relation to leadership, and that is emotional intelligence.
Although emotional intelligence (EQ) is not one of the main qualities that most people tend to think of when they think of leadership, emotional intelligence is actually equally as, if not more, important, as all of the qualities we just listed. It is for exactly this reason that EQ is being increasingly taught as part of many executive coaching programs.
So, what is emotional intelligence? EQ is a quality that is basically referring to how well you demonstrate four different qualities or attributes: self-awareness (how well you can recognise and understand your own emotions), self-management (how well you can recognise and control your own emotions), social awareness (how well you can empathise with and recognise the emotions of others), and relationships management (how well you can communicate and build and maintain positive relationships with others). All four of these things tie into one another and play an important role in the broader emotional intelligence piece, which of course has a big impact on how effective you are as a leader.
Emotional intelligence is actually a quality that is very much linked to what makes for an effective leader. Research shows that leaders who are emotionally intelligent are much more effective leaders than those who are not. Interestingly, several other studies have shown that female leaders consistently rank higher in EQ than men!
There are several other reasons why EQ is such an important quality for leaders. These include that:
- Emotionally intelligent leaders communicate more effectively with others. As any good leader knows, effective communication is key in order to be able to set the strategic vision and direction for your team. Given this, it is important that leaders are emotionally intelligent so that they can communicate effectively with others.
- Emotionally intelligent leaders have better interpersonal skills: skills As a leader, there will be many complex situations that you will have to deal with within your team, which will require you to demonstrate active listening skills, have challenging conversations, developing relationships with others (who you may not always agree with or get along with), show empathy, and recognise other people’s perspectives and points of view. There will also be times when you need to influence, negotiate, and resolve conflicts. Emotional intelligence will play a role in all of this.
- Being emotionally intelligent will help you manage your own stress, which in turn will have a more positive impact on your physical and mental health. You will also be better placed to help others in your team to manage their own stress, which in turn will promote the better overall health and wellbeing of your people.
- Emotional intelligence helps you to be more resilient. As all good leaders know, there will be times in your career where you come up against obstacles, failures, and setbacks. When you are emotionally intelligent, you will be able to bounce back better and stay positive and focused on your vision, even when times get tough.
As you can see, whilst it is not necessarily the first quality that most people will associate with effective leadership, emotional intelligence is just as important as other technical and soft skills associated with being a good leader. For this reason, it is important that this is a skill that is taught as part of executive coaching and women’s leadership curriculums, alongside other “more conventional” leadership skills and qualities.
With this in mind, executive coaching and other women’s leadership programs can be a useful tool for many aspiring and current female leaders who are wishing to become more emotionally intelligent and increase their effectiveness as leaders. In fact, emotional intelligence is one of the biggest mainstays of many modern executive coaching and women’s leadership programs, as the important role that it plays in being an effective leader becomes more recognised.
Caroline Kennedy is an award-winning CEO with a track record of leading multinational companies with up to $250 million in revenue. She is also the founder of Empowering Women Leaders: Awaken the Powerful Leader Within – a transformative eight-week program designed to help women master the art of leadership. If you’re ready to unleash your hidden potential and become the leader that you were always meant to be, find out more at https://www.carolinekennedy.com.au/women-leadership-program/.