|
|
 |
A Leading Emotional
Advantage
Kansas City Star
- 10.20.00
By Jim Dugan, Ph.D, Fortisan Group
Savvy leaders are always looking for an edge
whether they lead their son's Scout troop, coach
their daughter's soccer team or supervise a
network of engineers. In the past few years,
"emotional intelligence," being attuned to your
own and others' emotions, has become a popular
leadership model in the business world. That's
because having a solid dose of emotional
intelligence implies you have a jump on the
competition.
In this quest, more than 50,000 business leaders
have had their leadership skills evaluated by
taking emotional intelligence tests. Researchers
are still crunching much of the data on
emotional intelligence and leadership skills.
However, one study published in the March
Harvard Business Review generated some
interesting findings. Emotional intelligence has
been linked with four specific leadership
styles. Successful and emotionally leaders
possess all four and easily shift between
styles, depending on the circumstances.
Authoritarian style:
This is not the authoritarian style where the
leader's word is the rule. In contrast, the
authoritative leader is collegial and
persuasive, has an infectious enthusiasm and
champions the team's vision and goals.
Authoritative leaders are alert to the
undercurrent of office politics, but they keep
team goals insight.
Affiliative style:
Leaders are keenly aware that knowledge sharing
and transfer are important ingredients in a
well-oiled team, and they make these things
happen. They do behind-the scenes work to build
strong bonds within the team. They try to
develop personal rapport with each team member,
and they are free with praise and tactful with
criticisms. Successful affiliative leaders donąt
treat everybody the same.
Democratic style:
"What is your opinion?" "What do you see as the
glitches in our plan?" "How can we do that
better?" "What do you suggest we do about the
problem?" "How do you think the team is
operating?" These are the refrains of the
democratic style leadership. They actively seek
out opinions from all the team members.
Coaching style:
This might be the most difficult and challenging
to implement because it is so time consuming.
However, good coaching, like good parenting,
pays dividends. Patience, persistence, empathy
and guidance are the tools of the successful
coach. If you think you have mastered all four
leadership styles, congratulations. But then
again, don't you want to check that out with
your team?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
