One of the reasons high achievers hire me as their coach is to help them reach the next level in their career or grow their company faster and more strategically. Often, they struggle with how to blend their role as manager or “doer” with a new role as leader and strategist.
A manager lacking the ability to think strategically, and use Emotional Intelligence (EQ) skills to motivate and inspire employees will have great difficulty assuming a role as a leader. It’s also important to note that a leader without good management skills is going to have difficulty making their visions and strategies operational.
Since 1990, Peter Salovey and John D. Mayer have been the leading researchers on Emotional Intelligence and define it in the book Emotional Intelligence, as “the subset of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and actions” (1990). EQ requires that in addition to great social skills you exhibit self awareness, emotional control, and a respond vs. react mentality.
It is much easier to learn basic managerial skills — overseeing the activities of others, ensuring the work gets done and focusing on the day to day tasks. Learning to become self-aware, control your emotions, respond instead of react be inspirational and motivating is much more difficult. It is the reason why there are so many books and articles written on management and leadership. There are many managers in the world but very few who can exhibit the qualities of a solid leader.
When I work with my clients we start with self-awareness. I emphasize that without being aware of what your habits, attitudes, and behaviors are, you cannot develop the underlying confidence that is required in leadership. In future blogs, I will continue to talk about these aspects of ourselves and help you understand how to inventory yourself, integrate new thinking and implement the new skills and information you have learned.
