Self Esteem/Self Efficacy and Communication/Team Building

Leadership students often ask, “What makes a good leader?” Over time, the experts have answered that question with dozens of leadership theories. Current trends in leadership theory include servant leadership, transformational leadership, and many others. Current leadership theory relies heavily on the behavior and personal attributes of the leader, rather than only the resulting success. The definition of leadership has changed and evolved since the 1980’s. More emphasis is placed on the relationships between the leader and subordinate and less on the behaviors of the leader (Hernez-Broome and Hughes, 2004). Effective leadership today often includes the development and satisfaction of the subordinate.

One such theory as defined by Goleman, Boyatzis, and McKee (2002) is Primal Leadership. Primal Leadership Defined Primal leadership is the result of leaders understanding their emotions and the effects they have on their subordinates. Goleman, et al. (2002) argued that this understanding of emotions is primal because it is the most important aspect of leadership. They argue that organizational success depends on more than financial results. Complete success is achieved with financial success and high morale, employee loyalty, and high retention (Goleman, et al., 2002).

In 1988, Bar-On used the term emotional quotient (EQ) to describe a set of emotional and social traits people use to manage environmental burden. He argued that EQ was equivalent to the intelligence quotient (IQ) (Johnson, 2005). He authored a multidimensional questionnaire to measure emotional intelligence (Ashkanasy and Daus, 2005). According to Bar-On and many other EI researchers, successful people measure high on tests for emotional intelligence and traditional intelligence. Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace Many studies have confirmed that EI is a positive influence in the organization (Perlini & Halverson, 2006).

The research shows that subordinates prefer emotionally intelligent leaders (Fisher, Kent, and Nottingham, 2005). However, this positive view of EI is a relatively new concept. It has only been in the past two decades that the recognition of the emotional health and intelligence of leadership has an impact on many aspects of the organization (Hernez-Broome and Hughes, 2004). Many experts today agree that leadership behavior has become a core factor in determining effectiveness (Wasylyshyn, et. al, 2004). Studies conducted in the 1970’s showed that leaders felt they must use their heads and not their hearts (Goleman, 1994). Managers and leaders of organizations felt that using feeling or emotion in the workplace would have negative consequences. They included difficulty in making hard decisions, conflict with organizational goals, and difficulty dealing with their subordinates in a professional manner (Goleman, 1994).

References