read and answer questions

BEST OF HBR 1998

It was Daniel Goleman who first brought the term "emotional intelligence"to

a wide audience with his 1995 book ofthat name, and it was Coleman who first

applied the concept to business with his 1998 HBR article, reprinted here. In

his research at nearly 200 large, global companies, Coleman found that while

the qualities traditionally associated with leadership-such as Intelligence,

toughness, determination, and vision-are required for success, they are insuffi-

cient. Truly effective leaders are also distinguished by a high degree of emo-

tional intelligence, which includes self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation,

empathy, and social skill.

These qualities may sound "soft" and unbusinesslike, but Coleman found direct

ties between emotional intelligence and measurable business results. While

emotional intelligence's relevance to business has continued to spark debate

over the past six years, Coleman's article remains the definitive reference on the

subject, with a description of each component of emotional intelligence and a

detailed discussion of how to recognize it in potential leaders, how and why it

connects to performance, and how it can be learned.

What Makes a Leader? by Daniel Goleman

E IQ and technical skills

are important, but

emotional intelligence

is the sine qua non

of leadership.

,VERY BUSINESSPERSON knOWS a

Story about a highly intelligent, highly skilled executive who was promoted into a leadership position only to fail at the job. And they also know a story about someone with solid-but not ex- traordinary-intellectual abilities and technical skills who was promoted into a similar position and then soared.

Such anecdotes support the wide- spread belief that identifying individu- als with the "right stuff" to be leaders is more art than science. After all, the personal styles of superb leaders vary: Some leaders are subdued and analyti* cal; others shout their manifestos from the mountaintops. And just as impor- tant, different situations call for differ- ent types of leadership. Most mergers

need a sensitive negotiator at the helm, whereas many turnarounds require a more forceful authority.

1 have found, however, that the most effective leaders are alike in one crucial way: They all have a high degree of what has come to be known as emotional in- telligence. It's not that iQ and technical skills are irrelevant. They do matter, but mainly as "threshold capabilities"; that is, they are the entry-level requirements for executive positions. But my research, along with other recent studies, clearly shows that emotional intelligence is the sine qua non of leadership. Without it, a person can have the best training in the world, an incisive, analytical mind, and an endless supply of smart ideas, but he still won't make a great leader.

82 HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW

BEST OF HBR

in the course ofthe past year, my col- leagues and I have focused on how emo- tional intelligence operates at work. We bave examined tbe relationship be- tween emotional intelligence and effec- tive perfonnance, especially in leaders. And we have observed bow emotional intelligence shows itself on tbe job. How can you tell if someone bas bigb emo- tional intelligence, for example, and bow can you recognize it in yourself? In tbe following pages, we'll explore these questions, taking eacb ofthe compo- nents of emotional intelligence-self- awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empatby, and social skill-in turn.

Evaluating Emotional Intelligence Most large companies today have em- ployed trained psycbologists to develop wbat are known as "competency mod- els"to aid them in identifying, training, and promoting likely stars in tbe lead- ership firmament. Tbe psychologists bave also developed sucb models for lower-level positions. And in recent years, I have analyzed competency mod- els from i88 companies, most of wbicb were large and global and included tbe likes of Lucent Technologies, Britisb Air- ways, and Credit Suisse.

In carrying out tbis work, my objec- tive was to determine wbicb personal capabilities drove outstanding perfor- mance within tbese organizations, and to what degree tbey did so. I grouped ca- pabilities into tbree categories: purely technical skills like accounting and busi- ness planning; cognitive abilities like an- alytical reasoning; and competencies demonstrating emotional intelligence, sucb as tbe ability to work witb otbers and effectiveness in leading cbange.

To create some of the competency models, psycbologists asked senior man- agers at tbe companies to identify tbe capabilities tbat typified the organiza- tion's most outstanding leaders. To cre- ate otber models,tbe psycbologists used objective criteria, such as a division's profitability, to differentiate tbe star per- formers at senior levels witbin tbeir

organizations from tbe average ones. Tbose individuals were then extensively interviewed and tested, and their capa- bilities were compared. Tbis process re- sulted in tbe creation of lists of ingredi- ents for higbly effective leaders.Tbe lists ranged In lengtb from seven to 15 items and included sucb ingredients as initia- tive and strategic vision.

Wben I analyzed all tbis data, I found dramatic results. To be sure, intellect was a driver of outstanding performance. Cognitive skills sucb as big-picture tbink- ing and long-term vision were particu- larly important. But wben I calculated the ratio of tecbnical skills, IQ,and emo- tional intelligence as ingredients of ex- cellent performance, emotional intelli- gence proved to be twice as important as tbe otbers for jobs at all levels.

Moreover, my analysis sbowed tbat emotional intelligence played an in- creasingly important role at tbe bigb- est levels of tbe company, wbere differ- ences in technical skills are of negligible

importance. In otber words, tbe bigber the rank of a person considered to be a star performer, the more emotional intelligence capabilities showed up as tbe reason for bis or ber effectiveness. Wben I compared star performers witb average ones in senior leadersbip posi- tions, nearly 90% of tbe difference in their profiles was attributable to emo- tional intelligence factors ratber tban cognitive abilities.

Otber researchers have confirmed tbat emotional intelligence not only distin- guishes outstanding leaders but can also be linked to strong performance. Tbe findings of tbe late David McClelland,

tbe renowned researcber in human and organizational behavior, are a good ex- ample. In a 1996 study of a global food and beverage company, McClelland found tbat when senior managers had a critical mass of emotional intelligence capabilities,tbeir divisions outperformed yearly earnings goals by 20%. Mean- wbile, division leaders without that crit- ical mass underperfomied by almost tbe same amount. McClelland's findings, interestingly, held as true in tbe com- pany's U.S. divisions as in its divisions in Asia and Europe.

In sbort, tbe numbers are beginning to tell us a persuasive story about tbe link between a company's success and the emotional intelligence of its lead- ers. And just as important, researcb is also demonstrating tbat people can, if tbey take the right approacb, develop tbeir emotional intelligence. (See the sidebar "Can Emotional Intelligence Be Learned?")

Self-Awareness Self-awareness is tbe first component of emotional intelligence-wbicb makes sense wben one considers tbat the Del- phic oracle gave the advice to "know thyself" thousands of years ago. Self- awareness means having a deep under- standing of one's emotions, strengths, weaknesses, needs, and drives. People witb strong self-awareness are neitber overly critical nor unrealistically hope- ful. Ratber, they are bonest - witb tbem- selves and with otbers.

People who bave a bigh degree of self- awareness recognize how tbeir feelings affect tbem, otber people, and their job perfonnance. Tbus, a self-aware person who knows that tight deadlines bring out the worst in him plans bis time carefully and gets bis work done well in advance. Another person witb bigh self-awareness will be able to work with a demanding client. She will under- stand the client's impact on ber moods and tbe deeper reasons for ber frustra- tion. "Their trivial demands take us away from the real work tbat needs to be done," she migbt explain. And sbe

84 HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW

What Makes a Leader?

will go one step further and turn her anger into something constructive.

Self-awareness extends to a person's understanding of his or her values and goals. Someone who is highly self-aware knows where he is headed and why; so, for example, he will be able to be firm in turning down a job offer that is tempt- ing financially but does not fit with his principles or long-term goals. A person who lacks self-awareness is apt to make decisions that bring on inner turmoil by treading on buried values. "The money looked good so I signed on," someone might say two years into a job,"but the work means so little to me that I'm con- stantly bored." The decisions of self- aware people mesh with their values; consequently, they often find work to be energizing.

How can one recognize self-aware- ness? First and foremost, it shows itself as candor and an ability to assess one- self realistically. People with high self- awareness are able to speak accurately and openly-although not necessarily effusively or confessionally-abouttiieir emotions and the impact they have on their work. For instance, one manager I know of was skeptical about a new per- sonal-shopper service that her company, a major department-store chain, was about to introduce. Without prompting from her team or her boss, she offered them an explanation: "It's hard for me to get behind the rollout of tbis service," she admitted, "because I really wanted to run the project, but I wasn't selected. Bear with me while I deal with that." The manager did indeed examine her

Daniel Goleman is the author of Emo- tional Intelligence (Bantam. 1995) and a coauthor of Primal Leadership: Realiz- ing the Power of Emotional Intelligence (Harvard Business School, 2002). He is the cochairman of the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations, which is based at Rutgers University's Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology in Piscat- away, New Jersey. He can be reached at [email protected].

feelings; a week later, she was support- ing the project fully.

Such self-knowledge often shows it- self in the hiring process. Ask a candi- date to describe a time he got carried away by his feelings and did something he later regretted. Self-aware candi- dates will be frank in admitting to fail- ure - and will often tell their tales with a smile. One of the hallmarks of self- awareness is a self-deprecating sense of humor.

Self-awareness can also be identified during performance reviews. Self- aware people know-and are com- fortable talking about-their limitations and strengths, and they often demon- strate a thirst for con- structive criticism. By contrast, people witb low self-awareness interpret the message that they need to improve as a threat or a sign of failure.

Self-aware people can also be recognized by their self-confidence. They have a firm grasp of their capabili- ties and are less likely to set themselves up to fail by, for example, overstretching on assignments. They know, too, when to ask for help. And the risks they take on the job are calculated. They won't ask for a challenge that they know they can't handle alone. They'll play to their strengths.

Consider the actions of a midlevel em- ployee who was invited to sit in on a strategy meeting with her company's top executives. Although she was the most junior person in the room, she did not sit there quietly, listening in awe- struck or fearful silence. She knew she had a head for clear logic and the skill to present ideas persuasively, and she of- fered cogent suggestions about the com- pany's strategy. At the same time, ber self-awareness stopped her from wan- dering into territory where she knew she was weak.

Despite the value of having self-aware people in the workplace, my research

indicates that senior executives don't often give self-awareness the credit it deserves when they look for potential leaders. Many executives mistake can- dor about feelings for "wimpiness" and fail to give due respect to employees wbo openly acknowledge their shortcomings. Such people are too readily dismissed as "not tough enough" to lead others.

In fact, the opposite is true. In the first place, people generally admire and respect candor. Furthermore, leaders are constantly required to make judg-

ment calls that require a candid assessment of capabilities-

their own and those of others. Do we have

the management expertise to acquire a competitor? Can we launch a new product within six months? People who assess themselves honestly-that is, self aware people-

are well suited to do the same for the orga-

nizations they run.

Self-Regulation Biological impulses drive our emotions. We cannot do away with them -but we can do much to manage them. Self- regulation, which is like an ongoing inner conversation, is tbe component of emotional intelligence tbat frees us from being prisoners of our feelings. People engaged in such a conversation fee! bad moods and emotional impulses just as everyone else does, but they find ways to control them and even to chan- nel them in useful ways.

Imagine an executive who has just watched a team of his employees present a botched analysis to the com- pany's board of directors. In the gloom that follows, the executive might find himself tempted to pound on the table in anger or kick over a chair. He could leap up and scream at the group. Or he might maintain a grim silence, glaring at everyone before stalking off.

INSIDE THE MIND OF THE LEADER [ANUARY 3004 85

BEST OF HBR

But if be had a gift for self-regulation, be would choose a different approacb. He would pick his words carefully, acknowledging tbe team's poor perfor- mance witbout rusbing to any basty judgment. He would then step back to consider tbe reasons for tbe failure. Are tbey personal-a lack of effort? Are tbere any mitigating factors? Wbat was bis role in tbe debacle? After consider- ing tbese questions, be would call tbe team togetber, lay out tbe incident's con- sequences, and offer bis feelings about it He would then present bis analysis of tbe problem and a well-considered solution.

Wby does self-regulation matter so much for leaders? First of all, people who are in control of tbeir feelings and impulses-tbat is, people wbo are rea- sonable - are able to create an environ- ment of trust and fairness. In sucb an environment, politics and infigbting are sharply reduced and productivity is high. Talented people flock to tbe organization and aren't tempted to leave. And self-regulation bas a trickle- down effect. No one wants to be known as a hotbead when the boss is known for ber calm approach. Fewer bad moods at tbe top mean fewer throughout tbe organization.

Second, self-regulation is important for competitive reasons. Everyone knows tbat business today is rife with ambigu- ity and change. Companies merge and break apart regularly. Technology trans- forms work at a dizzying pace. People wbo have mastered tbeir emotions are able to roll witb tbe cbanges. Wben a new program is announced, tbey don't panic; instead, they are able to suspend judgment, seek out information, and lis- ten to tbe executives as tbey explain the new program. As the initiative moves forward, these people are able to move witb it.

Sometimes tbey even lead tbe way. Consider tbe case of a manager at a large manufacturing company. Like ber col- leagues, sbe bad used a certain software program for five years. The program drove bow she collected and reported

Can Emotional Intelligence Be Learned?

For ages, people have debated if leaders are born or made. So

too goes the debate about emotional intelligence. Are people

born with certain levels of empathy, for example, or do they

acquire empathy as a resuttof life's experiences? The answer is

both. Scientific inquiry strongly suggests that there is a genetic

component to emotional intelligence. Psychological and develop-

mental research indicates that nurture plays a roSe as well. How

much of each perhaps will never be known, but research and

practice clearly demonstrate that emotional intelligence can

be learned.

One thing is certain: Emotional intelligence increases with

age. There is an old-fashioned word for the phenomenon: matu-

rity. Yet even with maturity, some peopie stiil need training to

enhance their emotional intelligence. Unfortunately, far too

many training programs that intend to build leadership skills-

including emotional intelligence-are a waste of time and

money. The problem is simple: They focus on the wrong part

of the brain.

Emotional intelligence is born largely in the neurotransmitters

of the brain's limhic system, which governs feelings, impulses,

and drives. Research indicates that the limhic system teams best

through motivation, extended practice, and feedback. Compare

this with the kind of learning that goes on in the neocortex,

which governs analytical and technical ability. The neocortex

grasps concepts and logic. It is the part of the brain that figures

out how to use a computer or make a sales call by reading a

book. Not surprisingly-but mistakenly-it is also the part of the

brain targeted by most training programs aimed at enhancing

emotional intelligence. When such programs take, in effect.

data and how sbe thought about tbe company's strategy. One day, senior ex- ecutives announced that a new program was to be installed that would radically change how information was gatbered and assessed within the organization. Wbile many people in tbe company complained bitterly about bow disrup- tive the cbange would be, tbe manager mulled over the reasons for tbe new pro- gram and was convinced of its potential to improve performance. She eagerly attended training sessions - some of ber colleagues refused to do so-and was

eventually promoted to run several di- visions, in part because sbe used the new technology so effectively.

I want to pusb tbe importance of self- regulation to leadersbip even furtber and make tbe case that it enhances in- tegrity, wbicb is not only a personal vir- tue but also an organizational strengtb. Many of the bad things tbat bappen in companies are a function of impulsive behavior. People rarely plan to exagger- ate profits, pad expense accounts, dip into the till, or abuse power for selfisb ends. Instead, an opportunity presents

HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW

What Makes a Leader?

a neocortical approach, my research with the Consortium for

Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations has

shown they can even have a negative impact on people's job

performance.

To enhance emotional intelligence, organizations must refo-

cus their training to include the limbic system. They must help

people break old behavioral habits and establish new ones. That

not only takes much more time than conventional training pro-

grams, it also requires an individualized approach.

imagine an executive who is thought to be low on empathy

by her colleagues. Part of that deficit shows itself as an inability

to listen; she interrupts people and doesn't pay close attention to

what they're saying. To fix the problem, the executive needs to

be motivated to change, and tben she needs practice and feed-

back from others in the company. A colleague or coach could be

tapped to let the executive know when she has been observed

failing to listen. She would then have to replay the incident and

give a betterresponse; that is, demonstrate her ability to absorb

what others are saying. And the executive could be directed to

observe certain executives who listen well and to mimic their

behavior.

With persistence and practice, such a process can lead to

lasting results. I know one Wall Street executive who sought to

improve his empathy-specifically his ability to read people's

reactions and see their perspectives. Before beginning his quest,

theexecutive'ssubordinates were terrified of working with him.

People even went so far as to hide bad news from him. Natu-

rally, he was shocked when finally confronted with these facts.

He went home and told his f a m i l y - b u t they only confirmed

what he had heard at work. When their opinions on any given

subject did not mesh with his,they, too, were frightened of him.

Enlisting the help of a coach, the executive went to work to

heighten his empathy through practice and feedback. His first

stepwastotakea vacation to a foreign country where he did

not speak the language. While there, he monitored his reactions

to the unfamiliar and his openness to people who were differ-

ent from him. When he returned home, humbled by his week

abroad, the executive asked his coach to shadow him for parts

ofthe day, several times a week, to critique how he treated peo-

ple with new or different perspectives. At the same time, he con-

sciously used on-the-job interactions as opportunities to prac-

tice "hearing" ideas that differed from his. Finally, the executive

had himseif videotaped in meetings and asked those who

worked for and with him to critique his ability to acknowledge

and understand the feelings of others. It took several months,

but the executive's emotional intelligence did ultimately rise,

and the improvement was reflected in his overall performance

on the job.

It's important to emphasize that building one's emotional

intelligence can n o t - w i l l not-happen without sincere desire

and concerted effort. A brief seminar won't help; nor can one

buy a how-to manual. It is much harder to learn to empathize-

to internalize empathy as a natural response to people-than

it is to become adept at regression analysis. But it can be done.

"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm," wrote

Ralph Waldo Emerson. !f your goal is to become a real leader,

these Wordscan serve as a guidepost in your efforts to develop

high emotional intelligence.

itself, and people with low impulse con- trol just say yes.

By contrast, consider the behavior of the senior executive at a large food com- pany. The executive was scrupulously honest in his negotiations with local distributors. He would routinely lay out his cost structure in detail, thereby giv- ing the distributors a realistic under- standing ofthe company's pricing. This approach meant the executive couldn't always drive a hard bargain. Now, on occasion, he felt the urge to increase profits by withholding information

about the company's costs. But he chal- lenged that impulse - he saw that it made more sense in the long run to counter- act it. His emotional self-regulation paid off in strong, lasting relationships with distributors that benefited the company more than any short-term financial gains would have.

The signs of emotional self-regulation, therefore, are easy to see: a propensity for reflection and thoughtful ness; com- fort with ambiguity and change; and in- tegrity-an ability to say no to impul- sive urges.

Like self-awareness, self-regulation often does not get its due. People who can master their emotions are some- times seen as cold fish-their considered responses are taken as a lack of passion. People with fiery temperaments are fre- quently thought of as "classic" leaders- their outbursts are considered hall- marks of charisma and power. But when such people make it to the top, their im- pulsiveness often works against them. In my research, extreme displays of neg- ative emotion have never emerged as a driver of good leadership.

INSIDE THE MIND OF THE LEADER JANUARY 2004 87

BEST OF HBR

Motivation If there is one trait that virtually all effective leaders have, it is motivation. They are driven to achieve beyond ex- pectations-their own and everyone else's. The key word here is achieve. Plenty of people are motivated by ex- ternal factors, such as a big salary or the status that comes from having an im- pressive title or being part of a presti- gious company. By contrast, those with leadership potential are motivated by a deeply embedded desire to achieve for the sake of achievement.

If you are looking for leaders, how can you identify people who are motivated by the drive to achieve rather than by external rewards? The first sign is a pas- sion for the work itself-such people seek out creative challenges, love to leam, and take great pride in a job well done. They also display an unflagging energy to do things better. People with such energy often seem restless with the status quo. They are persistent with

their questions about why things are done one way ratherthan another; they are eager to explore new approaches to their work.

A cosmetics company manager, for example, was frustrated that he had to wait two weeks to get sales results from people in the field. He finally tracked down an automated phone system that would beep each of his salespeople at 5 PM every day. An automated message then prompted them to punch in their

numbers-how many calls and sales they had made that day. The system shortened the feedback time on sales results from weeks to hours.

That story illustrates two other com- mon traits of people who are driven to achieve. They are forever raising the per- formance bar, and they like to keep score. Take the performance bar first. During performance reviews, people with high levels of motivation might ask to be "stretched" by their superiors. Of course, an employee who combines self- awareness with internal motivation will recognize her limits-but she won't set- tle for objectives that seem too easy to fulfill.

And it follows naturally that people who are driven to do better also want a way of tracking progress-their own, their team's, and their company's. Whereas people with low achievement motivation are often fuzzy about re- sults, those with high achievement mo- tivation often keep score by tracking

The Five Components of Emotional Intelligence at Work Definition

Self-Awareness ^^^ ability to recognize and understand your moods, emotions, and drives, as well as their effect on others

Hallmarks

self-confidence

realistic self-assessment

self-deprecating sense of humor

Self-ReQUlation ^^^ ability to control or redirect disruptive impulses trustworthiness and integrity and moods comfort with ambiguity the propensity to suspend j u d g m e n t - t o think before acting

openness to change

M o t i v a t i o n ^ passion to work for reasons that go beyond money or status

a propensity to pursue goals with energy and persistence

strong d rive to ach ieve

optimism, even in the face of failure

organizationai commitment

E m p a t h y ^^^ ability to understand the emotional makeup of other people

skill in treating people according to their emotional reactions

expertise in building and retaining talent

cross-cultural sensitivity

service to clients and customers

Social Skill proficiency in managing relationships and building effectiveness in leading change networks persuasiveness an ability to find common ground and build rapport

HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW

What Makes a Leader?

such hard measures as profitability or market share. I know of a money man- ager who starts and ends his day on the Internet, gauging the performance of his stock fund against four industry-set benchmarks.

Interestingly, people with high moti- vation remain optimistic even when the score is against them. In such cases, self- regulation combines with achievement motivation to overcome the frustration and depression that come after a set- back or failure. Take the case of an an- other portfolio manager at a large invest- ment company. After several successful years, her fund tumbled for three con- secutive quarters, leading three large in- stitutional clients to shift their business elsewhere.

Some executives would have blamed the nosedive on circumstances outside their control; others might have seen the setback as evidence of personal failure. This portfolio manager, however, saw an opportunity to prove she could lead a turnaround. Two years later, when she was promoted to a very senior level in the company, she described the ex- perience as "the best thing that ever happened to me; I learned so much from it."

Executives trying to recognize high levels of achievement motivation in their people can look for one last piece of evidence: commitment to the orga- nization. When people love their jobs for the work itself, they often feel com- mitted to the organizations that make that work possible. Committed employ- ees are likely to stay with an organiza- tion even when they are pursued by headhunters waving money.

It's not difficult to understand how and why a motivation to achieve trans- lates into strong leadership. If you set the performance bar high for yourself, you will do the same for the organiza- tion when you are in a position to do so. Likewise, a drive to surpass goals and an interest in keeping score can be con- tagious. Leaders with these traits can often build a team of managers around them with the same traits. And of course.

optimism and organizational commit- ment are fundamental to leadership- just try to imagine running a company without them.

Empathy Of all the dimensions of emotional in- telligence, empathy is the most easily recognized. We have all felt the empa- thy of a sensitive teacher or friend; we have all been struck by its absence in an unfeeling coach or boss. But when it comes to business, we rarely hear people praised, let alone rewarded, for their em- pathy. The very word seems unbusi- nesslike, out of place amid the tough realities ofthe marketplace.

But empathy doesn't mean a kind of "I'm OK, you're OK" mushiness. For a leader, that is, it doesn't mean adopting other people's emotions as one's own and trying to please everybody. That would be a nightmare-it would make action impossible. Rather, empathy means thoughtfully considering em- ployees'feelings-along with other fac- tors-in the process of making intelli- gent decisions.

For an example of empathy in action, consider what happened when two giant brokerage companies merged,cre- ating redundant jobs in all their divi- sions. One division manager called his people together and gave a gloomy speech that emphasized the number of people who would soon be fired. The manager of another division gave his people a different kind of speech. He was up-front about his own worry and confusion, and he promised to keep peo- ple informed and to treat everyone fairly.

The difference between these two managers was empathy. The first man- ager was too worried about his own fate to consider the feelings of his anxiety- stricken colleagues. The second knew intuitively what his people were feel- ing, and he acknowledged their fears with his words. Is it any surprise that the first manager saw his division sink as many demoralized people, especially the most talented, departed? By con-

trast, the second manager continued to be a strong leader, his best people stayed, and his division remained as pro- ductive as ever.

Empathy is particularly important today as a component of leadership for at least three reasons: the increasing use of teams; the rapid pace of global- ization; and the growing need to retain talent.

Consider the challenge of leading a team. As anyone who has ever been a part of one can attest, teams are caul- drons of bubbling emotions. They are often charged with reaching a consen- sus-which is hard enough with two people and much more difficult as the numbers increase. Fven in groups with as few as four or five members, alliances form and clashing agendas get set. A team's leader must be able to sense and understand the viewpoints of everyone around the table.

That's exactly what a marketing man- ager at a large information technology company was able to do when she was appointed to lead a troubled team. The group was in turmoil, overloaded by work and missing deadlines. Tensions were high amongthe members.Tinker- ing with procedures was not enough to bring the group together and make it an effective part of the company.

So the manager took several steps. In a series of one-on-one sessions, she took the time to listen to everyone in the group - what was frustrating them, how they rated their colleagues, whether they felt they had been ignored. And

INSIDE THE MIND OF THE LEADER JANUARY 3004 89

BEST OF HBR

tben sbe directed the team in a way tbat brougbt it together: She encouraged people to speak more openly about their frustrations, and sbe belped people raise constructive complaints during meetings. In sbort, her empatby allowed her to understand her team's emotional makeup. Tbe result was not just beigbt- ened collaboration among members but also added business, as tbe team was called on for help by a wider range of internal clients.

Globalization is anotber reason for tbe rising importance of empatby for busi- ness leaders. Cross-cultural dialogue can easily lead to miscues and misunder- standings. Empathy is an antidote. Peo- ple wbo bave it are attuned to subtleties in body language; tbey can bear tbe message beneath tbe words being spo- ken. Beyond tbat, tbey have a deep understandingofbotb tbe existence and tbe importance of cultural and ethnic differences.

Consider the case of an American con- sultant whose team had just pitched a project to a potential Japanese client. In its dealings with Americans, tbe team was accustomed to being bombarded witb questions after sucb a proposal, but this time it was greeted with a long silence. Otber members of tbe team, tak- ing tbe silence as disapproval, were ready to pack and leave. Tbe lead con- sultant gestured tbem to stop. Although he was not particularly familiar with Japanese culture, be read the client's face and posture and sensed not rejec- tion but interest-even deep consider- ation. He was rigbt: Wben tbe client fi- nally spoke, it was to give tbe consulting firm tbe job.

Finally, empatby plays a key role in tbe retention of talent, particularly in to- day's information economy. Leaders bave always needed empatby to develop and keep good people, but today tbe stakes are bigber. Wben good people leave, they take tbe company's knowl- edge with tbem.

Tbat's where coaching and mentor- ing come in. It has repeatedly been shown tbat coaching and mentoring pay

off not just in better performance but also in increased job satisfaction and decreased turnover. But what makes coaching and mentoring work best is tbe nature of the relationship. Out- standing coacbes and mentors get in- side tbe beads of tbe people they are helping. Tbey sense bow to give effec- tive feedback. They know wben to pusb for better performance and wben to bold back. In tbe way tbey motivate tbeir protégés, tbey demonstrate empa- tby in action.

In wbat is probably sounding like a refrain, let me repeat that empatby doesn't get mucb respect in business. People wonder how leaders can make bard decisions if they are "feeling" for all the people wbo will be affected. But leaders witb empatby do more tban sympatbize with people around them: Tbey use tbeir knowledge to improve tbeir companies in subtle but impor- tant ways.

Social Skill Tbe first three components of emotional intelligence are self-management skills. Tbe last two, empathy and social skill, concern a person's ability to manage relationsbips witb otbers. As a compo- nent of emotional intelligence, social skill is not as simple as it sounds. It's not just a matter of friendliness, altbougb people witb bigb levels of social skill are rarely mean-spirited. Social skill, ratb- er, is friendliness with a purpose: mov- ing people in tbe direction you desire, wbether tbat's agreement on a new marketing strategy or enthusiasm about a new product.

Socially skilled people tend to have a wide circle of acquaintances, and they bave a knack for finding common ground with people of all kinds-a knack for building rapport. That doesn't mean tbey socialize continually; it means they work according to the assumption that nothing important gets done alone. Sucb people have a network in place wben tbe time for action comes.

Social skill is the culmination of the otber dimensions of emotional intelli- gence. People tend to be very effective at managing relationships wben tbey can understand and control tbeir own emotions and can empathize witb tbe feelings of otbers. Even motivation con- tributes to social skill. Remember that people wbo are driven to acbieve tend to be optimistic, even in the face of set- backs or failure. Wben people are up- beat, their "glow" is cast upon conversa- tions and other social encounters. Tbey are popular, and for good reason.

Because it is tbe outcome of tbe otber dimensions of emotional intelligence, social skill is recognizable on tbe job in many ways that will by now sound fa- miliar. Socially skilled people, for in- stance, are adept at managing teams- tbat's tbeir empatby at work. Likewise, they are expert persuaders-a manifes- tation of self-awareness, self-regulation, and empatby combined. Given those skills, good persuaders know wben to make an emotional plea, for instance, and wben an appeal to reason will work better. And motivation, wben publicly visible, makes sucb people excellent col- laborators; tbeir passion for the work spreads to otbers, and tbey are driven to find solutions.

But sometimes social skill shows itself in ways the otber emotional intelligence components do not. For instance, socially skilled people may at times appear not to be working while at work. Tbey seem to be idly scbmoozing-chatting in tbe ball- ways with colleagues or joking around witb people who are not even connected to tbeir "real" jobs. Socially skilled peo- ple, bowever, don't tbink it makes sense to arbitrarily limit tbe scope of tbeir re-

90 HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW

What Makes a Leader?

lationships. They build bonds widely be- cause they know that in these fiuid times, they may need help someday from peo- ple they are just getting to know today.

For example, consider the case of an executive in the strategy department of a global computer manufacturer. By 1993, he was convinced that the com- pany's future lay with the Internet Over the course of the next year, he found kindred spirits and used his social skill to stitch together a virtual community that cut across levels, divisions, and nations. He then used this de facto team to put up a corporate Web site, among the first by a major company. And, on his own initiative, with no budget or formal sta- tus, he signed up the company to par- ticipate in an annual internet industry convention. Calling on his allies and per- suading various divisions to donate funds, he recruited more than 50 people from a dozen different units to repre- sent the company at tbe convention.

Management took notice: Within a year of the conference, the executive's team formed the basis for the com- pany's first Internet division, and he was formally put in charge of it. To get there, the executive had ignored conventional boundaries, forging and maintaining connections with people in every cor- ner of the organization.

Is social skill considered a key leader- ship capability in most companies? The answer is yes, especially when compared with the other components of emo- tional intelligence. People seem to know intuitively that leaders need to manage relationships effectively; no leader is an island. After all, the leader's task is to get work done through other people, and social skill makes that possible. A leader who cannot express her empa- thy may as well not have it at all. And a leader's motivation will be useless if he cannot communicate his passion to the organization. Social skill allows lead-

ers to put their emotional intelligence to work.

It would be foolish to assert that good-old-fashioned IQ and technical ability are not important ingredients in strong leadership. But the recipe would not be complete without emotional in- telligence. It was once thought that the components of emotional intelligence were "nice to have" in business leaders. But now we know that, for the sake of performance, these are ingredients that leaders "need to have."

It is fortunate, then, that emotional intelligence can be learned. The process is not easy. It takes time and, most of all, commitment. But the benefits that come from having a well-developed emo- tional intelligence, both for the individ- ual and for the organization, make it worth the effort. ^

Reprint R0401H; HBR OnPoint 3790 To order, see page 115.

Harvard Business Review Notice of Use Restrictions, May 2009

Harvard Business Review and Harvard Business Publishing Newsletter content on EBSCOhost is licensed for

the private individual use of authorized EBSCOhost users. It is not intended for use as assigned course material

in academic institutions nor as corporate learning or training materials in businesses. Academic licensees may

not use this content in electronic reserves, electronic course packs, persistent linking from syllabi or by any

other means of incorporating the content into course resources. Business licensees may not host this content on

learning management systems or use persistent linking or other means to incorporate the content into learning

management systems. Harvard Business Publishing will be pleased to grant permission to make this content

available through such means. For rates and permission, contact [email protected].