Emotional Intelligence Rises to the Top in a Crisis
Emotional intelligence is a vital and competitive advantage for leaders in the midst of a crisis.
And what could be more of a crisis than the year that is 2020? A pandemic, economic collapse and racial strife are colluding to force all of our organizations to adapt and change in ways we never before could have imagined.
“Leadership at its core is the awareness of our own emotions and the emotions of others and the ability to manage these emotions healthily and productively,” says Bill Marklein, founder and CEO of Employ Humanity in Plymouth, Wis. “Leaders embrace the full wheel of emotion with an understanding that both positive and negative emotions make us human. To successfully lead and inspire people on the journey through thick and thin, we must use emotional intelligence — and our shared humanity.”
Conversely, a lack of emotional intelligence can be destructive for an organization in a crisis, according to Marklein, a national speaker and author whose new book, titled, “Endless Bloom: Planting Emotional Intelligence for Positive Growth,” will be published in August.
According to Marklein, emotionally Intelligent leaders have the following seven traits in their leadership DNA:
1. Vulnerability “Leadership is not about always being right or bulletproof — but more about always being real. Leading by example, servant leaders demonstrate humility and vulnerability that they, too, are learning on the journey. The pandemic is a first for all current leaders — and we don’t have all the answers. It is in being vulnerable that makes us authentic, relatable and able to truly connect with ourselves and others. The best leaders are not perfect. The best leaders are authentic — and human,” Marklein said.
2. Self-awareness “The best leaders can look in the mirror and be brutally honest with themselves. They intimately know their strengths, weaknesses and blind spots. They have great mentors and coaches to facilitate this process of self-discovery. With an accurate self-assessment, great leaders have a warm confidence to lead themselves first during adversity so they can successfully lead — and serve — their teams,” Marklein said.
3. Empathy “Listen with curiosity and put ourselves in others’ shoes to better connect and serve. The iceberg is an excellent illustration of empathy. We can look at a human being and erroneously judge their entire situation above the surface with one snapshot. We must go below the surface and truly get to know and understand a person — and how they are truly feeling,” Marklein said.
4. Passion “The most successful teams come together from different backgrounds and become a family with a passion around a common goal. Servant leaders inspire people to become passionate around a common goal to unite and build resiliency during setbacks,” Marklein said.
5. Adaptability “The exceptional leaders lead with both head and heart to process and serve constantly changing emotions. They can quickly adapt back-and-forth from using their head (logic, facts, analytical) to heart (compassion, empathy, servant) with the changing emotions and needs around them,” Marklein said.
6. Compassion “Compassion and putting people first is the foundation for servant leadership. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Self-compassion, being gentle and kind with oneself is required to be able to successfully lead others,” Marklein said.
7. Integrity “One of the most unique qualities of humanity is the ability to choose and to do what is right for our organizations, our people, our community and the common good. With self-awareness, the most human leaders are in alignment with what they say, think and do. This conviction and authenticity builds trust,” Marklein said.
