Be in

tune
with your
team
Like an orchestra conductor,
a corporate leader with high
emotional intelligence is able
to draw out the best from
every team member
SMART people do not always make great leaders. If a persons emotional intelligence
is not as high as his mental abilities, he may lack self-awareness and the ability to
tune into the needs of others.
Emotional intelligence consists of a set of 25 traits that enables people to use
their emotions appropriately and to recognise and respond to the emotional needs of
others, says Dr Richard Boyatzis, a professor of Organisational Behaviour ajd
Psychology at Case Western Reserve University in the United States.
He is also a founding member of the Consortium for Research on Emotional
Intelligence.
Those 25 traits, including self-control, optimism, achievement orientation,
empathy and teamwork, are divided into four clusters:
Self-awareness
Social awareness
Self-management, and
Relationship management
According to Dr Boyatzis, outstanding performers frequently demonstrate at least
half of the traits from all of these clusters.
Spreading the message
Emotional intelligence first became a hot business topic in 1995, when Dr Daniel
Goleman published his book of the same title.
The basic message was that success is strongly influenced by personal
qualities such as perseverance, self-control and the ability to get along with others.

Since emotions precede cognitive functions, they are a critical part of

determining what we think, says Dr Boyatzis, who co-authored Primal Leadership:
Realising the Power of Emotional Intelligence with Dr Goleman.
Emotional intelligence is the counterbalance to intelligence, according to Mr
Michael Callans, president of Wonderlic Consulting, a cognitive testing and selection
consulting company in the US. Its a more important predictor of life success, he
says.
Without emotional intelligence, a project manager will not be in tune with the
emotional needs of the team. When a leaders emotional response isnt appropriate
for the situation, followers lose confidence, Mr Callans says.
Inspiring the team
High emotional intelligence can mean the difference between mediocrity and great
success. A managers ability to motivate and impact people determines how he is
perceived and embraced.
People are drawn to leaders because they are inspired by them or motivated by
them, not because they gave them raises or good projects to work on.
A large part of emotional intelligence entails knowing how to identify and
develop talent in others and how to connect with them through coaching and
mentoring. To do that, leaders must first recognise their own emotional strengths and
weaknesses.
Moulding the talent
The ability to identify and mould talent is critical to a companys success, and the
company relies no its managers to have the emotional intelligence to make that
happen.
The good news is that unlike a persons IQ, emotional intelligence is a
learnable trait, says Ms Katherine Green, an emotional intelligence coach.
She works with clients who have been promoted to management positions and
do not have the people skills to communicate effectively.
Through intense sessions, performance reviews and feedback, she can often
improve their emotional IQ within weeks, assuming the client has a personal interest
or investment in changing his behaviour.
Making the change
Lehman Brothers, the US-based investment banking giant, sees the value of emotional
intelligence and incorporates it into a significant chunk of its four-year-old leadership
development programme.
Says Ms Janis Becker, the programme manager at the company: Lehman
business results are widely viewed to be a consequence of the culture, and its through
leadership that we articulate and pass on the culture.
One of the core elements of our leadership initiative is to build selfawareness and gain a deeper understanding of who you are as leader, your style, your
strengths and how you impact others.
Participants reflect on their own dreams and visions and how they can
connect with their work and their people at a deeper, more personal level.
See the difference

Ms Becker reports dramatic changes in a few leaders, who have altered the way they
relate to employees as a result of the course.
Programme participant Gary Weinstein, managing director and chief
administrative officer of investment banking at Lehman, said: I spend more time
calling people, bringing them in and thanking them. I make a conscious effort to
recognise and appreciate peoples efforts.
People really respond to this in a positive way, I see it in their faces and I see
it in their performance.
Article contributed by Sarah Fister Gale, based on material in PM Network, The
Professional Magazine of The Project Management Institute. For more information,
please visit www.pmi.org