Emotional Intelligence or EI is a critical cornerstone to becoming a great leader. Emotional intelligence is defined as “the sensitivity and ability to monitor and review behavior based on the needs and responses of others.” Emotional intelligence is mainly divided into four groups of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management.” In layman terms, EI can be seen as “people skills” or “interpersonal skills”. After reading Chapter 2 in Strategic Planning Essentials, I realized that EI, when it pertains to leadership, has more to do with the balance between being a transactional leader and a transformational leader. The text also provides a chart to compare and contrast the model elements of both leadership styles. Neither style is wrong or right, to me EI is about knowing when each style should be used. “The real question in the future may not be which leadership style is needed, but rather when each style is most useful.” In researching this topic, I also took my EIT (emotional intelligence test) offered for free by the Global Leadership Foundation and found my results to be quite convincing. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In my personal opinion, people with high EI make great leaders mainly due to their ability to put themselves in other people's shoes. Unlike regular intelligence tests, such as an IQ (intelligence quotient) test, an IQ (emotional intelligence quotient) tests how well we manage our emotions and how well we manage other emotional individuals. In addition to being highly empathetic, highly emotionally intelligent leaders appear to walk a very fine line in evaluating other people's emotional state versus the leader's own emotions. You can have a high IQ and yet not be as successful as others in life due to low EI. It is very difficult to lead if the organization as a whole is unaware of the leader's vision. There must be a symbiotic relationship between leaders and followers for both parties to relate to and understand each other. It works both ways as the leader must be able to relate to the follower and the follower must also be able to see at least part of the leader's vision. In my opinion, empathy is a very underrated character trait of people in leadership roles. When most people think about the values ​​leaders should have, empathy or sympathy is usually at the bottom of the totem pole. When people follow you, nothing makes them more comfortable than knowing that those in charge understand their struggles, trials and tribulations. Also, in my opinion, empathy is where the basis of loyalty begins. Even if said leader has never done the subordinate's job, the leader should be able to show some sign of an "I'm fighting with you" attitude. When people have to follow a leader, things generally work more smoothly when the subordinate can relate to the person following. Empathy and compassion for others are the foundation on which our country was founded. It is this understanding that gives us the power to vote for the most recognizable candidates who will lead us in politics. In contrast, EI is not just about having empathy but also about knowing your emotional limits. The most vivid example of leaders not being good examples of EI is when sports coaches pick on referees and umpires. I wonder iflow self-awareness is a sought-after quality when considering hiring a head baseball coach. To me, social awareness is the difference between being someone who leads out of fear and someone who leads out of inspiration. Being an inspiring leader is like the difference between being part of a team and being the MVP of a team. It is a very difficult task to inspire others, but the same task is almost impossible when the leader himself has no self-awareness. How can one be expected to wield control over others when they cannot control themselves? My uncle taught me that a man who does not take responsibility and control of his actions is not a man. I dare say that a leader who cannot control his emotions is not a good leader. Throughout my career I have dealt with many people and leaders with low EI, but I have also met people who I greatly admire especially for their EI. In the case of having a manager with low EI, Rick was one of my admins that stands out. While working for Rick I distinctly remember high turnover rates, backstabbing, and general deficiencies in the workplace. With this same administrator I also remember having low employee attendance rates, morale, and ultimately low customer satisfaction. Rick's leadership was based on fear rather than respect and inspiration. At the company Christmas party he had made derogatory comments towards homosexuals which directly led to at least seven members of staff resigning before Christmas, causing a holiday planning nightmare for everyone. Unlike Rick, I can remember the exact opposite of one of my nurses and mentors. Riza was my first boss out of nursing school, she taught me everything that was important to know about nursing in long term care facilities. It inspired many people in that small organization and gave me my first management role. Riza was from the Philippines but was still able to connect with people from all backgrounds by relating to people through family. He taught me that nothing is more important than family, especially no job or career. If I told her I had a family emergency, she would ask me why we are still having conversations and running and taking care of them. Riza was the first and best DON (nursing director) I have ever worked for. For four years she was my mentor in becoming a great experienced medical-surgical nurse. He gave me my first opportunity to get certified in wound care and promoted me to skin care coordinator right before I left the organization. Riza left the organization because she clashed with the new administrator hired by the company. That administrator was Rick. Riza would move on to run another nursing home. I would follow her 5 months later and ultimately work for her another year before we could both move forward in our careers. I have also taken on many leadership roles throughout my career, and I would consider myself to have high EI. To find out my EI, I took a free IQ test provided by the Global Leadership Foundation. The final scores were tallied in all four categories, giving me the following scores: self-awareness (6/10), self-management (8/10), social awareness (9/10), relationship management (7/10). My overall EI score would place me somewhere in the 75th percentile on measures of my own and others' emotions. I completely and utterly agree with this assessment of my EI. I must admit that before taking the test I imagined that I would fluctuate between 70% and 80%.