Mastering any one of the four primary Emotional Intelligence competencies can go a long way toward helping a leader improve her effectiveness. And, understanding the relationships between each and their interdependencies can magnify that leadership value even further.
A framework for remembering the four Emotional Intelligence elements is to organize them into a logical matrix. On the left-hand side of the matrix, the competency is considered “personal” (up to you) or “social” (involving others). At the top, we differentiate between “recognition” (knowledge of) and “regulation” (the ability to moderate intentionally).
Once the four competencies are organized accordingly, we can look at the relationships between them (arrows) with self-awareness as the precursor to the other three.
Said another way, to self-manage a behavior, one has to first be aware of it. And, the most self-aware leaders are those who can read a room for the social dynamic and respond accordingly. Someone who has mastered self-management and social awareness is most likely going to be more adept at managing relationships, and so on.
If you’re looking for a way to take your leadership game up a notch, consider which areas of your Emotional intelligence puzzle need the most work, beginning with Self-Awareness. Next, move on to Self-Management and Social-Awareness. From there, of course, you can work on Relationship Management.
Investing in your Emotional Intelligence takes time, and usually, a fair amount of humility as you self-assess and/or experiment with different leadership approaches. Like completing a jigsaw, the fulfillment of putting it together, however, (especially when there’s a missing piece discovered under a chair) can result in significant satisfaction for you and for those you lead.
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