An Introduction to Leadership and Management Part 1: What Makes a Great Leader? - Activfirst
What makes a great leader? In today’s post we will provide an introduction to leadership and management. Our journey will start by identifying the qualities that all great leaders share; the most important being emotional intelligence.
We will then examine the five main areas that contribute to emotional intelligence. Finally we will provide you with a way to measure your own emotional intelligence. Hopefully this has sparked your intrigue!
What Makes a Great Leader?
If we were to ask you to provide an example of an influential leader, who would spring to mind? Some of the greats we can name are Ghandi, Nelson Mandela, Richard Branson and Steve Jobs.
Unsurprisingly, these influential leaders have a lot in common. They all display similar qualities; focus, confidence, transparency, integrity and courage.
Another common factor that contributes to promoting these qualities effectively, is emotional intelligence. Daniel Goleman has studied emotional intelligence for a number of years. In fact, he has published several best sellers on the subject.
He determined that:
“Emotional intelligence is the largest single predictor of success in the workplace.”
It is imperative that leaders remain aware of their own emotional intelligence. In fact we recommend continually improving in this area.
Self Awareness and Emotional Intelligence in Leadership and Management
According to Goleman, the five main areas that make up emotional intelligence are:
- Self-awareness
- Self-management
- Motivation
- Empathy
- Social skills
Having a high level of emotional intelligence in each of these areas will assist leaders to identify and effectively manage emotions. As a result, leaders, Managers and their respective teams can then react positively to potentially stressful workplace scenarios. Developing emotional intelligence will also help leaders and Managers to:
- Empathise with others
- Build solid working relationships
- Communicate with clarity
- Minimise conflict
- Motivate and develop their teams
- Increase morale
- Improve innovation and productivity
When you develop your emotional intelligence you are already half way to becoming a great leader!
Measuring your Emotional Intelligence
It is our opinion that all leaders, should take the time to reflect upon their leadership skill set. It is then possible to identify areas of development. Have you ever considered your own level of emotional intelligence? How about identifying your personal strengths and weaknesses in the five main areas as identified by Goleman? If you are intrigued, we strongly recommend taking this short Emotional Intelligence Test created by MindTools.
What do you think makes a great leader? You might already be a good leader, but through training and development you could become great. If you are already great, then why not set your sights towards excellence?
Leadership and Management Development Workshop
If leadership is your thing, we have a fantastic fully funded opportunity in this area. Activfirst have teamed up with Paul Shaw to offer a fantastic fully funded development workshop. Over a period of 13 years, Paul has enjoyed being a key member of the England Women’s Coaching Team. Having spent 6 of those years as Head of England Women’s Performance! In order to be the best, you need to learn from the best!
Spaces for our York leadership and development workshop are filling up fast.
If you would like to book onto this fully funded course please contact 01262 602598 or email office@activfirst.co.uk
What can Activfirst Offer you?
If you are looking to upskill either yourself or your team, why not check out our Qualification Prospectus? It’s a great read, we promise!
