The need for emotionally intelligent leaders
(Conclusion)
We can be emotionally healthy individually, but an organization, a community and an entire nation can also manifest collective emotional health.
Needless to say, that depends highly on the emotional health or emotional intelligence of the leader of the organization, the community, or a country.
A leader must have high emotional intelligence to develop a high level of collective emotional health in his or her people. One cannot give or develop something which one does not have or only have a meager supply of. A highly emotionally intelligent leader is likely to be successful in leading his/her organization through whatever crisis they may be confronted with.
From executing an organizational plan to attaining a nation’s agenda and vision, leaders in all walks of life are able to inspire hope in their people that no matter what the setbacks are, together as a united team and not as disunited fragments, they will be able to weather all the “storms” and achieve their collective dreams and aspirations.
Hence, an emotionally healthy leader must possess all the qualities that will enable him/her to inspire hope in his or her people. And no challenge or setback can be strong enough to push the organization’s members, a community’s constituents, or the country’s citizens to a state of hopelessness and despair.
Qualities leaders must have
Integrity, character, intelligence, competence and facility for effective communication are all important qualities exemplary leaders must have. But without emotional intelligence, leaders are standing on shaky grounds and a tumult of significant proportions is likely to make whatever ground the leader is standing on to collapse and cause his/her downfall.
A leader’s constituents are able to overlook a leader’s faults if they could feel their leader’s sincerity—that he/she empathizes with them, speak for them, fight for them and do his/her best to serve them well.
Sincerity could not be feigned or acted. Even excellent communicators will not be able to project sincerity if he/she does not have it. The binding connection sincerity produces is simply not there. No amount of flourish in one’s words and actions can make one sound and look sincere. It is simply intangible beyond description but it can be felt when it’s present in a leader.
Conversely, pure emotional intelligence alone will not make a leader succeed. And here’s where the irony lies: A highly emotionally intelligent leader will only be able to inspire hope if he/she is able to show that his/her decisions are based on rational thinking and not emotions alone. Even when emotions run high, a good leader shows clear, logical thinking and a common sense to do what he/she should prioritize. It’s said that a good leader does not only do things right (being efficient), but does the right things right (being effective).
Emotional composure
The good leader does not dwell too long on the consequences of a crisis and retreats to his/her cocoon, unseen for a good number of days until such time he/she can get his/her emotional composure back to face his/her people. If one is truly emotionally healthy, he/she has so much in reserve that occasional “withdrawals” caused by crises will not be able to deplete one’s emotional bank. He/she is more visible and physically present when the sailing gets rough, knowing that his/her absence will be perceived as a sign of weakness.
Any sign of weakness in the leader makes his/her people lose hope that they could recover from a crisis. During a crisis, the members of an organization or constituents of a community are able to draw strength—a really empowering type of strength—that makes them do their part in helping the organization, the community or the country recover from a crisis.
The leader inspires his/her people to remain united as a team, as a nation, with each one doing his/her share. Just like in a sports team, it doesn’t matter who scores for the team, so long as the team scores. The members of a united team—inspired by their leader—are not hungry for individual credit, sacrificing the whole team in the end.
We are not really wanting in emotionally healthy or emotionally intelligent leaders. The late Mayor Jesse Robredo is a good example. He was humble but never submissive. He exemplified what servant leadership is all about. He inspired his people in Naga City to dream and aspire to be the best they could ever be, individually and as a city.
The late senator Ninoy Aquino is also another example of not only an intelligent, competent leader, but a highly emotionally intelligent one.
It’s sad that truly sincere, emotionally intelligent and emotionally healthy leaders die young. But the greatest legacy they have is that because of this very important quality they have, they continue to live on, not only in the minds of their people, but in a special place in the hearts of their people.
